Three  recent photographs taken near or after a Blackland Prairie sunset.   Just clearing things off my desktop before forgetting they’re there. Sometimes they’re tossed into the trash bin.   I’ll hold onto these. 

Many wildflower posts find their way to my social media accounts this time of year.   I love all of them, but try to scale back on too many myself.   A place I like very much, no matter the season, is Georgetown’s Our Lady of the Rosary Cemetery & Prayer Gardens.   Offered tonight are a few things observed this week during a late-afternoon visit.   “Weeds” is a word often infused with negative meanings, but most wildflowers, including our state flower, are weeds.   In this part of Texas the bluebonnets are still here, but overshadowed by other flowers.    All of them have merit.   The last photo isn’t a wildflower at all, just a simple leaf nestled next to a tree.   By the time I clicked the shutter for this one the light had lessened, but was sufficient to add a dappling before tucking in for the night.

This morning I noticed light falling on some vibrant leaves in our bathroom window.   Not knowing botanical things, I asked my wife what they were.  “Basil!”   Live and learn.

Not much to say for these photos taken this evening, from Thrall to Beyersville.  Just good skies and elegant light.

Several years ago I took numerous photos of this barn in Jonah.   When deciding to offer a series of photos of favorite barns this was high on my list of candidates.  In January I spent a little time there, but wasn’t getting a good result.  Recently, however, this vintage barn began looking quite nice.    I stopped by the owner’s house to comment.   It turns out he’d noticed some old boards in rough shape, deciding to replace them, then following up with a fresh coating of red paint.   It really looks great now!   Nearby, close to 300 acres is for sale, but I think this barn’s owner plans to keep it around for a while.   I sure hope so.   This frame was taken at day’s end last evening.

Every crop has value, but the flow of wheat on the Blackland Prairie is just majestic.  From early Wednesday evening. 

A few hours after Monday’s eclipse, rain arrived on the Blackland Prairie, continuing into Tuesday.  Tuesday night was stormy, the rain  continuing into early morning today.   I’m hoping friends didn’t sustain hail or wind damage Tuesday night, but most of us are grateful for any rain we can get.  Presented are photos taken Tuesday.   The opening photo is a grand Live Oak tree in southern Bell County, sort of a scene-setter.   Again, we are not the Hill Country, but we do have our share of nice hills.   The land needs this moisture. 

Wandering around Sunday evening, I stopped on a quiet country road, noticing a hawk looking a bit stressed high up in a tree.   The reason for her stress soon became known when another bird decided to take over that space.   After a couple of minutes that frustrated hawk decided to seek other hunting territory.    The dark bird moved at warp speed, not allowing an opportunity to determine what it was!   At first I thought it was a vulture, but the head doesn’t look right.   It was far too large to be a grackle.   Let’s hope my smart birding friends can solve this mystery.   I’m sure they can.   Nature can be interesting.

This was what I saw during a morning walk in Taylor  around 8a.m.  The sun fought to stay visible behind a bank of clouds.   It did rain, but hours after the solar eclipse.   The eclipse was grand.   And so is rain.

Honestly, I thought the total solar eclipse chances here were slim.   Rain chances were high.   And believe me, we need the rain.   Remarkably, the skies cleared enough while I was at an eclipse viewing event at Southwestern University in Georgetown.   Eclipse photos are included, but as always, I like the people, particularly the gentleman in the opening photo, who traveled from Maryland to see this.    The rain did come about three hours after the eclipse.   It’s all good.  Happy faces are good.