No need to repeat my thoughts about the rookery at Taylor’s Murphy Park.   These are from a couple nights ago.

East Williamson County farmer Arnold Raesz (pronounced Race) and his family are completely focused on harvesting 3600 acres of corn on the Blackland Prairie.  A few years ago, I did a column on Arnold’s brother, Larry, also a farmer.    Their oldest brother,  Herbert?  He farms, too.    I’ve yet to meet Herbert, but you never know. It could happen. Like other farmers in our area, farming goes back several generations in this area.  Arnold’s sons, Shaun and Steven, also farm with with dad.  Shaun’s  oldest son, Montgomery, 20, is studying at Texas A&M and plans to make farming his career.  His younger son, Maverick, 17, will be a senior at Hutto High School this year.   He’s still considering all career options.  I like how the crew gathers  in the field for evening  supper before heading back out, working well past sunset.   As the area we live continues to experience growth, I hope we don’t lose all this beautiful land to subdivisions, concrete and steel.   A column I wrote will accompany some of these photos in Wednesday’s Williamson County Sun.

My Taylor friend Michelle Miller lives in town, but she and her husband, Joe Moldenhour, and Brian Miksch, Michelle’s brother-in-law, also farm on the Backland Prairie.   They are a small operation if compared with some of the huge family farms in our area, but they know this land very well.  These photos were taken on a recent night as they harvested milo (also called maize) in a field east of Thrall.  Joe’s the fellow in the Longhorn Baseball t-shirt.  Hook ’em.  Respect our farmers, friends.

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Honestly, I try to hold back on posting photos from Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, in Wuthrich Hill, Texas.    The setting, however, is divine.  We had light rain tonight on the Blackland Prairie.   While it wasn’t much, the skies were just right.

So I’m sitting in my car this afternoon, reading an e-book at Georgetown’s San Gabriel Park  while finishing a bag of chips, keeping an eye on park activities.  It wasn’t a certainty I’d photograph anything.  In the distance, however, something got my attention.  A grownup and a toddler, sitting under the shade of an oak, actively-engaged, prompting me to grab the cameras.  Mom was more than happy for photos.  Two-year-old Skyla and mom were honing their sign language skills.   Skyla was born with Down syndrome.  Although she has good verbal ability, sign language is another way to communicate.  And connect.    It turns out mom and daughter had already been at the park for two hours while Skyla’s brother played a little basketball.  No worries.  Skyla and mom had things covered.   For almost 50 years, this defines what I mean by community journalism.   Through the years, however, photos of children have  not been in favor with newspaper editors.   Too soft, they say.  Not newsy, they say.   You know what?  If they bothered to listen to their readers, they might redefine their thinking.    Just look at Skyla.  It’s not just about cute photos, friends.  It’s about everyday life.

These two photos were made this evening along a county road  a little east of Thrall, Texas, almost in Milam County.  Barns are special.  This one might be living its last days.    The second photo is just something I like.  Note that I do not take photos of people walking along railroad tracks, but the tracks, sans humans, are interesting.  The road at right is United States Highway 79.

Just a little windmill therapy from the Blackland Prairie  tonight, friends.   I’ll leave it at that.

This is a photo I made during the 2001 Atlanta Journal & Constitution Peachtree Road Race, its 32nd running.   WSB-TV Chief Photographer Don Johnson and I were making aerial images from the station’s helicopter.   At the time, the event included 55,000 entrants.  Now that  number is 60,000.    The Atlanta Track Club made the smart choice this year to postpone the race, normally held on July 4th, instead moving it too Thanksgiving.  Considering the ongoing pandemic, I have doubts that this will happen at all this year, but we’ll see.

Approximately 75-100 people came to the Williamson County Courthouse lawn  in Georgetown this week for the first CommUNITY Prayer on the Square.  The “UNITY” is used here as it was presented.  There were no  protests for this hour-long event, just people together. No political talk at all.  At least a couple of prayer attendees work with the area’s homeless population.  That’s why I included Ashely, pictured in the last two photos.  Ashley, 30, who is homeless, caught a ride last week from Houston to Austin, then managed to walk most of the 28 miles to Georgetown.  I met her over the weekend near where the prayer group met last evening.  Hopefully, she found some help.  She’s very sweet, not asking for handouts, just some guidance. 

Most of the bird photos I post are from Taylor’s rookery at Murphy Park, or ducks and geese at Bull Branch Park, all birds are intriguing.    For the last several years, a small group of trees on the downtown square in Georgetown have become temporary homes for Green Herons, somewhat smaller cousins to Great Blue Herons.   My assumption has always been that herons (and egrets) prefer to stay close to water sources.   The San Gabriel River is a few blocks away, but it still seems an odd place for these little beauties.   Unlike the rookery, you really have to hunt to see these herons.  The nestle in the trees and blend right in.   These were taken last weekend while finishing up an assignment.   All birds are neat.