Minutes before the Autumnal Equinox arrived at 8:03p.m. Central Daylight Time tonight, golden sunlight lights the windows of Noack’s Christ Lutheran Church.   Today’s high was 100 degrees.

This was yet another time when I was looking for something else, but put it on the back shelf for another day.  There’s an area near Granger Lake where deer roam freely.  They’re mostly shy, preferring to stay in wooded areas, but sometimes they’ll dart across the road.   It’s always a good idea to watch your speed when driving into Friendship Park.    The deer population in the park is protected from hunters.   During my years in metro-Atlanta,  Red Top Mountain State Park was also a protected area, but the area became so overrun with them, the state allowed a controlled hunt before they starved to death.   I have no idea how these deer are faring, but for now,  they’re in safe territory.   Except for motorists.  

Who can advise the name of this crop, noticed late yesterday afternoon outside Granger, Texas?   I have some knowledge of what’s planted here, but this colorful field really got my attention.   It seemed like a good offering on this first day of Autumn.    The colors aren’t manipulated, friends.   And that Blackland Prairie soil really stands out!

Photographing birds is enriching.   A number of friends spend copious amounts of time learning  the  nomenclature.   I just take  photos.   Others can fill us in.   For instance, that’s a hawk in the opening photo, passing near Thrall.   It’s enough to know that.   And that pair in the second photo are turkey vultures, patiently waiting for something edible.   They’re visiting Granger.   Just birds.  

Last week I posted tractor portraits.   This offering shows tractors fulfilling their intended purpose.    Another unintended theme.

So I know that’s a dragonfly in the last photo, but is that a Yellow-crowned Night Heron in the first two?   I wish my avian knowledge were better.   These are from Georgetown’s Berry Springs Park & Preserve this afternoon.

Georgetown Parks & Recreation held their K-9 Kerplunk on Saturday in the kids’ outdoor  pool at the Georgetown Recreation Center.   This is always a cool event to photograph.   Since it’s Central Texas, it’s still plenty warm for outdoor water activities.   These dogs would agree.  Saturday was a very busy day for this senior photographer! 

Near sunset tonight, east of Granger, Texas.    Shimmering prairie grass on the Blackland Prairie.

KidFish was another Saturday event I covered in Taylor.   Kids from 2-16, accompanied by parents and grandparents, made their way to Bull Branch Park for a morning of fishing around the pond.   I wish I could’ve stayed longer, but an appointment in Georgetown hurried  things along.   KidFish is sponsored by Taylor Parks & Recreation.   Some kids were proud to hold onto their catches, but the 3-year-old in the last photo was content to let someone else hold onto her catch.  Mom tossed it back in the water for her.   This was fun.

This morning I was out the door to cover the Texas Mamma Jamma Ride, a cycling event sponsored by Lone Star Circle of Care.   The event, starting and finishing at Taylor’s Heritage Square Park,  raises funds for Lone Star’s Big Pink Bus, a mobile mammography unit that travels the roads of Central Texas providing low-cost or free screenings to communities that may be underserved.   A number of the participants are breast cancer survivors, or family and friends of those who’ve dealt with the disease. Rides varied in length, from 15 to 70 miles.   Cancer survivors were given the lead starting positions for the ride.   Arriving before sunrise, I noticed a participant grabbing 40 winks before the start, nestled on a quiet hill.    A young man approached me to suggest a photo.   He put his hands together to make a heart, framing the name of his mother, who he lost to cancer in 2020.  He was riding 50 miles to honor her memory.  Tutus were a popular part of the riding attire today.   The tall fellow in a tutu got his bib adjusted by his wife, herself a cancer survivor.   And I met Debbie, riding with a group she named Debbie’s Dandelions.   She’s an 8-year cancer survivor who teaches education at Southwestern University in Georgetown.  Everyone on her team had flowers attached to their helmets.   Lots of good faces, raising money for a very worthy cause.