Fishing with Grandpa tonight at Taylor’s Murphy Park.  They didn’t catch a thing, but saw a few turtles before calling it a night.  

As most know, I don’t travel very far to find things.   I was looking for a nearby field of large sunflowers, but that didn’t happen, at least not yet.   So I chose to find some smaller ones instead.   And study them a bit.   These five photos were all taken last evening, just blocks from home.  I set up my tripod, snapped on a 300mm lens, then went to work.   Of the five images, the first two are the same flower, as are the second pair.  The only thing changed was how they were lighted.   No layering, no stacking, just basic dodging and burning, except via Photoshop.   The last are a pair I liked before day turned over to night.    Small explorations.

Bartlett is one of the charming communities I occasionally enjoy photographing.  Situated in both Bell and Williamson Counties, it’s about 20 miles north of where we live and 50 miles northeast of Austin. The latest population figures say it’s a little over 1700, but that might change when the latest census figures come out.  Although settlers began moving into the area in the early-1850s, it was officially a town in 1881, when the Katy Railroad began surveying there.   It’s named for John T. Bartlett, a resident who donated much of the land.   If cars and trucks weren’t passing through, you’d think you were living in the late-1800s.  These are a few scenes in and around the town taken a few evenings back.  

I’ve honestly lost count of how many times one of my cameras has been pointed at these barns, nestled on a hill in very far Northeast Travis County, Texas.  One of those photos hangs on our living room wall.   Travis County is home to the City of Austin, but it extends almost to Taylor.   This scene is about 12 miles from our Taylor home, very much a part of the Blackland Prairie.   I was just passing through tonight, but the clouds merited a quick stop.

I wasn’t satisfied with photos made this evening to represent Flag Day in the United States, but decided to post these anyway.  They’re from Taylor’s Heritage Square Park.

Friend Diane Naivar  recently asked if I could take some photos of their pond at their farm near Norman’s Crossing.    The pond, you see, is one of the things going away as a 10-lane highway courses through the land where she and her husband Raymond have lived for 42 years.    Raymond drove me around as I made photos.  The majestic tree in the opening photo will be saved, but the new road is only feet away.  I fear the root system may be affected.   Like his father, Raymond is also a farmer.    He says they can add another pond, but this one is spring-fed.   Their pecan trees will also be taken for the road.   I understand their pain.  Members of my family had their Northeast Texas farmland scooped up to make way for a wider road.   The photos show the pond, but a little more, including Raymond’s thriving corn crop.   And a sunset.

By the time I arrived at Georgetown’s Market Days on Saturday, it was already pretty hot.  My energy level was waning a little.  But things picked up as I began to see some pretty interesting images around the square, beginning with some little friends cooling off on the courthouse steps with some shaved ice treats.  A few minutes later, a young man asked if we’d seen County  Judge  Bill Gravell.  He and his bride-to-be were getting married on the courthouse lawn, with the judge officiating.    That was really nice.  Perhaps the most unusual thing I saw came a little later, a dad and his 16-month-old son, making their way through the crowd.  Before taking any photos, I asked if he minded.  He did not. Granted, Texas is an open carry state, but is a  town square filled with children on a Saturday afternoon the right place for this?   Take a close look at the last photo, the reactions of attendees.   Since I generally shy away from delving into political discussions here, draw your own conclusions.

As you might know by now, I think about the cost of progress, particularly here on the Blackland Prairie, farm country.   When this photo, really just a snapshot,  was made a couple of days ago,  I wondered what this farmer thought about this two-lane county road being widened to six lanes?   What happens when the roadwork is done?   For decades, farmers have used these routes to get from one field to another.   I’ve always tried to pay them the courtesy they deserve.  Tractors, you know, move a bit slower.   Times change, but not all change is good.

As more people are vaccinated, a few events are returning us to a better sense of normalcy.   An event that I missed covering in 2020 was Touch A Truck.  It means just as the name implies. Families were able to get up close and personal with vehicles they might otherwise only see passing along the highway.   Held in Georgetown this morning, sponsored by RDC Paving,  there were all sorts of cool things to see, including military trucks and tanks, courtesy of Fort Hood’s 1st Cavalry Division.   There were school buses,  Sheriff’s Office S.W.A.T. trucks, fire trucks, an FBI Bearcat armored vehicle and a 95,000 pound boom truck.    The parents had as much fun as their kids.   So did this photographer.

Among the things defining Taylor, Texas are ducks.   They are our high school mascot.   Taylor native Tex Avery, born here in 1908,  helped put ducks on the map.  Born Frederick Bean Avery , he helped develop Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd.    The duck is suited to my town.    These photos were taken this week as I wandered through Taylor’s Bull Branch Park.  If you visit Taylor, you’ll see them at area parks, but they travel into our neighborhoods, too.   Ducks matter in this little Central Texas town.  Cars stop for them as they cross our roads.