A full moon shines tonight above Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Wuthrich Hill.   A lunar eclipse is also coming this evening.  I don’t know if I’ll be up for that.   We shall see.

A few years ago, I recall seeing trees at 8th and Main in Georgetown adorned with nesting Green Herons, the smaller cousins of Great Blue Herons.   While on the town square today, I looked up into those trees and saw a couple looking down my way, building nests.  Another hint that they’re back?   Poop on the benches below.   They’re really adorable little birds.  I think of them as water birds, but in downtown Georgetown, there’s only puddles.  Maybe they visit the San Gabriel River, a few blocks north of town?

I’m pretty sure I’ve been on this North Williamson County road, but it’s been quite a while.   These three photos were taken very close to one another.   On my rural posts in the spring, you’ll likely see a good bit of crop growth.  Cornfields are everywhere you look.   And a few wheat fields, too.  Seeing the state flag is always a plus!  

Back to Bartlett for tonight’s post.   If you’ve followed my work for a while, you know that I mostly limit  my rambling to places nearby.   Bartlett, a community about 20 minutes north of Taylor, fits that criteria. The latest population figures say it’s a bit under 1800.  It’s also supposed to be the 644th largest city in the state, the 8057th largest city in the United States.  Despite its size, it’s not easy to get a photo of downtown without getting cars on either side of the road.   I’ve noticed quite a few residents get around town via bicycles.  The lady is Edith, sweeping the sidewalk in what was once the German restaurant she operated with her husband.   It’s closed now, but Edith keeps the area looking good.   It’s a pleasant little town, with cobblestone streets intact.

Just a couple tree photos tonight, each taken on recent cloudy evenings.   As with many images, these aren’t far from Granger, Texas.   I’m amazed development hasn’t begun to impact this area much, but no doubt it will come.   Taylor will tap out, people will seek serenity in other places.  

A few evenings back, taking photos after a period of stormy skies, I stopped to take some shots of sunset near a wheat field south of Granger.  As I finished my visual wandering, I met Steve, a Granger-area farmer.  “That’s our wheat,” he mentioned.   There wasn’t much traffic, giving us time to visit a few minutes.   Steve mentioned recent tornados that blew through this area.   His parents’ home sustained severe damage.   Their barn was destroyed.   His father is in his 90s, mother in her 80s.   They’re okay, but not living in their house right now.   The photos of Steve make this post a better one.   The last photo, when the early-evening sky really stood out, shows Steve’s family crops, corn on the left, wheat at right.   Scenes from farm country on the Blackland Prairie.

I had seen this a couple times.   On the way back home last evening, the same scene.   A Model T?  Model A?   Something old, but on its way to new life.   A good project for someone.   Night work.

Taylor’s Blackland Prairie Days is the other festival I photographed this weekend.    Watching performances by  members of Guzman Ballet Folklorico  made this coverage a pleasure.   After spending a couple days taking photos in Granger, however, I wished the Taylor organizers would consider some other attractions.   Granger’s Lakefest parade is wonderful.   It gives visitors a real feel for the area and its residents.   The carnival rides there are great, too.   Granted, I don’t know a thing about added costs associated with parades, but they’re a lot of fun.  Anyway, a few photos from Taylor, including two Cub Scouts overseeing a booth offering refreshments.     The dapper lady in red?   She was at Lakefest, too.   She gets around!  

The community of Granger held its 43rd Lakefest Festival  this weekend.   It’s actually a three-day event that began Thursday evening.   For these photos I stopped by Friday night for their street dance and to get shots of their carnival midway.  This morning I returned to document their parade, car show and little of the barbecue cook-off.  Saturday’s photos mainly concentrate on the parade.   I like the story about that orange 1941  Allis-Chalmbers tractor.   The young man navigating it was pulling a trailer.  The passengers were both his great-grandmother (she owns the tractor) and his grandmother.   I like their flag.   This is a community filled with Czech culture.   I like the little guy wearing the “Fort Worth” t-shirt.   He was having a fine time, and not afraid to let folks know.   The post concludes with a second photo of him as he eyes his two lollipops.   This is a great community event, the essence of small-town America. 

For a few weeks this spring, I was concerned the egrets who’ve come to the rookery at  Taylor’s Murphy Park for years were a no-show.   The few who showed up set up nests in nearby trees, but left the island to a few cormorants.  And then they arrived, filling the skies with aerial ballets.   They’re back.    The cormorants, year-round residents, are still here, as are some long-billed birds, Ibis.   When not up to wandering around the countryside for my photographic fix, Murphy Park is the place I go.   Only a mile from our house, it’s a place to watch, relax, and sometimes take a photo.   Some businesses near the rookery have had concerns with the birds nesting in their trees.   I understand their concerns.  Hopefully, we can  coexist.