By the time I got to Taylor Saturday afternoon for the annual Blackland Prairie Days festival I was dog-tired from hours spent at Pioneer Days in Round Rock.    But I was on home turf, taking  photos in the nicely redone Heritage Square Park downtown.  Timing was good, in time for performances by the Guzman Ballet Folklorico, led by Walter Guzman.   In the almost ten years back home in Texas, I’ve had the pleasure of documenting their dance numerous times.   The other cool thing at the park is their gigantic splash pad, quite a popular place on a a very warm Saturday afternoon.   It’s really expansive and one of the times I wish I had a drone to capture its size.   Anyway, that’s it for this productive weekend, friends.

050419 TAYLOR, TEXAS:

 is one of our gems.   Today, I attended their Pioneer Days Festival, held at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.   A free and family-friendly event, kids and adults got to experience bits of history.   The park, home to the Old Settlers Association, has several historic structures, like a cabin built in 1850, moved to the park from Gabriel Mills and fully-restored.  The young cowpoke shown is resting on a bed there.  There’s a one-room schoolhouse, too, where a young lady wrote a birthday note to her daddy using a quill pen.  A blacksmith demonstrated his craft.  He has a day job at Dell, but this is his passion.   The first photos in this post were taken in the gigantic old red barn.  There I met a newborn goat, also called a “kid,” as it stayed very close to its protective mama.  Then there were families making dolls from corn husks, a fellow making biscuits in a dutch oven by his wagon and a fellow who’s called Buffalo, welcoming guests into his teepee.   That little tricycle got my attention, too.  Nestled away in one of the cabins, resting under an old quilt, it was one of my last photos before heading home.

The skies have been rumbling on the prairie tonight, with a persistent rain and the chance of high water.   With all this going on, I found myself sitting at a quiet intersection in Wuthrich Hill, watching as the occasional vehicle ambled up the road.   The photographer in me was in tune to a possible bolt of lightning to document.  In the end, what I got was that same road covered in light after lightning came, but without a bolt.    It was still interesting to watch for a few minutes.

Shortly before  that divine rainbow came into being  Thursday evening, this was what I saw along that same stretch of new (to me) road.   Watch for good light when you can, friends.  It’s not always possible, but make the effort.

Getting lost is okay sometimes.  This evening, after a visit to our Taylor library, I wandered north.   Rain had been falling for a while, at times pretty heavy.  Recently, I’ve made an effort to find new vistas to document.   By the time this photo was made near sundown,  the sun had begun to make a return, giving  us prairie folks some mighty pretty golden light.   And a rainbow.   The road where this was made is a new one to me.  If I’d known it was going to turn into a dirt road, another route would’ve probably been taken.  Honda cars don’t fare well on muddy unpaved roads.   Before seeing the rainbow, a serene  field got me out of the car, shutter clicking  away.  This route is apparently not used so much, a good thing for yours truly.  I was able to leave the car parked right there for about ten minutes before moving on. Not a soul was around.  Except a few cattle.   And a rainbow.

We’ve begun a new month.  While you’ll still see some bluebonnets, most are fading into fond memories.   There are, however, plenty of other flowers that stay with us, even when they’re being overrun by prairie grass.  The prairie grass is kind of pretty, too, especially when the late-day light provides a golden aura.    The first couple were made in the older section of Bartlett City Cemetery, with gravesites going back to the late-1800s.  Those are Pink Evening Primrose, a hearty little wildflower that will be with us for a while.   That third image again shows the grasses engulfing some flowers.   These white flowers have yellow stems, but for the life of me I couldn’t locate them in my “Wildflowers of Texas” book.   Any idea, friends?    The final photo shows them more clearly as they share a fence post with some Indian Blankets.  Those will be with us for maybe two weeks before leaving us.  

On my Monday evening rambling around East Williamson County this horse, two horses if you look up top, caught my attention as they grazed in a fine-looking little pasture between Taylor and Hutto.   Horses, like windmills, grain elevators and barns, are subjects that never ever get old.      

The clouds are moving into the prairie tonight.  Rain is forecast by either Tuesday or Wednesday.   Last night, however, the light was warm and inviting in and around Granger, Texas.   Included here:  a photo of East Davilla Street in downtown Granger, a regal grain elevator at Granger’s Blackland Co-Op Gin and a little scene just west of Granger.   If your viewing device allows, you’ll note the windmill at left in the last photo.    Have a good night, friends.

As development continues its march onto the prairie, these wanderings take me further into the countryside.  Last week, I ventured east, well beyond the community of Granger, Texas.  Finally, as the day’s light began the transformation into night, I saw what local folks call a “hand shack,” meant as homes for seasonal farm workers, or “hands” if you like.   Thankfully, I’d ventured far enough so that I could stop on a peaceful road, get out of the car and make a few photos.  This is one of those.

The Red Poppy Festival in Georgetown, Texas is celebrating its 20th year this weekend. Spring is a time for festivals, many of them in Central Texas, but all over the United States.   Those following my posts here, and on social media, are all over the globe.  For photos specific to a local audience, I’ll leave that to others.  My goal  in any post is to present something interesting to everyone, regardless of where you live.   So these photos taken today are things to which all can relate.    This festival is many things, music, a car show, a fine parade, and people, lots of people.   The opening image might be my favorite.  Although it tells you not a thing about the festival per se, it’s a good moment.   The gentleman at right there is Chet Garner, the host of a popular show, “The Daytripper.”  Although very busy during the festival, Chet took a few minutes to visit with and share stories with 99-year-old Doris Griffith.  If you’ve seen Chet, you know he’s a lively fellow.  This image shows a gentle  side not everyone sees.   The other photos are this and that, including a parade pooch, Lucy, joined by her mom, on staff at the Georgetown Palace.   Oh, that last photo is another diversion.  By mid-afternoon today it was getting hot.  A 7-year-old and his family found a shady spot where he concentrated mightily on a game on mom’s phone. His little sister, about to turn 2, was focused, too.   These were made for the Williamson County Sun.