This was along County Road 124 tonight, not far from Granger, Texas.   One field had an abundance of Texas Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush.   The final photo shows a small patch of Evening Primrose wildflowers next to a farmer’s field.   In farm country, wildflowers are often mowed down to make way for crops, but these Evening Primrose, also called buttercups, do a good job of anchoring many fields.

The Masters is on the horizon very soon.    As I’ve mentioned before, the few times I covered it for the Atlanta Journal & Constitution were taxing and stressful, but nevertheless it’s one of the great golf tournaments in the world.   I can’t recall the year I took this photo of two Masters champions,  Tom Watson (front) and Byron Nelson, but it had to be early-mid 1980s because it was shot in black and white.   At some point, everything shot at the Masters was color.    Nelson, a Texan, won the tournament in 1937 and 1942.   Watson received that honor in 1977 and 1981.    A Nelson quote: “One way to break up any kind of tension is good deep breathing.”   I like that.

Tonight’s wanderings took me just ten minutes from home.   My purpose for the visit was not the photos posted here.   Those, hopefully, will come later.   The clouds looked billowy, surrounded by a sweet blue sky.  Completing the scene was a large aircraft.   En route home, I stopped for a few shots of a barn I like.  These days, the old structure seems to be getting overtaken by a quickly-growing tree.  The fields around it are loaded with Spring crop planting.   After a day filled with sinus issues, combined with our annual income tax appointment,  photo therapy was a blessing.

Hopefully, I’m getting this right when calling this a lily.   After identifying an evening primrose wildflower a winecup earlier this week, one must be careful.   Tuesday’s walk took by this flower.   Yesterday afternoon, I stopped by to ask for permission to photograph it.   The lady was more than happy to oblige.  

We’re expecting possible stormy weather tonight in Central Texas.   As  I wandered around the Blackland Prairie tonight, clouds were already making an appearance, partially covering the sun a little bit before sunset.   After a night of storms, Wednesday morning skies were expected to clear.  Hopefully, folks will fare well this evening, but I do like the moodiness of these images.   Be safe.

Here’s a few photos taken tonight in and around Taylor, Texas, including (again) baby ducks, this time at Murphy Park, a gaggle of geese, also at Murphy Park.   And winecup wildflowers, delicate and sweet.  The winecup closeups are at Murphy Park, while the grouping is along a farmer’s field just west of town.   And there’s a windmill, too.  There will always be windmills around here. 

The bluebonnets are in bloom!   Tonight I moseyed over to Palm Valley Lutheran Church in Round Rock.   The field in front was filled with wildflowers, even a few Indian Blankets.  When I finished my photo session, I met a very nice family taking their own photos.   After taking a a few shots with their camera, I took a few  of them, too.   Spring brings pollen, but also a bit of Texas sweetness. 

These new crop of ducklings was my original intention the other day when stopping at Taylor’s Bull Branch Park.   For those new to my posts, Taylor is all about ducks.  Our parks are full of them.   The high school mascot is a duck.   There are duck crossing signs on some of our streets.  People stop for ducks here.   One of the rites of Spring around here are the ducklings.   The mother ducks usually do not like it when I encroach.   My approach is to stay as far away as possible.    It’s all good.

En route to the grocery store this week, I stopped by Taylor’s Bull Branch Park.   During my daily walks, I’d been noticing baby ducklings in abundance.   While those were evident on this visit (more later on that), my interest quickly turned to this dad on a little fishing outing with his 6-year-old son.   The pair stayed well beyond sundown.   They were using night crawler worms, a good bait for this little stream.   The little guy hasn’t quite mastered the technique of placing his worms on the hook.  Thank goodness, dad was there to provide guidance where needed.  

Something simple this evening, folks, just a youngster peddling home from Taylor Regional Park a few minutes after sunset.   Taylor, a bit over 15,000 population, still retains a small-town feel.  Sometimes, children can do things like we kids used to do back in the day.