Berry Springs Park & Preserve in Georgetown is easily my favorite park in that area.   The city parks are great, but Berry Springs, a county park, is a place you can wander and not worry about having enough personal space.   These photos were taken on a pleasant evening this week, beginning with a dad and son, the little guy filled with joy.   If you hike around enough, you’re likely to find some of the park’s deer population, but when humans get near, they put it in high gear.  Bluebonnets were the main  reason I visited Berry Springs so are included in this post.   They’re still sprouting, but it was good to see our Texas state flower.  

Each year since coming back to Texas (2009) I’ve looked forward to the return of egrets returning to Murphy Park to nest and bring new family members into the world.   We call it the rookery, an island in the middle of the park’s lake.   They’re returning this year, but the island’s vegetation appears to have been trimmed, making nesting a harder task.   The egrets are still coming, but moving into nearby trees.   The island remains a good place for our resident cormorants.  This time around we’ve been lucky to also have a few Ibis in our midst.   For now, the island is a cozy place for the cormorants.   We’ll see what develops.

Just some scenes from Southeastern Williamson County, Texas tonight.   The calf stayed very close to its mama.   I’m pretty sure it’s a newborn.   The sunset image is a couple miles away from the others. but in the same neighborhood!

The sun juxtaposed nicely with St. Peter’s Church of Coupland last evening.   Coupland is a community of about 300 in South Williamson County.   I never grow tired of seeing it.

The daylight hours are getting longer, but when I stay outside long enough, the night light still shines.   Barns (and cows) near Noack, Texas, a few miles east of Taylor.

Another day where I was able to get out the door at the start of a day.   I wasn’t really seeing much at first.  Then the San Gabriel River reached out to my camera a little after sunrise.   These are in Georgetown.  Morning mist, morning light.   And a woodpecker.  Look closely at the second image.

Considering that I don’t wander too far in pursuit of photos, it’s nice to discover roads not taken.   That happened this week, finding new places to explore with a camera.  Places where I could stop the car, take a few photos and not worry about getting run over.   Photos presented here are along three county roads north of Granger, east of Bartlett.   One of those roads has been driven a few times, but the other two have not.   Each road (so far) has remained pristine.   Lots of cattle, a few miles of unpaved road.   If I ever venture into the wilder world, that would be cool.   For now, this Blackland Prairie inspires just enough.

Grazing atop a hill tonight in Southeast Williamson County, Texas.    I’ll leave it at that.

Princess is a wonderful Texas Longhorn.   When inspiration is called for, I visit this beautiful cow and Joyce,  her owner,  at their ranch a little south of Bartlett.   Princess, however, often presents a visual challenge.   She’s like the photographer, a little anti-social.   I get that.  She’s usually surrounded by her friends, including some donkeys and a few other cows.  When visiting late last week, those friends begged for attention, as in the last photo.   But I finally got a few shots before the light faded away.    Daylight Saving Time was useful this time.

Turbulent weather this evening in Williamson County, Texas.   I wandered out a little before 6:30, just as a tornado passed over Taylor, moving east/northeast.   After a few minutes, things settled down, leaving some peacefu Blackland Prairie l skies.   As this is written, more stormy weather could come.