The things we see when we slow down and look.
For years, my daily walks, mostly in Taylor, were visual points of departure. Tiny landscapes, where the light embraced the landscape.
This offering includes tidbits of what I saw last week on strolls around Taylor. Friends on social media have seen these subjects for a while, but they don’t usually find their way to the pages of the Sun. Let’s change that this time, shall we?
Daily walks are meant to be exercise, mildly aerobic outings to stimulate the heart.
Years ago, when transitioning from runner to walker, I’d see things in a new way. When running, it was all about keeping the pace. For a while, a cell phone served as a camera, but its telephoto capabilities, at least with mine, were limiting. A little over three years ago, however, preparing for cataract procedures, my surgeon suggested I put the large cameras to rest for a couple of weeks, to give his work time to progress. Just before the surgeries, a visit to the local camera store in Austin led to purchase of a used Olympus camera, no larger than my smartphone. Also purchased was a tiny zoom lens, a Panasonic Lumix, with far better reach than the phone. Since then, a small mirrorless camera accompanies me on every stroll.
Subjects on these walks include both plants and animals, occasionally inspirational skies, and snippets of water flowing through parks and streams. None are really what one would call photojournalism, but inspirational to me. Leaves, flowers, trees, herons, egrets, turtles, and even squirrels. Sometimes even people. Since these outings are meant to be exercise, little time is spent on a subject. Ventures into the prairie countryside with my Nikons take longer, a given.
Sometimes these walks are done in Georgetown, but usually when an assignment there makes daily walks at home difficult.
Am I getting enough actual exercise on these walks? Probably not, but it’s a good way to follow the light. That matters. 
