As mentioned quite a few times, rivers are among my favorite bodies of water.  Unlike most lakes, rivers occur naturally.   They have  been around for thousands of years.  Droughts may affect their properties, but most stay with us.   The river where  I’ve found fascination and peace for ten years is the San Gabriel, which begins near the Texas Hill Country, meandering east/southeast until it converges with the Brazos en route to the Gulf of Mexico.    A place that I like viewing the San Gabriel is only minutes from our Taylor home, along a meandering county road.   There’s an old truss bridge  there.   The bridge has been out of use for years, replaced by a more modern conveyance, but thankfully the powers-that-be have left the old one alone.   It’s a popular destination for portrait photographers.  And a good one for that.   But I just like being on its somewhat rickety boards.   These photos made last evening include the river, plus a couple more.    The opening two images are the top picks, but as you might know, I like to explore a subject a bit more than that.

Another themeless night, friends.    After an extremely-busy few weeks, I’m settling in to some of the quiet scenes I like to see.  Included here are a favorite windmill along a still seldom-traveled county road north of Circleville, grain elevators at Blackland Co-Op Gin sharing the Granger skyline with Saints Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church, and a night image made of the Bartlett Chamber of Commerce building.  This and that. 

Something similar may have been posted in 2018, but I’m offering it again tonight.   The community of Granger, Texas has farming roots that go back generations.   One of the premier crops around there is cotton.   For the last few years the town has built a Christmas tree from cotton.  Yes, real cotton. It’s adorned with lights, of course, but the cotton is the real thing.   Throughout the year, a spooky-looking Santa peers out a second-floor window of the Granger National Bank building.   It seemed appropriate to offer him up again this year.

113019 GRANGER, TEXAS: A Santa figure in the Granger National Bank building looks out onto West Davilla Street on Saturday, November 30, 2019. Photo by Andy Sharp.

Every year since 2009 I’ve been honored to take photos at the annual live nativity at Taylor’s Immanuel Lutheran Church, their Pilgrimage to Bethlehem.   Although held at Immanuel, the undertaking is the hard work of 15 area churches this year.  These are photos taken Saturday night.   While all aspects are grand, the angels are really special.

Since returning to Texas in 2009 I’ve been fortunate to be able to attend the annual Blue Santa distribution in Georgetown, Texas.   Blue Santa is an undertaking of the Georgetown Police Department that makes it possible for families in need to have Christmas presents under the tree.   Pre-qualified families are given gift boxes each holiday season.  This year over 1650 children had a brighter holiday season thanks to this effort.  I attended today’s distribution to families at the city’s Public Safety headquarters.    A “Blue Santa” is always there to visit with kids.   Blue Santa programs are in other areas, too, but this is the one I know and love.  

Another post where the only theme is that the photos were made on the same night.   These two images were taken a few minutes apart on Thursday evening.  They’re both (of course) in East Williamson County, Texas.   The first photo are a grove of trees I pass occasionally.   I like that autumn’s passing is now giving them a chance to show off their good bones.    The last time I took photos there was Spring, easily recalled because I got too close to a fence that happened to be electrified.  Yours truly got a little zap, then moved on.   The second photo is a farm to market road east of Walburg.  It’s a road I like.  Then again, , I like many of the roads here.

These five photos were  taken on Tuesday night at Heritage Square Park in downtown Taylor.   They were, of course, the night before the actual full moon, but the lunar beauty still looked pretty.   As did the holiday lights and the flag.   The flag is always inspiring. 

Getting any photo of a full moon is a roll of the dice.   With a long-enough lens, of course, you can make a closeup, but I think it’s best to have a point of reference.   That point tonight was Christ Lutheran Church in Noack, Texas.   While I did have an idea about WHEN it would rise, knowing WHERE in the sky it would make an appearance is another issue altogether.    Luck was with me this evening as I made a few frames of this so-called Cold Moon.   My guess is the name is a nod to the coming of the Winter Solstice.   At any rate, I do love the moon.   These are three variations as dusk morphed into the blue time.  

I made the truck cresting that hill just as the sun slipped below the western horizon this evening.   In fact, the truck had been behind me, tailgating like some trucks will do when they’re in a hurry.   When coming to a t-intersection, I made the choice to go straight because my truck friend was turning left.   Then quickly I realized his moseying into the sunset wasn’t bad, worth four shutter clicks.     Then I turned around and stopped a short distance from that sundown to watch the emerging almost-full moon above an assortment of ferns.  They’re ferns, right?   Heck if I know, but I liked how they looked.   Tonight’s moon, in Waxing Gibbous phase, is right at 99% visibility.   It looked full … and nice ….. to me.

After a day of record-high temperatures in Central Texas, with a high of 83 degrees in Austin, we’re in transition mode tonight on the Blackland Prairie.   As this is written at 9p.m. temperatures are beginning to fall, serious clouds moving in as a cold front (hopefully) ushers in some cool weather.  Tuesday’s high is only supposed to be 45.   I like that quite a lot.   These are images made this evening in Beyersville and Coupland.  The grazing Texas Longhorn relaxes in Beyersville.   The other three  were taken in Coupland.   The long-dormant cotton gin was briefly featured in the 2003 movie “Secondhand Lions,” filmed in this area.   The church is St. Peter’s Church of Coupland, beautiful inside and out.   The tamales stand?   It’s adorned with style.  And clouds.   Bring on the cold weather.