A continuation of summer grasses in our area.   You might balk, but summer arrived here in April.   There are few things I like about Texas summers, but these grasses just glisten.   Deer like them, too.

Taken this evening, not far from home.  It’s at 99.9% visibility, as close to a full moon as you’re apt to see.   On Wednesday, they call it a Strawberry Moon.   It’s already here on the Blackland Prairie.

Tonight’s Waxing Gibbous Moon is at 98.5% visibility.   Storms are predicted for much of our week in Central Texas, a good reason to post the moon while it’s actually visible.   We need the rain, but hopefully without the turbulence.

Before taking photos of participants in Hutto’s Catfish Derby on Saturday, I met this interesting (and curious) friend.   A Google application identifies her as a Great-tailed Grackle.   Is that right?   Please weigh in.   She was quite a nice bird, whatever we call her.

For newer followers, my weekday mornings are usually time for long slow walks, mostly in Taylor.   A camera, an Olympus OM-D E-M10, equipped with a 45-150mm Lumix lens, is my regular companion.   In the micro 4/3 world, the lens is equivalent to 90-300mm.   This camera, actually older technology, weighs about as much as your smartypants phone.   Nikon continues to be the main camera, but it’s hard to beat the Olympus featherweight.   This collection, way too many, are from this week’s Taylor strolls.

Cotton crops are beginning to  appear in our area.  This field near Jonah is promising if persistent drought can find a way to be kind.

Two ponds at a city park in Hutto were filled with 2,000  catfish for the community’s annual Catfish Derby.   It wasn’t a kids’ fishing tournament, but kids are usually the best photo subjects at these happenings.  You could keep the fish you caught, or practice catch and release.   The young man holding a fish in the first photo was a catch and release guy.   Everyone seemed to have fun, even the man wading into the water to untangle his line.   I’m glad a nearby snake veered away!

Three  photographs  from this week taken on our area of the Blackland Prairie in Central Texas.   The opening photograph, while subtle, might be a favorite.  

Just a series of quick grab shots taken out in the countryside last evening.   Normally, I see Whistling Ducks in our Taylor or Georgetown parks, but sometimes they venture out.   This pair seemed inspired by avian friends flying overhead, taking their own leap into the air.   They seemed to be saying “I can do that!”   Good for them.

Sunflowers are one of the few things I like about the hot months in Central Texas.   I call them happy flowers.   While the larger ones actually  grown by folks are nice, I’m referring here to the wild ones that adorn the countryside.   These little flowers grow in abundance.