From today’s Memorial Day observance in Sun City, Texas.   Rain possibility moved this year’s ceremony indoors, over 600 attendees filling the space.  For decades I’ve covered Memorial Day ceremonies, with usually just a cursory snap or two of keynote speakers.  Most of the ones documented seemed to be reading from a script, or felt a need to delve into politics.  Not this time.   It’s why this post begins with three photographs of the speaker, retired Army Major Jay Lardizabal, a former Green Beret and Special Forces member.   He began his speech by letting the audience know it wouldn’t be the usual talk.   Soon enough, his emotional side appeared as he remembered fellow soldiers and friends who didn’t make it home.   It was stirring and heartfelt.    Y’all know this, right?   Memorial Day is about more than the beginning of summer.   Major Lardizabal knows this.   The rest of the photos are just general coverage, including a couple of World War II veterans, scouts handing out red poppies, helping with Posting of the Colors.   The last one is a Daisy Scout, 5-years-old.   The morning rain had stopped.  She visited the Veterans Memorial Plaza, finally finding a commemorative brick honoring her great-grandfather, a Naval aviator in 1960s Vietnam.   That’s it, friends.   Remember what the day means.

Another assortment of photographs from this week’s strolls.  One day’s walk was actually near Georgetown, but the rest are in Taylor.    As usual, photos were taken with an inexpensive Olympus camera, purchased used.  So far, I’ve not seen a smartphone that comes close.

Another set of commencement photographs, these from the East View High School graduation, held at the Georgetown ISD Athletic Complex.   489 seniors received their diplomas last night.  This academic year East View has a slightly larger graduating class than its counterpart, Georgetown High.   The area continues to grow.   A new high school is coming here soon.   Commencement photographs mostly speak for themselves.   Note that Georgetown High’s commencement is tonight at 8pm, but I’m sitting that one out to rest up for Memorial Day work on Monday.  If you go tonight, be patient with traffic.   Last night it took me 40 minutes just to get out of the parking lot after the ceremony.   Having lived in metro-Atlanta traffic for almost three decades, I shy away from that chaos when possible.

Thursday evening I attended the commencement for Georgetown’s Richarte High School, one of three high schools in the Georgetown Independent School District.   Documenting Richarte has been a pleasure these past few years.   Serving grades 10-12, Richarte is an academic, alternative school of choice.   As mentioned in previous posts, it is not a disciplinary campus.   Students must apply for admission there.  Compared to the other two schools, Richarte is small.    Last night 77 of the school’s 102 seniors crossed the stage to receive their diplomas.   Others will complete necessary work to graduate this summer.   The opening two photographs are Richarte’s Valedictorian and Salutatorian.   Normally, I don’t care for photos of people staring into the lens, but the young lady’s smile was radiant.  At the end of the ceremony a reception was held nearby.  Some of the students traded in their mortarboards for cowboy hats.   It’s Texas, friends.

A few minutes in Noack, Texas, focusing on Christ Lutheran Church.   In the mid-1880s, the community of Noack was called Hochkirk, a Wendish settlement.   The first Christ Lutheran Church structure was built in 1891, on three acres of land,  at a cost of $200.  In 1902, Hochkirk was renamed Noack, after Postmaster John Ernest Noack.    The current structure, still in use, was built in 1916.  For years services were conducted in German, adding some English in 1922.  By the 1940s services were in English.  Noack is a picturesque community a few miles southeast of Taylor.   I enjoy my drives through there.

Years ago, after absorbing serious amounts of wheat dust, I determined that photographing wheat harvests were not a good thing.  Back then, riding in a combine with a farmer, I mentioned how nice the light looked on that field, suggesting better photos would be made outside the combine.   The farmer’s reply was “Are you sure you want to do that?”   But into the field I ventured, surrounded by massive amounts of wheat dust.   The photographs were nice, but my sinuses and eyes paid the price for several weeks.   Fast forward to this week, when I received a text from farmer Aaron Martinka, “Harvesting wheat near Weir.”   So to the field I returned last night, but being much more careful this time.   Sinus issues from birth are hard to forget.  Photographs were taken Tuesday evening, north of Jonah, east of Weir.   My thanks to Aaron for that text.   He’s harvesting 700 acres of wheat this year.   Wheat is truly elegant.

When asked to photograph a Senior Walk in Jarrell, I said okay, but had no idea what it entailed.   Photographs at schools have been part of my toolkit for fifty-plus years.   This was today Igo Elementary School.  Upon arrival, I learned from the staff what would happen.   Near the end of every school year, graduating seniors from Jarrell High School don their caps and gowns, hop in a yellow school bus and visit kindergartners at each of the town’s three elementary schools.  What makes it even sweeter is the kindergartners are also wearing their caps and gowns!  240 seniors joined about 100 little folks this morning.   It was delightful.   And I’ve added another event to the toolkit.

While no fan of the incoming hot weather, I do find our area’s prairie grasses pretty nice.  Occasionally those grasses will be joined by wildflowers.  These are from Sunday evening, right here in Taylor, Texas.

The daily walk photographs continue.   For newer connections, I take pretty long walks Monday through Friday, mostly in Taylor, but always with a camera.  So far, the stroll camera is a very inexpensive Olympus.   On almost every walk I encounter curious squirrels.   Sometimes they make it into these posts.  On average, I take from 200-500 photos on each walk.   That’s a lot of photos by week’s end.  Tonight’s offering includes fifteen photographs.   It’s really too many, but  it is what it is.

Saturday morning began with placement of American flags at Georgetown’s IOOF Cemetery, located on East 7th Street, near Southwestern University.   The cemetery was established in 1878.   The placement was overseen by VFW Post 8587, with help from a veterans and scouting groups.  Flags will remain there until the end of May.   The goal was to place flags on graves of veterans.   Most of the volunteers I followed had difficulty determining who were veterans.   I wish this could be remedied.  My father, a World War II (Army) veteran, has a gravestone that lets the viewer know about his service.   Have those markers gone by the wayside?   Daddy died in 1971.  Back then, veterans’ graves were clearly marked.