Rosalio Rodriguez is a wonderful fellow I like to visit from time to time.   By day, Rosalio works at a printing company in Pflugerville, where he’s been employed for quite a long time.   In the evenings, he comes home to his slice of prairie heaven, where he and Max, his Great Pyrenees, take care of their 63 head of sheep.  Their home, north of Taylor, but south of Granger, is quite peaceful.   Each day after work, they open the pasture gate, letting their furry friends stretch their legs and munch on grass, and other tasty treats, along a seldom-traveled country road.   I first photographed Rosalio in 2010.  A photo from that first visit is framed and hangs on the wall of his home.  I am honored.  Back then, the herding dog was Charlie.   Charlie’s still around, but Max has taken over the heavy lifting.    Just a little bit of life on the Blackland Prairie, friends. 

We had a sweet couple of rainy interludes this afternoon on the Blackland Prairie.   By the time I decided to. drive around and wander tonight, the quality of post-storm light was good.  No rainbows, but it is what it is.    Here are a couple taken this evening near Beyersville, Texas, in southeast Williamson County.  If there ever was a downtown Beyersville, I don’t know it.  For my purposes, it’s simply good land and sky.   That dog caught me off guard a little.  She walked out into the middle of the road and commenced to sit herself down.   In no way was she threatening.  We visited for a few seconds before I got back in the car.   Even though this is way out in the country, good feelings don’t come when I see a dog where they’re in danger. 

While the rain was giving my Blackland Prairie a good pounding earlier this afternoon, production work kept me at my computer.   As soon as possible this evening, I took a little drive around the area.   The lightning, and most of the precipitation had moved on, probably to the east.   The clouds, however, and the sky around around the clouds?  They were eloquent.   The first two images are one of my favorite subjects, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, sitting atop a hill in Wuthrich Hill, Texas.   The last photo?   That’s a little bit of our state’s resonant crop of cotton.   We’re experiencing drought again this summer, but even so, I was able to enjoy the little bolls that were visible.   

Once again tonight, let’s  keep things simple.   Cows can make that happen.   The first photo was taken last evening as the remnants of a storm moved along  east of  Walburg.   Was this cow performing for the camera?  I honestly don’t know, but she and her friends were interesting.  The other photo, of a calf west of Taylor, seemed more suited to a monotone treatment.    I won’t say more.  No need.

While now the Jonah Community Center, this sturdy little structure began its life in 1922 as the Jonah School.  This photo was taken tonight about 9pm as I finished a night’s rambling.   I like that these regal old structures (and their trees) remain with us, little bits of our history preserved for future generations. 

If you’ve watched my posts for a while you’ve seen this elegant off-white horse.   When I’m between Granger and Bartlett on any given evening, and the light’s looking good, I’ll swing by and say howdy.   Almost every time I pass by, this fellow preens and poses for my camera.  Since he’s in a pasture I can only view from the road, we “chat”  with a bit of distance between us.  But it’s enough.   And he’s handsome.  Hopefully, we’ll see each other again really soon.

This week we’ve been back in Texas for nine years.  During that time, I’ve taken photos of Immanuel Lutheran Church in West Taylor, the Church on the Hill, quite a few times.   Until last evening, however, I hadn’t thought to look behind the church, where I discovered Immanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery.  A sign at the cemetery gate says the cemetery formed in 1886, but I’m going with what I see on the church’s website, 1889.   The church itself was first built in 1894.  In January 1916 a fire destroyed its sanctuary.   The congregation rebuilt, dedicating their new sanctuary that Fall.   It’s the church that stands today.   But back to the cemetery.   A look at the church’s site told me the first burial was in 1889, a little girl, Minna Roeske, born May 16, 1889, passing from this world October 20, 1889  Tonight, I returned to find her grave, represented here.   Immanuel has German roots.   You’ll see gravestones engraved in that language.  In fact, Immanuel’s services were only conducted in German until 1929, when both English and German were spoken.  I’m happy to have “discovered” the cemetery last evening. When returning tonight to find Minna’s grave, the cows in the pasture were absent.  It’s a good thing I stopped by on Monday.   I’ve photographed this church many times in nine years.   God willing, I’ll represent it here again.  

A friend recently mentioned an old bridge in Milam County, Texas I might like.   Last week I took a drive east to Apache Pass, to the Worley Bridge, a truss bridge built in 1911, spanning the San Gabriel River.  It’s a one-lane bridge along County Road 428.   I was happy to finally find it.   Once I did, I parked on the shoulder and walked around for a few minutes, snapping a few photos.   During that time, I got some curious looks as big old trucks, barely able to fit, ambled across.   One fellow stopped, asking me “Whatcha doing?”  You know, folks, when someone’s got two high-end cameras draped around their necks, isn’t it obvious?   But being the nice fellow I am (sometimes), I just responded “Taking photos!”   That seemed to satisfy my visitor.  These photos were taken in a pretty short time period.  You can only stand on a one-lane bridge so long before things get dicey.  This bridge was completely restored a few years ago.  It looks grand.  I do wish the river had a little more water though.   Droughts are no fun. 

This weekend I attended two happenings, one on Saturday, the other today, both  at the Boys and Girls Club of Georgetown.   The events  focused on helping kids and families get ready for the upcoming school year.    On Saturday, Celebration Church Georgetown handed out 650 backpacks.   Later this month, they’ll travel to Austin and hand out 950 more.   And today was the culmination of the Georgetown Area Junior Forum’s Fill the Bus campaign.   Approximately 800 families lined up to receive not only free backpacks, but school supplies to fill those packs.  Georgetown Area Junior Forum is a group of Georgetown-area women who give back to this diverse community.  They deserve reams of kudos for what they do.   The first five photos are from Saturday’s session with the folks from Celebration, the remainder from today.   There’s a rule I occasionally break, the one about people looking into my camera, what I call iPhone deer-in-the-headlights moments.  Normally, I don’t like those, but with the faces of this beautiful children, I think it’s just fine.   These photos were made for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.

With apologies to the great work of Wallace Stegner, “Angle of Repose,” allow me to present this warm sunset, taken last evening.   I was visiting with a dear friend, who lives on this beautiful stretch of road in East Williamson County, Texas.   Looking west, I hastily explained, “time to go!”   These photos were taken from the end (or beginning) of her long driveway.  Since traffic was minimal, I stepped out into the road a few times.   “Repose” is defined as ” a state of rest, sleep, or tranquility.”   Let’s go with tranquility here.    I watched that hot ball of light for a few minutes, its rays caressing the asphalt with color. By the time the sun began to fade, the light faded, too.  The road was once again just a road.   But I got what I wanted.