Quite a few families gathered at the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office headquarters in Georgetown for Saturday’s 2nd Annual “Wilco Gives Back to School” event.  Students from 4 through high school age were given free backpacks, plus other school supplies to fill them up.   Every kid got a gift certificate for a free haircut.  The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, in partnership with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Citizen’s Academy Alumni Association hosted the gathering.   Other contributors included Target, Sport Clips, Toyota of Cedar Park, Dale’s Essenhaus and CK & R Cabinets.  One mom was joined by Marshmallow, a very gentle Ball Python.   Sheriff Lindemann couldn’t resist a photo with them!   School begins August 19th in Georgetown.   In Georgia, where we lived for almost three decades, some schools are already in session.   Some of us remember when we started right after Labor Day.  

Sunflowers have been photographed  since May, but not posted.    We’re talking about the ones that grow wild in fields, not the larger ornamental ones.   None have been posted since farmers find their presence invasive.  While  the farmers are right, it doesn’t mean that sunflowers aren’t elegant.   Since it’s National Sunflower Day. a batch of ones taken over the last few months.

Purple Martins, thousands of them, have found a temporary home in Round Rock before moseying onto the South America, where they will spend the winter.   Each night, these hardy little birds fly above the Greenlawn Crossing Shopping Center before settiling in for the night.   Travis Audubon members are hosting free watch parties here tonight, followed by two more gatherings on August 7th and 8th, beginning at 8pm.  These birds are nifty, but the migratory birds at Taylor’s rookery are still the best for this photographer.  It’s still neat to watch these Purple Martins.

Another post from a recent weekend drive.   Offered here are photographs from the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin St. Mary’s Catholic Church in High Hill, Texas, one of the Painted Churches  in Texas.   The church, opened in 1906, is  in Fayette County, just a few miles north of Schulenburg.   It’s one of the Painted Churches documented for Texas Highways magazine about a dozen years ago.  The sanctuary is remarkable.  

These were taken at Berry Springs Park & Preserve just before last week’s cowboy wedding there.   Each critter and flowering plant is identified with the Google search feature on most everyone’s phone, but a friend, a Master Naturalist, can identify almost every plant and small animal out there without having to do that.  Things aren’t identified here.  You’re welcome to guess.  This was mostly an excuse to use a 105mm Nikon Z lens that’s remarkably sharp.

Late-July sunsets, friends. Two are from Wednesday evening, the windmill from tonight.   All from East Williamson County, close to Granger.   Let’s leave it at that.

There’s no adequate way to visually describe the  mass of avian life that arrives each Spring at Taylor’s Murphy Park, but we try.   These photographs are from  two recent outings.   When moving here in Summer 2009, the visual radar soon gravitated toward this site.   Granted, there are too many posts from here, but there could be more.   The impetus for tonight’s offering was prompted by a friend’s visit here this week.   The friend was captivated.   On one of these outings another first-time visitor was also enthralled.   If you plan to visit the site and want to see hundreds of migratory birds gathered, it’s best to be here in the time nearing sunset.   They’re around during the day, but at night they’re abundant.  

Photographs from tonight’s Full Moon, as seen from the Blackland Prairie.  Farm country. friends.

One from tonight at the rookery in Taylor’s Murphy Park.   The Waxing Gibbous moon was at almost 98% visibility.  Other photographs have been made here recently, but tonight, just this one.

A Waxing Gibbous moon, at nearly 93%, rises over Saint Peter’s Church of Coupland on Sunday evening.   Coupland is a beautiful community minutes south of Taylor.