While stopping to photograph a barn in Falls County, Texas this weekend I looked over my shoulder, seeing more.   I’ve long had an affection for unpaved roads.   They’re hard on our motor vehicles, particularly when it rains, but they personify a quietude, perhaps a nod to a simpler time when we weren’t so eager to get somewhere.   To slow down, maybe even stop.    The swarm of birds flying over was icing on a rural cake.  

Since most of us see the world in color, these posts stay close to that reality, but sometimes a scene presented in black and white is preferred.   This one works that way.   The color on this vintage barn was muted.  A monotone presentation seemed right.   Regarding Texas state flags, they are well-represented throughout our state.   Mentioned before, but I can’t think of any other state that does this with such exuberance.    This one was seen this evening in a part of Bell County, Texas not often visited.

Georgetown’s annual Lighting of the Square is always inspiring.   Friday evening’s nice weather brought out quite the crowd, as it always does.  A Waxing Gibbous moon, at 94% visibility, glowed over the town square.   Arriving 90 minutes before the start, I was lucky to find a parking place just three blocks away.  People were kind to one another.  How nice that would be throughout the year.   The post concludes with a 6-month-old enjoying his first season with his daddy.   Let’s leave it there.

“A Christmas Carol the Musical” opens tonight at the Georgetown Palace, playing on the Springer Stage through December 30th.    Most of the photos will be on either Facebook or Instagram, but I wanted to represent the splendid holiday production here.

Some good hours were spent today at Georgetown’s Community Thanksgiving, held in the Georgetown Community Center at San Gabriel Park.  This annual gathering offers meals at no cost to whoever wants one.   Some come to share time with friends, others because they might not otherwise have a meal to enjoy.   Diners could be served onsite, but volunteers were also packaging to-go dinners to be delivered into area homes.   My favorite moments today led me to the couple dressed in red, both in their 90s, married for 65 years.   Because the serving line might present issues, a friend with the Georgetown Police Department stepped in, offering his help.    Once the couple reached their table, the husband, with a tenderness that spoke volumes, helped his bride cut her food to perfection.    We could all learn more kindness, whatever the day.

Since our time in this area of Central Texas, I’ve called it prairie grass.   Those much wiser have given it other names.  I’ll stick with calling it prairie grass.    There’s an abundance of it around the Blackland Prairie this month.   Perhaps it’s little more than weeds, but the way it reacts to light is soothing.

Granger, one of my favorite communities, has adorned its downtown area with holiday lights.   This Williamson County town has around 1500 people calling it home, but the spirit exhibited there is inspiring.   That moon in the first photo is Waxing Gibbous, 68.3% visibility.

Watching a sunset tonight at a friend’s ranch, just a few minutes from home.   The mesquite tree pictured is a survivor, having been through quite a few bouts of turbulence through the years.   It’s still with us.  Our Blackland Prairie skies were at their best this evening.  As was the tree.

Our horrible summer heat and drought has left its mark on Central Texas, but thankfully we’re still able to see a bit of autumn color.   These photographs were taken Saturday in Georgetown. The first couple were near the pond at Our Lady of the Rosary Cemetery and Prayer Gardens, the rest along the hiking trails at Booty’s Road Park.  During my time on the trail, I met up with a hawk, quietly intent on hunting, probably hoping the camera would move on.   After watching her for about fifteen minutes, I moved onto other subjects.    I’m still pursuing bits of autumn in Taylor, usually on those morning walks.     Our fall season, what there is of it, usually continues into early-December.  You can travel the world looking for just the right seasonal photo, but don’t neglect your own backyard.

There’s something about the time well past sundown that’s always appealed to me.  When growing up in the 1950s and 1960s in Texarkana, I always looked forward to the time when we’d  go “window shopping” in the evening.   It was nice to stroll along those streets, peering into those windows.   It wasn’t about what we’d buy there.   It was just a quiet and peaceful time.    For years I’ve been enchanted by night light.   These were taken Friday night as I strolled around downtown Taylor.   The opening photo is outside the Howard Theatre, closed for a few years.  There’s a local effort to bring it back to life.  That would be nice.   Beginning when he was 11, my father was a theater projectionist.   Other photos just latch onto the night.    Evening light is quiet.  Soothing.