In my almost-67 years on the planet, 45 of them working as a photojournalist, this was the first time I’ve ever photographed Drive Your Tractor to School day. Keep in mind, friends that this is Texas. We live in the middle of farm country, on the beautiful and bountiful Blackland Prairie. In celebration of F.F.A. week, Thrall High School principal Travis Dube proclaimed Friday, March 1 as a day for students to navigate their farm equipment to the campus. Among the kids I met were 15-year-old Lauren Pearson, who, with the help of her dad, Grant Pearson, navigated the family’s fully-restored 1936 Farmall tractor to school and back home. That tractor has been in the family for a long time. It belonged to Lauren’s great-grandfather in Iowa. In 2011, Grant went to Iowa and brought it here, lovingly restoring it. Another young fellow, senior Nahum Patschke, drove his huge family tractor to campus. School traffic at the end of the day prompted him to leave it overnight at school. Good idea, young man. Perhaps the most fun part of the afternoon was observing 16-year-old sophomore Cody Sells as he traversed ten miles of Texas county roads en route home. Since the tractor’s top speed is 30-miles-per-hour, it took a while. The scenery made it a sweet trip. It goes without saying, perhaps, but I love the land around us. And appreciate its agricultural heritage. Sadly, development continues to gnaw away at this slice of heaven, but in Thrall, folks there know who to stay true to the land.

Bartlett, Texas seems to be in my thoughts this week. Two nights in a row I’m posting from this quaint Central Texas town that straddles Williamson and Bell Counties. The opening photo was taken just after a recent sunrise and shows a now-closed cotton gin. In front of the gin is a wagon once used to haul bales of cotton. Even though the gin is long closed, it’s nice to see a little history left for passersby to see. That second photo, that tower, is why I took so long to make this post. The tower sits in a field adjacent to the gin. My assumption was the two things were connected. What I found out today from a longtime resident, however, is the tower is a smoke stack, all that remains of a cottonseed oil mill that was built in 1906. My contact explained that there was once a building just south of the tower. These days that old smoke stack attracts a lot of attention. Birds seem to enjoy flitting in and out of its top. The last couple of shots include the smoke stack at left joined by the gin in silhouette at right, followed by a simple evening image of the gin. Not long ago, a television series called “Revolution” filmed frequently in Bartlett. Another gentleman, who operates a granary near the site of the cotton gin, explained that a number of scenes utilized the smoke stack as a backdrop. As mentioned before, I don’t watch much television. Maybe “Revolution” was a big deal. One thing’s certain though. Bartlett, Texas is a big deal.

While many of our small Texas towns look great at daytime, when evening comes along, some of them, like Bartlett, just really resonate with me. Bartlett is a Central Texas town of a little under 1700 around 50 miles northeast of Austin. The town actually resides in two counties, Williamson and Bell. The main road through downtown is West Clark Street, pictured here. The north side of the street is Bell, the other side Williamson. These were made a few nights ago. The sky was clear, and thanks to less light pollution, you could actually see quite a few stars. I like that. Civilization is rapidly moving this way. That is regrettable, but inevitable.

You’ve heard me say this before, but the quality of light here on this Blackland Prairie area in Central Texas is exceptional and, this is most important, it’s serene. When witnessing such things, I’m bowled over almost every time. It never gets old. These scenes taken last evening are from a field a little east of Granger, Texas. Our light here is a blessed balm.

How about something simple for this Monday night? During the many years we lived in metro-Atlanta, I yearned to find dirt roads. There was one I visited there whenever I could. We’ve been gone almost ten years. I wonder if it’s still there? In this part of Texas, we’re fortunate to have a few of these rural routes around, like this nice route discovered on an evening filled with some good monotone clouds. And cows. There’s always cows.

While covering car and vintage plane shows is fun, Saturday’s coverage of the 8th Annual Stephanie Nichols Vintage Car and Plane Show at the Georgetown Airport was even more of a blast when I met Austin’s Matthew Magruder as he toted his 1930s-era Kodak Master View camera around to create tintype photos using a wet plate collodion process very much like famed Civil War photographer Matthew Brady used in the 1860s. Even more interesting, photography is a serious hobby for Magruder, but during his regular work days, he’s a licensed psychologist. For a look at his work, and to learn about his psychology practice, visit his website here.

It was never my intention to document the last years of my area of the Blackland Prairie. Not at all. After living in crowded metro-Atlanta for many years, the land, water and skies, the grain elevators, churches, barns, old houses, windmills, etc. were just there. They inspired a fellow who was happy to be able to see sunrises and sunsets without interference. And clean, unpolluted skies. Now, after almost ten years back in God’s country, development is encroaching. While I understand the the need to move to places more affordable, there’s a yearning for things to stay as they are, like these scenes taken tonight near Beyersville.

A few years ago, I saw New Sweden Evangelical Lutheran Church for the first time. It was on a drive from Taylor to Austin, along F.M. 973. To my left, in the far distance, a few miles north of Manor, an incredibly-beautiful steeple stood out against the Texas sky. Since then, I’ve returned there for photos several times. This set was taken at the beginning of this week, when the moon, in a Waxing Gibbous phase, was close to full. After spending quality time photographing the church, I headed west, back to the main road. Attracting my attention, however, was the burial ground for the church. Although I’ve driven past it a number of times, this was the first time I noticed the flag. Is the light on the flag something new? I can only guess that it is, but the sight was inspiring. I do love photographing flags. Two photos from that stop are included at the end of this post. By the time the last image was made, the ambient light in the western sky had begun to diminish. It was a nice end to a pretty evening.

Not long after moving home almost ten years ago, I taking an evening drive through Norman’s Crossing when I saw kids in uniforms playing baseball under the lights. Behind them were fields ready for planting. And some beautiful grain elevators. It was an incredible sight, but I chose not to bother the players and coaches. Then, a couple of years ago, Dr. Dana Boehm became our family veterinarian. Her clinic is adjacent to the field. After a while, I decided to do a story on Dr. Dana’s brother, Troy, a longtime farmer here. Troy’s two sons, like their dad, were serious baseball players. The problem was there weren’t enough places to play. So in 2007 and 2009, Troy built this field, adding lights and all. Last night, as I wandered, the field’s lights in the far distance caught my eye. This time I stopped and made a few photos. The boys are in a 13-14 year-old league. This was a practice night. Baseball has always been a wonderful, truly American sport. As a kid growing up in Northeast Texas, I was always too small for football. Baseball, however, was welcoming. Physical limitations didn’t count. The field in this post speaks volumes about a wonderful pastime, made more wonderful played in a place like this. Troy built a field. And the players came.