In December, Rhonda Mindardi  founded  Living Grace Canine Ranch, a sanctuary for dogs,  a few miles north of Bertram, Texas.   The non-profit’s purpose is   prominent on their website: a ” charity dedicated to saving, serving and valuing the lives of displaced, un-adoptable and unwanted Texas senior canines.  Our mission of mercy celebrates all breeds, regardless of physical, emotional and medical challenges,” plus “Here, you will find rest, safety and nourishment for your weary body & spirit.”    Dogs who’ve been abused find homes here, as well as dogs given up by elderly owners faced with moving   into nursing homes.    These photos were taken Easter Sunday, when Minardi (in opening photo) and volunteers held an Easter egg hunt for their residents.   One of the dogs is Tommy, a deaf Siberian Husky. Volunteer Ally Johnson communicates with Tommy via sign language.   The day I was there, Minardi was caring for 27 dogs.  During the Easter egg hunt, dogs were getting plenty of cheese treats.  At their age, considering how many were treated before coming here,  these dogs deserve to be spoiled.  Minardi lives onsite.  Each dog has his/her own apartment.   The photos were taken for an Austin American Statesman story by Claire Osborn.    Note that this is a sanctuary, a place for these dogs to live out their lives in peace and happiness.   They are not available  for adoption.     For ways to sponsor a dog, make a donation, or volunteer, refer to their site.    Also on the site’s home page–Where Love Resides.   I like that.

A couple of barn images tonight, these from the area around Beyersville, an area not mowed down by development.   So far, anyway.   The quality of light after rainy weather  adds much to a scene.

Clouds were ominous-looking Saturday afternoon near the end of the Williamson Museum’s Pioneer Days, held at the Old Settlers Association in Round Rock.  Heavy rains followed.   A leftover image.   A leftover image.

Thinking about what to post today, these miniature horses, a mama and her colt, the baby born April 14th, seemed like a good fit.   A big horse race happened today in Kentucky.   These little ones probably won’t ever  be competitors there, but so what?  They’re just cute.  “Cute” is a word I don’t like very much regarding my photos, but it seems to apply here.  Mom’s name is Brownie.  A name awaits the little one.  They are residents at the Old Settlers Association in Round Rock, where I took photos of the Williamson Museum’s Pioneer Days today.

I think of flowers as tiny landscapes.   Don’t misunderstand.   I find pleasure in expansive scenes quite a lot, but at this time of the year in Texas, flowers are very much a part of our lives.   These photos are all taken within the city limits of my town, Taylor.   The first photo was taken well past sunset along Bill Pickett Trail.  The color is subtle.   The other images were taken in Liberty Gardens, at the entrance to Murphy Park (home to the rookery).    Just some little landscapes, friends.

Some recent photos taken not far from Granger this week.   The first photo is an expansive field of wheat.  The  others are self-explanatory.

On the way home last night, I took a side road where I’d seen Texas Longhorns several years ago.  Chances weren’t good they’d be there.   But they were.   The first two photos were taken with 50mm lens, one we used to call a “normal lens.”   I hadn’t had a good one in decades, but purchased a new one a few months ago.  It’s sometimes a good way to see.   Back to the basics.

Most know of my ongoing efforts to document the land being gobbled up by development and roads on the Blackland Prairie.  Since we returned to Texas in 2009, I’ve watched as subdivisions replace farmland, roads being  widened to accommodate even more growth.  Last week, friend Diane Naivar and her husband Raymond, made a request.  Could I take photos around their place before a 10- lane road slices through 58 acres they’ve farmed for 42 years?   Their home is just north of Norman’s Crossing, an area between Taylor and Hutto.   Their home, at least so far, is safe.  Their neighbor’s house, however,  will have to go.  Raymond’s raising his corn crop right now.  Their three horses, including Domino, pictured in the opening photo, will have to move away from the widening road.  Work, they tell me, is expected to begin this summer.  One image shows a stake with an orange flag, marking how far the new road will cut into their land. For almost 30 years, I watched as development and so-called progress decimated much of metro Atlanta.    Now it’s happening here.    Wider roads mean more development, more people moving in.  I understand that people have to live somewhere, but at what cost to longtime residents?    Where does it stop?

Tonight’s full moon visibility lasted 3-4 minutes before clouds covered it up.  We get a lot of clouds on the prairie.   For the brief moments it was visible, one thing I know: it was not pink.   Yet it’s called a Pink Moon.   This image was made with a 50mm lens.  Back in the day, that was considered “normal.”  

Tonight’s Waxing Gibbous moon is 98% visibility, almost full.    My view this evening was in Noack, Texas, at Christ Lutheran Church.   The German congregation formed in the 1880s.  The first church was built on this site in 1902.   The current church was dedicated in 1916.  Until 1922 services were conducted only in German.    It’s a regal old church, weathering all that comes its way.