My allergy/sinus issues were driving me up the wall all day so it was a pleasant surprise to see our exceptional skies and sunset tonight on the Blackland Prairie. There’s nothing more words can add to that. 
This photo was taken in 1972, not long after arriving on the UT-Austin campus to study journalism/photojournalism. This wasn’t an assignment, just something seen en route to a class. The pooch seemed content on her perch while her human continued scanning the newspaper. Remember newspapers?
Just some photos taken last night as I rambled through the area east of Granger, Texas. Three of the photos here are taken on dirt roads, something hard to find in metro-Atlanta. Dirt roads aren’t fun after a rain, but otherwise, they are grand. The Blackland Prairie has some of the best skies. 
A couple of images from some of our rural Central Texas landscape, including early-morning haze near Jonah, plus an old farmhouse, long retired, sharing space with a vintage John Deere tractor. The tractor is pretty old, but I think it’s still in use. This and that. 
Minnie Moo enjoys her time in the backyard quite a lot. We play sometimes, but what she really likes is stalking critters that dash through our yard. She hasn’t caught anything. Yet. That’s a little hand towel she latched onto the first shot. 
Tonight’s photos were taken along New Sweden Road, home to New Sweden Evangelical Lutheran Church. It’s an area in Travis County, a few miles northeast of Manor. The church congregation formed in 1876, comprised of Swedish immigrants. The current church was completed in 1923. For years, services were conducted in Swedish, but later converted to English. It remains an active church today. 
Make A Wish is a wonderful group, bringing joy to places where it’s needed. This weekend, I was at San Gabriel Park in Georgetown for a Make A Wish parade for Kristopher, a 6-year-old boy who has dealt with Chronic Idiopathic Intestinal Pseudo Obstruction, a gastrointestinal disorder, for his entire young life. If you’re so inclined, look do a search on the disorder. Through many hospital stays, Kristopher became a fan of everything related to Legos. His wish: a complete Legos Master Workshop. That wish came through via numerous gift boxes handed out by super hero action figures during his parade. The gifts were made possible by the fundraising efforts of Westlake for Wishes, a group of teens from Austin’s Westlake High School. The group’s founder, now 18, was at one time a Make A Wish kid. Kristopher was happy and lively throughout the event, but did get a little tired from opening all the gifts. He bounced right back. When everything was done, Kristopher helped load his goodies into the family van, then was buckled in for the ride home. By his side was his service dog, Harley. Good things do happen in this world. 
The clouds were interesting early this morning in Taylor. On the way to get a Sunday paper, I stopped for a few photos. 
The rookery at Taylor’s Murphy Park will eventually be dominated by the many egrets who come here every year to add to their families, but the cormorants, the darker birds, prefer to hold onto their space for as long as possible. Tonight’s Waxing Gibbous moon is near 99% visibility, very close to full. By the time Sunday evening rolls around, it will have passed 100%. I’m calling this a full moon. 
I didn’t travel too far this evening, just up the road to the grain elevators at Williamson County Grain. A Waxing Gibbous moon, 95.8% visibility, added depth to our Texas skies. Those pesky power lines, mostly a visual negative, weren’t too bad this time. 
