Granger Independent  School District held an open house  today for their Granger Secondary School, designed for students in grades 7-12.   The new school opens to students and staff on Monday, March 2nd.  Although the building was essentially completed months ago, there were issues getting water to the site.   Now things are good to go.  The opening photograph is a night shot taken on Sunday.  Note the face of the lion looking right into the camera.   A lion is the Granger school mascot.  That face is so doggone cool. The rest of the photos are from the open house today.  This is a very local post, but worth offering here.

Windmills are posted al lot because they’re so well-loved by the photographer.    Whether they’re actually working or not is immaterial.  That they are still with us is what matters.   Don’t expect apologies for seeing them posted.  Two windmills are in this one.   If you don’t cotton to them, that’s okay.   As long as possible they will be offered here.

Cemeteries can be restful places, even for those still breathing the planet’s air.   Our Lady of the Rosary Cemetery & Prayer Gardens is such a place.   In Georgetown, it’s tucked away in a wooded area not far from a busy Texas State 29 and Toll Road 130.   When you’re there, however, the noise seems far away.   As Spring nears, the cemetery is a good place to find wildflowers.   On this recent visit last week the blooms hadn’t arrived, but they soon will..   In the meantime visitors can find peace near the pond, or walking through the woods.    Just a quiet spot away from chaos.

It’s been a while since a visit to Zion Lutheran Church in Sandoval, Texas.   These were taken there tonight.  The church is at the eastern edge of Williamson County, a few miles north of Thrall.  The church was formed in 1893 by settlers from Germany, Austria and Sweden.  The structure offered here opened in 1932.  The adjacent cemetery was here long before that, the first burial in 1897.   Most visits are exterior photos, but a  nice young man doing some  work there this evening welcomed a visit inside.   The last time in the sanctuary was a few years ago, during a warmer month when more flyswatters graced the pews.   There was just one there tonight.   The sanctuary  light is inspiring.

Driving through downtown Granger tonight, en route home to Taylor, this merited a few moments with the camera.    A farmer navigates West Davilla Street a little before 7pm.  There were no concerns about crossing the tracks.  Rest assured, farmers know train schedules here.   These two photographs are moments apart.  As growth spreads across our area, it’s becoming necessary to visually connect with what we’re seeing disappear.   When returning to Texas almost sixteen years ago,  this land and sky  inspired photographs.  Now  the photographs seem to be a way  to remember what has gone before.

For newer connections, photos are taken during daily walks.   At week’s end (so far) they’re posted here.   The photographs are done quickly with a small Olympus camera.   These are the most recent photos, all in Taylor.

Another photograph from the grocery store parking lot tonight in Taylor.   Grackles, assuming they are grackles, are powerfully fascinating birds.  Their mass wandered under a Waxing Crescent moon  around 7pm.   The moon is at 23.6% visibility.   It’s small, but bright.  Grackles could be the state bird of Texas.

Some photographic subjects are calming.   On this personal list are sunrises, sunsets, barns, windmills and fly fishermen.   Add yoga to this list.   Even if the photographs don’t say it, watching yoga participants is serene.   This morning’s subject was Yoga in the Park, held almost every Saturday morning by river in Georgetown’s  San Gabriel Park.   This free event is held by members of Flow Yoga.  Anyone and everyone are welcome to participate.   55 people came to  this morning’s hour-long session.   A mom  brought her 4-year-old, who rested quietly for the entire time.  These sessions are only cancelled because of weather.  And perhaps the  three-day music festival coming io the park in a few weeks.   That is not quiet, but yoga is.

While still early for the egret migration to the rookery at Taylor’s Murphy Park, you’ll find birds there all year long.   Tonight’s photographs are from two evening visits there this week.   Allergies, combined with lifelong sinus issues, made going five minutes from home a good fit, simply  unfolding a portable chair and watching flight patterns.   It’s a comfortable place to be.  No driving,  No annoyed motorists.   Just, cormorants and Great Egrets.  

Whenever visiting this friend’s ranch in Circleville, it’s hard to ignore the resilient little mesquite tree standing atop a hill.  Knowing the sunset would align nicely, a photo was taken.  Tonight, however, for the first time,  the cows moseyed under the tree to graze.  The post begins with a wide view of the scene, for context.  You’ll have seen something similar in earlier posts.  Cows were an additional treat.  The offering ends with a Waxing Crescent  moon, at 8.2% visibility.    This is a really cool tree.