Driving through Georgetown’s San Gabriel Park this morning it was a nice surprise to find members of The Stellar  Kingdom of Ansteorra  conducting their Bryn Gwlad Candlemas at the Community Center.   Ansteorra is the Austin chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism, recreating life prior to the -17th Century. The costumes and activities were wonderful to see.   The Cut and Thrust sword play was fascinating.    Many participants made their own costumes.   The musicians were adept at playing several instruments whose origins are centuries old.  There’s no adequate way to convey the event, but let’s offer a few photographs anyway.

Georgetown’s Berry Springs Park & Preserve is a go-to space for photographers, this one included.   When moving back to Texas in 2009, discovering the abundant pecan trees was a definite plus.  These days, it’s just nice to tote a couple of cameras and walk around the park, hoping to see deer, owls or a hawk.  Nearing day’s end Thursday, a Great Blue Heron found the space  in a tree to her liking.   Nearby, however, was a little bit of community journalism taking place, a dad his daughter enjoying their time together in a quiet cove near the  pond.   They were practicing catch and release, the young lady doing a good job of returning the fish to their habitat.   We all decided to go since the light was fading quickly.    Dad and daughter, holding hands, heading for home.   As did the photographer.   Just stuff, friends.

Mager Cemetery in Beyersville is a place often visited.  In Southeast Williamson County, area has so far retained its rural charm.  For this outing the cemetery turned out to be secondary to a herd of curious cows.   They were good company.

Photos from Tuesday night taken at Taylor’s Bull Branch Park. A handy tripod allowed for some interesting evening photos, enhanced by warm street lights throughout the park, plus nearby baseball fields adding to the mix.   The last photo in this set is a 13-second exposure at f/5.6, an ISO setting of 200.  Tripods don’t solve every issue, but they do come in handy.  Just an old guy moseying around the dark, friends.

A few photographs taken on dirt roads in our area.   When living in metro-Atlanta, the search for them was difficult.   A metropolitan area doesn’t seem to cotton to unpaved roads.   In this area of Central Texas finding these paths is simpler.  They’re to be avoided if your vehicle has just been washed, but they’re still nice to see.

A  friend’s pasture is adorned with donkeys and cattle.   One of the cows is a Texas Longhorn.  True to form, the longhorn was camera-shy tonight.  The donkeys, however, relished the attention.   So it’s just some fine-looking donkeys this evening.   They merit the camera’s attention.

While doing other photographs Saturday and today, taking the time to document our moon was a worthwhile endeavor.   The first three photos were taken this evening.  Included  is a nice country road with the just-rising full moon hovering  above. followed by the cemetery at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Wuthrich Hill, plus a full night photo of Taylor’s First United Methodist Church.   The barn photo was early this morning, when the full moon was getting ready to set, just after 7a.m.   The last two were taken Saturday evening when the moon was not quite full, but almost.  The tree is in Jonah.  The cormorant, of course, is at Taylor’s Murphy Park.   Probably too much stuff, but the moon is a fascinating subject, always has been!

It’s not been a stellar week for walks in Taylor.  The area was coated with ice (not snow) for much of the week.   Footing was tricky.   After a fall on Monday, it was time to mosey on home.   Ice is nasty stuff.   Don’t make it sound pretty.

A new month begins.  The sun rises over Taylor at 7:24am.   It’s not something usually offered, but the shaft of light underneath was intriguing.   It was sunny, but cold, a temperature in the low-20s.

While initially focused on something else tonight, this goose making her way across the lake at Taylor’s Murphy Park merited a few moments.   The light was the impetus.   It usually is.