It’s one of the few roads in my area where traffic is minimal, with some nice rolling hills.   Driving on it a few evenings back, I noticed a pair of bicyclists  who obviously knew it was  good path, too.    After passing them, I pulled off to the side, letting each know I was taking a photograph.   They were in their element,  not worried about the camera’s presence.   This was near day’s end.   My sense is they were close to home, but cresting that hill had to be inspiring. Each cyclist was equipped with lights, helmets and reflective vests.  There’s some lovely places to enjoy the outdoors here.

The photos for this post  reside comfortably on Facebook and Instagram, but here’s one from Berry Springs Park and Preserve taken this week.

This was taken about six weeks ago, but at first I  wasn’t enamored with it.   It’s growing on me though.   It’s hard to go wrong with horses.

Several years ago I posted a similar view of the train yard in downtown Taylor.    The scene is sometimes enhanced by an approaching sunset.   Since the last offering from there the setting has become more populated with signs of growth, but it’s still a view worth documenting.   This one’s from a few evenings ago.

The skies over Granger Lake were enriching near sunset on Saturday.    Just a few quick snaps.

The virus has curtailed the number of photographs taken during daily walks, but we do what we can.   All were taken in Taylor.  

At this time of year we expect the egrets and ibis who’ve come to Taylor’s rookery to move on.   Friday night I stopped by, pulling  up my fold-out chair and observed for a  while.  A Waxing Crescent moon, at 23.7 % visibility, glowed overhead, but it  was clear the nesting birds have mostly moved on.    Each year a few egrets decide to stay.  And cormorants live here  year-round.    Cattle egrets, of course, are always nearby, usually picking bugs off the backs of cattle in area pastures.    One of my favorite birds, however, Great Blue Herons, always seem to be nearby.   You won’t see them on the island, but they’re  not far away.   So they’re included here.   Great Blue Herons are stunning.  And quite prehistoric.

A farmer navigates a hill near Granger, Texas this week.   Tractors move slowly.  Be kind to farmers.  

This is a scene photographed a few years ago, a little metal barn tucked away in a valley, surrounded by the Blackland Prairie.   Driving into the countryside well north of Taylor this week,  a photograph  once again was made.  You really can’t get a sense of the site unless you pull off the road and traverse a patch of grass.    If you’re interested, my last doctor visit this week provided a negative Covid result.    I still have an awful cough, but my doctor prescribed a dandy  elixir for that.    Now if I can just get some strength back.   A lot of you have had Covid.   Don’t mess with this stuff.   Take it seriously.

Tonight’s Waxing Crescent moon, at 9.5 % visibility, peeks through a cloud cover over Taylor’s Murphy Park tonight.