Just a sunset photo taken tonight near Bartlett’s City Cemetery as winter begins.   By Thursday evening it will really feel like winter!

While in Georgetown’s San Jose neighborhood tonight for something else, I noticed lights shining nearby, people gathering in quiet contemplation.   I met a mother whose daughter had died  in a an auto accident on the interstate  one year ago today,    She was 26.   Her mother wanted to honor the child she lost.  Also there were the daughter’s two sons, ages 4 and 8.  The 4-year-old is included here.   As many prepare to travel this holiday season, remember that life can be  tenuous.  Be careful, my friends.

Hawks are wonderful subjects, but challenging subjects for this photographer.  Most of the time I see them perched on utility poles, in places where I can’t pull over and take a photo without getting  flattened by oncoming cars.  I’m always envious when seeing  photos  from people’s own back yards.  We do what we can though.   Only the first photo was taken while driving around.   All the others were made during daily walks in Taylor.

There’s a stately tree on the grounds of the Jonah School.   The school, now a community center, was built in 1922.   I’ve photographed the structure a number of times, but am always impressed with this tree, particularly when winter’s approach (on Wednesday here) allows us to see its fine bones.  This is from Sunday evening.  So I concentrate on the tree, but include a swing set to give it context.   There’s also a rudimentary merry-go-round, probably here since the school opened.  That’s  for another post though.   This is about the tree.   One wonders how many times it’s been threatened by storms?   Yet it stands.   Wintering. 

An impressive menorah shines near Grace Heritage Center in Georgetown  on the first night of Hanukkah.   The menorah was placed by Georgetown’s Messiah Echad.   Light will be added to the menorah each evening beginning at 6p.m. through December 26th.

A long thin cloud briefly engaged my attention early this morning in Taylor.   At first I thought it was something leftover from a fire, but it was really spread out.  It happened to hover over a field and farmhouses along our loop.   Less than a mile from home, I pass it  every day.   From the road it looks like two houses, with a barn in between.   Since we moved here in 2009, it’s appeared uninhabited.   A few years ago, a farmer was working the field.   I pulled in, asking if it was okay to snap a few photos.   He didn’t live there, only leasing the land for a crop.   For a while a large real estate sign sat in that field.   The sign is gone now.  With all the chip factory-related growth coming here, I wonder if this place has become even more valuable?   Next to it is Taylor’s middle school.   What does the future have in store for this beautiful piece of Blackland Prairie land?   It was beautiful when we moved here.   It still is.

A few rewarding hours were spent today at the Georgetown Police Department headquarters for their annual Blue Santa distribution.   Blue Santa, which started here in 2005, distributes gift boxes to qualified families who might not otherwise  have a happy Christmas season for their kids.   This year gift boxes were handed out to over 700 families, 2235 kids.   Due to COVID, this year’s distribution was a drive-through event.   While waiting in a long line of cars, kids were given stuffed animals and toys not part While I prefer how it used to be, I understand the need for caution.   There were a ton of good volunteers from the community on hand.  Any photos taken in a vehicle are recipients.   Others are helpers.  One of the helpers especially fun was the little guy munching on a doughnut while taking a brief rest from helping out.   His mom and dad are each commanders with the Georgetown Police Department.   He’s one neat little dude.

Autumn is winding down here.   Trees are in transition, shedding their leaves.   There’s this setting, one I’ve observed for a few years.   It’s east of Granger.  I’ll leave it at that, but like how some trees seem to stand out more than others as they evolve.  Two photos are included, each from the same area.  I’d prefer the second one if not for something personally annoying.   You figure it out.  Winter begins soon.

The holiday season can be hectic, filled with stress and traffic.   Driving along the very busy stretch of Georgetown’s University Avenue this week, the luminaries at St. John’s United Methodist Church were a pleasure to see.    The church’s roots span 140-plus years in Georgetown.   The congregation was formed by Swedish immigrants  coming to this  area.   It was first called Swedish Methodist Episcopal Brushy Church.   The their first sanctuary was built in 1882, a few miles from this site.   In 1906 St. John’s  moved to Georgetown proper.  In 1938 the church was renamed St. John’s Methodist Church, then  becoming St. John’s United Methodist Church in 1968.  The luminaries will shine all next week, along with a Live Nativity December 21-23, beginning at 6p.m. each night.    If you do nothing else, take a drive (or a walk) past this church at night.   You’ll find  it calming.

It’s been a really good autumn in Central Texas.  While I’ve taken quite a few overall scenes during recent walks, this will just be some of those tiny landscapes.   These were from daily strolls in Taylor, all made with that little Olympus I’ve used for a year.   The leaves are mostly leaving us now, but it’s been nice having them around.