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. 

Chalk Ridge Falls Park is a good place to spend some time.  And there’s no entrance fee.  Located near the Lampasas River and Lake Belton in Bell County, it has a sweet waterfall.   The trail system leading to the falls is pretty, but the footing  was sometimes  tricky, thanks in part to an abundance of recent rain.  There’s a suspension bridge, too.  Be sure to hold onto the cables when crossing.  I was toting two cameras, three lenses and a tripod.  If I can make it, anyone can!  There’s only one place to get a straight-on shot of the waterfall.  That involved walking along a very narrow trail.  I’m pretty sure I heard a rattler nearby. We avoid each other.  Once at the destination,  I found a family who welcomed the intrusion.  A  dog named Cane figured out the rushing water.  His human was there to help him along.   Note that there’s movement in all the waterfall photos.  I could’ve used a faster shutter speed with Cane, but decided to stick with the original plan.  Almost back to the car, I happened on a curious little deer, probably not much bigger than our dog.  Bambi.   From my home in Taylor, it only took about 45 minutes to get there.  From Georgetown, probably 30 minutes.  From Austin, an hour.   It’s along F.M. 1670.  

Each year the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission awards 18 Carnegie medals to civilians who’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty.  One of this year’s recipients is Williamson County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jonathan A. Hudash, who was presented the medal this morning in Hutto.  I was there for the Austin American-Statesman.  Family members, including Hudash’s parents and grandmother, traveled from Irvine, California for the event.  His immediate family was here, too, including 2-year-old Grayson, shown holding onto daddy in the opening photo.  Grayson’s also holding onto daddy’s award in two photos.  Also on hand was Hudash’s wife, Lexi, and their 5-year-old son, Carter.  The award was presented by Congressman John Carter.  On April 15. 2020, Hudash responded to a serious vehicle accident in Round Rock.  A 22-year-old man was trapped in a burning van.  Despite intense heat and flames, the deputy was able to free the man from the vehicle, but he later died from his injuries.  Hudash sustained burns on his hands.   The last photo shows Carter having a good time with his grandpa, Ray Hudash, Jonathan’s dad.   It was a good event to cover for

No windmills with these two photos, friends.   I just like the skies as they are, but with a little bit of corn below each one.  The opening photo is west of Granger.  The second photo was taken last evening in Bell County, not far from Holland.

Even though Elgin is only about 20 minutes south of Taylor, it’s been years since I’ve taken any photos there.  Last evening, I drove down Texas 95 to visit the town’s historic district for a few minutes.   The latest population figures, from 2019, place it around 10,000.   If all you do is drive through there on the busy Highway 290, you’ll miss out.   In 1871, the Houston Texas and Central Railroad called the community Glasscock, named for George Washington Glasscock, an early settler who later moved to Georgetown.  In 1872, the community was renamed for railroad land commissioner Robert Morris Elgin.  By 1879, with a population approaching 400, it had a newspaper, churches, a cotton gin and gristmill.  The town is mostly in Bastrop County, a few miles east of Austin.   These are just impressions, nothing more.   Can you find the faces in the last two photos?  They’re subtle.   The last image was made on the way out of town.

it’s a night where I need windmill therapy.   These are from the last two evenings.    Like them or not.

Expect stormy weather photos for a while.  I’ve never seen so many days in a row like what we’ve experienced in May and June in Central Texas.  Granted, I like weather images, but at some point we’ll have to move on.    For now, it’s storms.  And a calf next to mama at the end. 

Earlier this week, I stopped by Taylor’s Bull Branch Park on an evening when the constant rain slowed down.    With tripod in hand, my goal was to take photos of the fast-moving creek.   I did that, but a visitor hunting for a meal appeared, seemingly unbothered by my presence.  The longest lens I had was a 70-200mm.   If you know focal lengths, you might surmise she was pretty close.   So I watched her for a while.   I’ve photographed Great Blue Herons for years, but seldom come away with  a shot of them actually catching a fish.  Luck was with me this time.  She was so focused on task, I was able to shoot a couple of these at very slow shutter speeds.  The tripod was handy.   One image was just over a second, with no bird movement.  The last photo is a five-second exposure.   You can see her head move a little, but I like the scene.  So there.