These are from daily walks this week, all taken with my “walking camera,” a little Olympus OM-D E-M5 purchased used after cataract surgery in late 2021.  The compact camera goes with me on every daily walk.   Leaves are tonight’s theme.  

“Once On This Island,” opening tonight at the Georgetown Palace,  is a musical about a peasant girl in the French Antilles who falls in love with a rich boy and makes a deal with the gods to save his life.    The original Broadway production ran from 1990 to 1991.  The West End production opened in 1994, where it won the 1995 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical.    A few photos from last night’s dress rehearsal are offered here.   There’s no way still photos can come close to see the actual show, but hopefully it encourages attendance.    The actors were excellent, especially the youngest cast member, now a fifth grader.   She’s someone we’ll probably see onstage again.   Her mom is also in the show.  And kudos to Kirk Kelso, one of the finest actors I’ve seen.    Shows are weekends through June 18th.

This small collection of rookery photos were taken Tuesday evening at Taylor’s Murphy Park.   Although another task brought me there, it’s hard to pass up good light.   A duck made it into this post.  With all the egrets and ibis currently in residence, our ducks take a back seat.   Not this time.

The Georgetown Independent School District held their Special Olympics today.   It’s an honor to cover these events, all filled with great personal moments for athletes and their families.   The gentleman with the straw hat, a middle school teacher, is the school district’s Secondary School Teacher of the Year.   I thought it nice to include him.

A cormorant grabs its evening meal at Bull Branch Park on Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

A scene passed today on a morning walk through downtown Taylor.   Seldom will you see this kind of post now, but five decades ago, in the early-1970s, this is what I saw, and recorded,  many times along East Sixth Street in Austin, Texas.    When first seeing this man, the camera remained at my side, but then I  reconsidered.   People need to see this.   Maybe you’re angry at this person, or perhaps you feel empathy.  Or somewhere in between.   Solutions weren’t simple when seeing these scenes in 1973 Austin.   Answers aren’t easy in 2023,  either, but we need less anger, more compassion.    Everyone can’t pull themselves up by their bootstraps.  

Wandering all over the Blackland Prairie is enriching,  but sometimes one can find inspiration close to home.   Orchid interpretations.

Perhaps you enjoy seeing these scenic  photographs from our area of the Blackland Prairie, but consider this.   Much of what you see is rapidly being scooped up by development.   We live just over 30 miles from Austin, one of the fastest-growing areas in the United States.   It’s been a mission to document it before it’s too late.   Four photos were taken Sunday evening.   The final one, a field of corn under a canopy of storm clouds, is from tonight.   Progress can lead to chaos.  

Pulling into my driveway tonight, after taking a few photos, I was rewarded with a show put on by lightning bugs, dots of light penetrating the darkness.   Growing up in the 50s and 60s, we used to catch them in Mason jars to get a closer look at their theatrics.   Decades later, I think it’s best to let them roam free, still  providing that sweet glow.  There’s really no need to trap them.    There was a sweet glow nearing sunset tonight on the Blackland Prairie.   Three examples are presented here.   I’d enjoy photographing those little bugs, but persevere  while chasing the light. 

After opening Thursday evening, the  community of Granger concludes its 44th Annual Lakefest today.   This picturesque town a few miles north of Taylor does a wonderful job every year.  This time, the threat of heavy rain and storms were forecast for all three days.   Thankfully, the weather predictions proved wrong for the first two days, giving visitors a chance to enjoy good food and drink, a fine midway and a good place to stroll along a traditional brick street, closed off to cars for the event.  It was just the right venue for street dancing.   The rain finally came in the early hours Saturday, causing organizers to cancel the  Saturday morning parade, plus music performances and car show.  These photos represent something from each day.  When I was there this morning, however, the carnival midway was still going strong, wet or dry.   Barbecue Cook-off participants and judges proceeded as well.   The barbecue judges were nestled inside Granger’s S.P.J.S.T. Hall, here since 1909.  Each time I mention “SPJST,” people are curious.   In Czech, it’s Slovanska Podporujici  Jednota Statu Texas.   In English, it’s Slavonic Benevolent Order of the State of Texas.  S.P.J.S.T. organized in Fayetteville, Texas in 1897.   Do some research on your own for more knowledge.