Throughout the Christmas season I’ve been snapping photos of displays in some towns near us, opening with the Georgetown Palace, where “Holiday Inn” and “A Tuna Christmas” will be playing through December 30, plus another of the Williamson County Courthouse, looking green and festive.   Another community included is  Holland, a small Bell County community north of Bartlett.   Plus a couple from Bartlett, another from Walburg.   The post concludes in Granger, where my friend Mike continues work on his cotton Christmas tree.  This year’s cotton crop wasn’t its best.   Mike used products made of cotton to build his tree, but did manage some actual cotton bolls to top it off.   It’s a noble effort.   And two more in Granger.   I like the one at Granger National Bank quite a lot.   The little Christmas tree in the window was a nice touch, but then a cat walked across the street, relaxing at the front door.  Some benefactor leaves dishes of food and water there for the area’s feral cats.   I hope they’re staying warm, but glad to see someone’s feeding them.

Just watching the Blackland Prairie skies the past two nights, beginning with a scene from Noack, Texas, from last night, near Christ Lutheran Church.   The other two from this evening are from near Bartlett and Granger.   Winter skies.

A leftover photo from Thursday evening’s ramblings.  

On this very chilly night, I stopped to look out my window at the Christmas light display on our lawn.  It’s odd what I notice at times.

On this second day of winter the cold weather has arrived.   As I write this our temperature in Taylor is 17 degrees,  with a low by morning around 13.   I drove around Coupland and Beyersville this evening, observing horses and cattle.    It was in the low-20s when these were taken, with a biting wind.    The horses didn’t seem to be bothered, but the cows weren’t impressed at all.  The horse with the Texas flag structure isn’t quite sharp, but I like what’s going on.   Every animal I saw appeared to have places to get out of the wind.   While I like cold weather, when you add wind, that’s not nice.

The darkening skies over Holy Trinity Catholic Church of Corn Hill  held their color for a few minutes past sunset.   The church congregation was formed in 1889 by those moving here from Moravia and Bohemia, later adding German and Irish parishioners to their number.   The church as seen today was dedicated in 1914.   It’s quite a beautiful church, with commanding views of North Williamson County, Texas.

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.