For a while these posts focused on barns.   They haven’t been forgotten.   Know that every barn ever posted has been documented a few times.   But a few of them, like the Blackland Prairie, are disappearing.  Some, battered by age and the elements, just fall down.  Some are removed by human hands.   Six barn photographs tonight, friends.  Four are still standing. Two are gone, including the one with lightning, plus the two red barns together.  Both of these were posted in 2024.   A version of the two red barns graces  our living room wall.  Folks have their reasons for removing these structures. With rapid development  in our areas north of Austin, these spaces are becoming quite valuable to developers.  One area family, rather than take their old barn down, has been fixing it up with new wood and a nice coat of red paint.   One barn, not posted tonight, actually succumbed to a lightning strike a few years ago.   A personal goal for years has been to document  things we are losing.   Progress isn’t always. bad, but sometimes it’s painful to see.

Late-day light falls on a thriving wheat field east of Granger.  Things just look better with the right light.  In the distance are cattle, followed by cornfields.  There’s much to see here.

From an evening wandering, this time near Thrall, Texas.   Honestly, if there was just one subject to document, it would likely be a windmill.  

This unpaved road was found years ago when wandering miles east of Taylor.   The trees created a perfect canopy over the scene.   Back then, getting out of the car for a few photographs was simple.  This version was taken in mid-March.   While still serene, it’s not uncommon  to find someone barreling along behind you.  Quiet spaces are still around, but quickly fading, the price of progress.

Rain fell throughout the day on Sunday.   We were enjoying a visit to the Georgetown Library, one of our go-to places to rest.   After a while, we stopped at Sprouts in Georgetown.  Since  the rain continued to grace us with its presence, we made a short detour to Booty’s Road Park before  returning to Taylor.  Booty’s Road Park is adorned with  wooded trails close to the North Fork of the San Gabriel River, not far from Lake Georgetown.  To be clear, mid-afternoon photographs outdoors aren’t something embraced.  The light on sunny days is dissonant, not kind to subject matter.   But when an area is embraced by a gentle rain, it transforms into elegance.  That was what we found Sunday afternoon.   Hopefully, that Great Egret found sustenance.   Rain can be destructive, but also elegant and quiet.

A leftover photograph from last night.  It’s a scene photographed a few times, beginning when we returned to Texas in 2009.   Progress has dealt us a hand in the years since then, but it’s nice to see some things look the same.   It’s been a while since a version of this was posted, but it never gets old.

Y’all know what these are, right?   No need to add a bunch of superfluous words for the week’s walk photographs.   All are in Taylor, Texas, all with the little Olympus camera and Lumix lens.

From tonight’s wandering around, clouds gather over a scene in Beyersville.

April’s Market Days was held today on the Georgetown Square.  An energetic couple were joined by their six dogs as they strolled along Main Street.  The dogs seemed quite happy!   Friends from All  Things Wild Rehabilitation were on hand with some of of their friends, including a Great Horned Owl named Aurora and a Leucistic Opossum called Magnolia.  And an uncle was happy for the company of his 7-month-old niece.  The day began slowly, but things picked up.   The pooches made the day worthwhile.

Stormy skies gathered over the rookery tonight at Taylor’s Murphy Park.   The birds are beginning to return.