Photographer David Valdez, the first President Bush’s personal photographer, and the Williamson Museum joined together on Saturday for Georgetown’s first-ever photography festival.   The first part of the day was pretty chilly, but I’m guessing somewhere around a hundred photographers and photo enthusiasts showed up with their cameras and their smart phones.   Several photographers displayed their work for participants, but the day was about attendees snapping photos, which they did with gusto.   Coinciding with the festival was Pistons on the Square Car Show, giving photographers some grand subject matter.   As yours truly is a photographer, even though covering the day for the Williamson County Sun, I made a few photos of the lovely town square before the sun’s first light filled the day.  Those are included here, too.

Spring begins next week.  Looking around my Blackland Prairie this week, I’d say it’s arrived.  Not officially, of course, but it’s close.    Tonight’s post is just another collection of things seen on Wednesday and Thursday evening.  The opening photo, as well as the last image, are the same windmill photographed on the same night, but with different points of view.   Most times I just wander.  Or ramble.   It’s what I do.  My therapy.

This will coincide with my social media post I call old junk Thursday.   These are three photos all taken in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana.  The first image is the most recent, made in January 1980.  With all the grousing about my profession in recent years, I still like thinking about this old gentleman relaxing with his newspaper inside the lobby of the Creswell Hotel.   My guess is both he, and the hotel, are no longer with us.   The other two were both made on the same day, September 10, 1975, a time of year when it was still dang hot in northwest Louisiana.  In the second photo, a gentleman hangs his head out the window of the Medical Arts Building, hoping for a little breeze.  Note the price of parking at the bottom of the image.   The last photo was taken as a city bus ambled by, his window rolled back to get a bit of breeze, such as it was.   It’s a subtle photo, but nice to happen onto something not seen that first time in 1975.

This one’s a few days old, but I wanted to share with you my favorite image from last Saturday’s Market Days, held in downtown Georgetown, Texas.   This little guy with long curly hair and a mighty fine umbrella, was at the peak of joy.   Market Days will continue on the second Saturday of each month through November.

Passing my some friends’ house last week, I noticed some new Texas Longhorn family members wandering in their field.   I stopped by for a few minutes to introduce myself and welcome them to the neighborhood.   One of those bovine parents, however, was very protective.  I do get that.  I do love these cows!

After chatting with a friend last weekend, I noticed this couple enjoying their Sunday afternoon through city parks  in Taylor  She was riding Mabel, a 12-year-old mule, he was astride Chaca, a little younger, but just as beautiful.   I followed them for a while.  To my surprise, they stopped for a minute, then stood atop their friends for a brief time.   Mabel and Chaca seemed to be loving the day as much as their human friends.   In almost 30 years in Atlanta, this is something I never got to see.   It’s good to be home. 

While at the library this evening, I noticed we had a couple of new book lovers on the scene.  Two dogs, one of them with an injury that looks to have been treated, wandered in together.   It’s obvious they were close friends.  The librarians called for help, but unfortunately no animal control staff were on duty.   Alas, the pooches have to fend for themselves tonight.   I do hope they’re okay.

Saturday night we set all our clocks and watches ahead one hour to conform to the onslaught of Daylight Saving Time.    I won’t continue to create a toxic environment by staying on this matter, but here are some photos taken Saturday evening.  

Each year when it comes around, I let my feelings be known about Daylight Saving Time. Silly me. I thought the current Texas state legislators were going to consider removing it from our lives, but it’s still with us. In just a few hours, at 2a.m. Sunday, we revert to DST, with us until November. For the first couple of months it’s not so bad. Consider this. It’s hot in Texas. Our summers, and even our springs, are toasty. Even as this is written, on March 9th, our air conditioning is already working hard. By the time July comes around, more daylight means more work for overloaded energy systems. Beyond that, I like evening light for its purity. For some friends, who work stressful jobs, Daylight Saving Time is a Godsend, allowing them extra time for exercise, playing at the park with the kids, horseback riding, etc. I try to be understanding. Really. But doggone it, ugly light is no fun. These photos, all tripod-mounted were made in and around Taylor’s Bull Branch Park. I’d apologize for the words in this post, but seriously? I’m not happy about this.

“Catch Me If You Can” opens tonight at the Georgetown Palace. As is my habit lately, most of the theater photos will be on Facebook, but I always try to represent a little here, too. The musical (actually, all mainstage plays are musicals now) will run weekends through April 7th. Most shows sell out quickly so don’t wait to order your tickets.