The 27th Annual Clayman Rodeo, founded by Kelly and Jim Bob Clayman, was held Saturday night at Windsong Farm in Georgetown, Texas.   Unlike other traditional rodeos, this one is comprised of students who’ve studied equestrian skills with the Claymans.  You won’t see things like bronco or bull riding here.   I enjoyed watching 6-year-old Kyndall, this year’s youngest entrant, while she competed in pole-bending.  Another photo shows her holding onto her lariat, wearing a big smile.  It’s not posed, but it’s a moment I like.   And there’s 10-year-old Mason, shown in three of these photos.  This young fellow is a hoot!  And very good at what he does, too.  Other rodeos I usually photograph were cancelled this year, but not this one!    This year’s event was purposely low-key, with no advance advertising.   The students demonstrated roping skills, took part in pole-bending and barrel racing.    I think this is the 10th year I’ve attended.  Each time, I take a few action photos, but the atmosphere is what makes it work for me.   It’s a truly great event.

For several years I’ve been fortunate to take photos at the annual Blessing of the Animals service conducted by Reverend Father Bertie Pearson at Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown.   Since we’re in the midst of an ongoing pandemic,  I assumed that wouldn’t happen this year.   However, when reaching out to Father Bertie, he invited me to a drive-through Blessing of the Animals held Sunday afternoon at the church.   Father Bertie was assisted by Reverend Mother Mary Ann Huston.  Yes, it was a bit different, but the sweet animals didn’t seem to mind at all.    So many things have been cancelled, but Grace finds a way.

Not all Texas Longhorns are willing subjects, but some Taylor friends who’ve raised them for years have some sweet ones who don’t mind the camera’s presence.   On this recent lovely Texas evening I visited with (hoping I got the names right) Crybaby, Lacy, Jinx and Rocky.   There’s something about longhorns and sunsets that just seems  to work.  My friends have one of the most beautiful back yards in Texas. 

If the  timing is right, there’s this elegant little red barn near Walburg I like to photograph.   It’s always no more than half a dozen shutter clicks, this time just four.   Nestled under a stand of trees, you might pass by without knowing it’s there.   The way sunshine  graces its facade as the day’s light fades is sweet.   A hidden gem.

The very busy season at Taylor’s rookery is winding down.   The mass of avian life that arrived in the Spring has mostly moved on.  This occurs every year in late-September.   But life at Murphy Park continues.  Throughout the year, you’ll find cattle egrets, cormorants, Great Blue Herons, geese, and (of course) ducks.   These images were  taken this week as the moon became more prominent in the Central Texas sky.    A few Great Egrets were there to say goodbye until next Spring.   The park will continue to hold my attention through autumn and winter.  

While I mostly see advantages to living and wandering out in the countryside, there are times when ambient light is hard to come by.   There’s tonight, for instance, when I was photographing the Harvest Moon a few miles east of Granger.   Moonrise was about 25 minutes past sunset.   While there was a little light left (other than that pretty moon), it was a challenge.  These are okay.  The moon, of course, is almost always just fine.

Tonight’s moonrise photos are in the northern part of Williamson County, Texas.   It’s a Waxing Gibbous moon, almost full at 99.4% visibility.   The opening photo shows a Texas Century Farm, a farm that has been in the same family for at least 100 years.   This is a little north of Walburg.   A bit further north is Holy Trinity Catholic Church of Corn Hill, its twin spires visible for a few miles.  

If you’re watching two old white guys debate tonight,  feeling stressed, sad or angry, here’s a (hopefully) happy diversion.  Friends, meet Minnie Moo, the newest member of the Sharp family.   There was much sadness a while back when our sweet dog, Star, left this world.   We didn’t think we’d get another dog, but then we did.  She’s got some Pit Bull mixed with something else, but we think she’ll be a big girl.    Minnie Moo was adopted through a good group of folks called Austin Pets Alive.   Like all babies, she’s a handful, but that’s okay.   Anyway, Minnie Moo is tonight’s reason to smile.

Tonight’s photos were close to home as I wandered around downtown Taylor, Texas.  The opening sunset photo was taken with a 300mm lens.   The others were made with my new 50mm lens.  It’s neat to reconnect with what’s considered a “normal” lens.   For 40-something years, I didn’t give that lens  the time of day, but we  are  becoming friends again.   The gent in the last photo was waiting on bats to make an appearance under the viaduct.   I didn’t see many, but will come back again for another look.  

I am seeing too many ghost bikes in recent years.   “Ghost bikes” are placed at sites where a cyclist has died after being struck by a vehicle.  Today, I made photos of a ghost bike dedication for Donnie Prado, a 59-year-old cyclist who died when struck by a hit-and-run driver on August 30th.   The two opening photos are from that somber event.   Once the assignment was completed, I wondered about two other ghost bikes I’d photographed.   Were they still there?   Two photos were made today at a ghost bike placed in memory of 19-year-old Tommy Ketterhagen, who died after being struck at this site in January 2017.    The earliest ghost bike documented was in Spring 2014, one dedicated to Georgetown resident Joe Holan, who used his bike to commute to work.    Eight days before Christmas 2013, Joe was killed on an interstate access road en route to work.    I tried to find the site again today, but didn’t.   The photo posted here is of Joe’s widow, Melissa, who saw to it her husband was honored with a bike.   I knew Joe.    A few months before his death, the newspaper did a story about his bike commutes.   He’d  email me photos he’d taken on his daily routes.   He left behind his wife and two children.    We need more bike lanes for cyclists, friends.   Sure, the cyclists need to practice caution, but drivers need to do the same.