While I love the notion of rural life, the habit of folks allowing their dogs to run loose on country roads is a major pet peeve.   The quality is lacking on this one because I took it through my car’s windshield, but wanted to get the point across.   This pooch was determined to stand right  in the way.  I was finally able to edge around, but it was tricky.   She gave chase until she ran out of energy.   People need to care for their dogs, not subject them to death by vehicle.   Don’t blame the dog.

Zion Lutheran Church in Sandoval, Texas is a place I visit occasionally, but don’t always photograph the adjacent cemetery, older than the current church, built in 1932.  The first known burial was in 1897.  According to an historical marker, the original church was just across the road.  Sandoval was established in the early-1880s by settlers from Germany, Austria, Sweden and France.   I’m pretty sure this site is in East Williamson County, but it’s quite close to Milam County.  There’s a wonderful old tree in the cemetery.   In additional to traditional gravestones, there are several small white crosses marking other burials.   Even with all the development in our area, you can still drive by and see the church and cemetery surrounded by active fields used for farming.   That’s nice to see.

This photograph of a 4-month-old baby opossum was made  on the last day of Georgetown’s Red Poppy Festival.   It was taken at a booth for All Things Wild Rehabilitation, a wonderful group of caring people who come to the rescue of virtually all wild creatures they can, providing them with whatever help and care needed.   This is one of several from a litter brought into All Things Wild.   If possible, animals taken into All Things Wild are nursed back to health and returned to their natural habitats.   If not feasible, they become ambassadors, permanent residents taken care of for their entire lives.    You may not like possums, or any of the animals in their care,  but the folks who do this work do.   And that matters.    The group’s popularity has grown.   They need more room, but the cost of land is challenging.  Help them if you can. 

A couple of days back I posted a group of hazy sunlight photos made just after a day of clouds and rain.   Just tonight, however, I saw another hazy sun as it did its best to shine over Granger’s  Saints Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church.   The sun held on, then gave way to a series of intense storms in our area.   I’m surprised we still have power.   Nature is powerful.

In the midst of all the Red Poppy Festival activity this weekend, I had an opportunity to spend a few quiet  minutes Saturday afternoon at Georgetown’s Our Lady of the Rosary Cemetery and Prayer Gardens as a group gathered to commemorate the site’s upcoming 20th anniversary.   The founders, Ellen and Nick Brumder, were in town from their home in New Zealand.   It was nice seeing them, but my time here is usually spent seeing the small details.    That’s what you have here, friends.   Just some details, but there are some nice people photos in Wednesday’s Williamson County Sun.

On some days the light quality is just impeccable.   What I saw Sunday evening near Granger, Texas was a natural gift.    The day began with clouds and periods of rain.  Near day’s end that much-needed rain moved on, leaving behind some truly precious light.   Embracing this light is a passion I don’t take for granted.

Frank Armstrong, one of my photojournalism instructors at UT-Austin in the early-1970s, posted on Facebook he would be having lunch at Taylor’s Louie Mueller BBQ.   For many years Frank and his wife Ellen have lived in Massachusetts, but he still stays in touch with his home state.  Frank was in town for his 70th high school class reunion.   Also there was Richard Greffe, who was one of the graduate teaching assistants when I attended UT.  I’d seen neither since graduating from UT in 1974.  May marks my 50th year since graduation.

Our area has had  a mixture of rain, clouds and hints of sunshine today.   This is what I saw tonight a few miles north of our Taylor home.   Pastel skies are soothing.

So as I was leaving the wet Georgetown square early this afternoon, some rain-soaked plants near the library got my attention.   Delicate drops danced across their surface.   Not being a botanical wizard, I still wanted to snap some photos.  A few minutes into the session I asked a passerby if she knew the plant’s name.   Intrigued, she pulled out her phone to take a picture.  “It’s a yucca,” she said, showing me the information under her photo.  “Your iPhone can do this, too,” she explained.   My phone is an inexpensive Android, but I thanked her as she continued an outing with her kids.   Folks, beyond taking photos and a stab at  writing, my knowledge base is limited.   Maybe I’ll investigate that application for my cheap phone.   Yucca plants are elegant. Rain is, too. 

A few photographs from the second day at Georgetown’s Red Poppy Festival, the majority focusing on the parade, plus a bit of the car show, and just moments I like.  Included is a lady celebrating her 90th birthday wearing a wonderful tiara, Speedy, a tortoise cared for by All Things Wild Rehabilitation, a young lady admiring a sand sculpture she created in a children’s area for the festival, plus an 8-year-old doing quite well with his electric guitar.  This and that, friends.