Two church photos tonight, both Lutheran.   The first is Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Wuthrich Hill,  probably my most-photographed church.  Wuthrich Hill is an area just east of Taylor.   Look at the photo and you know why it’s called Wuthrich Hill.  Prince of Peace opened in 1912, but about a mile away, in New Bern.   It was moved here in 1947.    The second church is St. John Lutheran Church, along Texas 95 just north of Bartlett.  For years I tried to do a straight-on photo of St. John, but power lines made that problematic. Recently, I noticed this view from the side.  It works.   The congregation formed in the late-1870s-early-1880s.   The current building was dedicated in January 1932.   Our area is adorned with Lutheran Churches. 

For several years I’ve taken photos of this little farmhouse nestled in the middle of a beautiful field in East Williamson County, Texas.   After the hectic years spent in metro-Atlanta, seeing it was a balm.   This morning a friend who lives near the house mentioned the house was being taken down.   This wasn’t surprising, but I’ll miss seeing it there.   Included here a couple of photos taken in years past, beginning with one from 2015, when the field flooded after heavy rains.   And there’s one from distant vantage point, one of the best views.  The last two were made this evening.   With the permission of the gentleman taking the house down, I made some closer shots as the golden sun fell on its fading facade.   Plus a detail of a door just removed.   The good news is that the family who owns the property is building their own house on the site.  The beautiful pecan trees are to remain.   And hopefully, the field surrounding the land.   For over a decade I’ve been documenting the changing landscape of the Blackland Prairie.    We need to have records of what was here.

I have an affection for very small bodies of water in rural places.   You  might call them ponds, or tanks.   They are ponds to me.    Some nearby friends have had a spring-fed pond on their farm for many years.   Sadly, a road-widening project will scoop that pond up in the name of progress.   That pond isn’t pictured here, but I’ll take another photo of it before the road comes through.  My top pick here is the second one. 

This scene, not far from Granger,  seems  relaxing to me.   I get those feelings pretty often here on the Blackland Prairie.   I’ll leave it at that.

Some might recall something mentioned in December, that I love holiday lights, regardless of the season.    This was a scene along West Davilla Street in downtown Granger last night.   The tree belongs to a friend.   I wish he’d keep it up all year long.  Probably won’t happen, but it looks nice, as does Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church.  Be a Scrooge if you want, but I’ll take nice settings anytime. 

These three recent photos are from ramblings through North Williamson County.    Mentioned before, but I need to spend more time wandering around those spaces.   For tonight, just some horse images.   Some horses I gladly photograph many times, but these beauties are new to my camera.    Regarding power lines,  I understand their need, but they can sure put a damper on a landscape.

Driving into Georgetown Saturday morning, the light and shadows on a portion of Grace Heritage Center caught my eye.    It’s a beautiful structure, with a long history.   It was given life as Grace Episcopal Church in 1881, at the corner of 10th and Main Streets.   In 1955 the church was moved a few blocks east, to University Avenue, across from Southwestern University.   The church built a larger building in 1991, donating the original building to the City of Georgetown.   Once more the old church was moved to its current location at 817 Main Street, just south of the town square, one block north of its original site.   It remains here today and is home to Preservation Georgetown, also available for rentals. 

These are from recent drives through North Williamson County, Texas, an area I don’t get to often enough, but am trying to remedy that.   There’s still a rural feel to the area.   And you know I like that.   Apparently, deer like it, too. These were taken at three locations.  The deer in that last photo stood in the road for 3-4 minutes before moseying on along.   With those tire tracks, I’d be moving along a little faster if I were her!

The temperature made it above freezing today, allowing a chance to wander around a little bit tonight.  The precipitation has moved on, but temperatures are expected to dip below 20 degrees tonight in Central Texas.   That’s a Waxing Crescent moon in the last photo, 17.8% visibility.   The others are just (hopefully) peaceful scenes from the prairie.

While I love cold weather, ice is loathsome.   Heck, I don’t have too much affection for actual snow, either.   Note that these photos taken today in Taylor are definitely not snow.   We had precipitation throughout the day, leaving us with a sheen of ice just about everywhere.   Late this morning, I actually tried to get in a walk, but turned back after going a few blocks.   Before returning home, however, I was able to get a photo of folks with four happy dogs out for a walk.  Maybe the four-legged friends helped keep the humans upright.   Back home, I sat inside the warm house, reading a book.  My car was covered in ice.  The door was fused shut.   Finally, just before dark, I brought out some hot water and poured it in the necessary places, then went for a short evening drive around town.  There was still ice tonight, but a little less.  I hope that man in the yellow rain slicker has a warm place to spend the night.  What ice is there right now  will still be there in the morning, when temperatures will be in the teens. Thankfully, I think we’re done with the wet stuff.   Fingers crossed.