Through July 4th the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter’s Canine Corral, a temporary shelter for dogs on East Morrow Street in Georgetown, is offering completely-free adoptions.   This shelter is in what was at one time the Williamson County shown barn.   While not air-conditioned, it was pretty cool when I was in there Monday for the Austin American-Statesman, thanks to huge fans and plenty of misters above the cages.   The adoptions are free thanks to a group called Best Friends, which raised over $250,000 to help.  That money is helping out approximately 270 rescue shelters across the country.  This post is mostly to put some faces of the pooches out there for you to see.   Since we have a pit bull in our home, I always make sure I’m giving them display space on my site whenever possible.   There may be bad dogs, but generally speaking, it’s bad owners who create chaos.  

From tonight, above Taylor’s Murphy Park, a little after 8:30p.m. Central Daylight Time.   This is a Waxing Gibbous moon, 95.8% visible, almost full.   While I’ve said it many times before, it bears repeating:  any moon, anywhere on the planet, is a wonderful sight to see. 

Last night, as I have done for the years since coming home to Texas, I’ve had the honor of documenting the annual Williamson County Sheriff’s Posse Rodeo, its 75th.  In 2010, the first year I was there, friends told me the arena’s days were numbered.   It’s been a leased property for a long time.  The city of Georgetown, with expansive growth, determined that this beautiful old structure didn’t quite fit for future residents.   The culture of an area, when it’s doing no harm, is something to embrace.   During those many (almost 30) years in Georgia, I missed my Texas things, rodeo included.  Sure, they had rodeo in Georgia, but not like here.   Sorry, Georgia friends, but it’s true.   If you don’t know me, you need to know that I am by no means a cowboy.  In my almost 66 years, I’ve only been on a horse maybe twice.  Pointy-toed cowboy boots are uncomfortable.  I look silly in a cowboy hat.   The thing is, I love the culture of rodeo, particularly in a setting like the  one in Georgetown, Texas.   The city, however, is ready to demolish the arena, replacing it with a festival area, a green space.    Are city fathers hoping, by this move, to attract more upscale residents?   I don’t know.  But know this.  Even though I don’t live in Georgetown, that arena is something to cherish.   It probably won’t help, but a petition is making the rounds.  I may put my John Henry on it.  The opening photo is one taken last night after everything was done.  That’s 86-year-old Herman (no last names here), a member of the Williamson County Sheriff’s Posse.   He stayed around for quite a while.  “My dad was a cowboy in west Texas,” he said.   Some things deserve to remain.

The blooms that adorn magnolia trees at this time of the year are a visual treat.   Unlike like some flowering plants that only thrive in specific geographic areas, magnolias seem to do well across the southern United States.   During our years in metro-Atlanta, Georgia, they were easy to find.   In my hometown, Texarkana, Texas, they did well.   And right here in Taylor, in the heart of Central Texas, they look mighty nice, too.   I don’t know about colder climates, but then again, I’ve only lived in warmer places.   Closeups of flowering plants don’t often make the cut for postings, but magnolia blooms, with their wide range of coloration changes as they age, crinkle  and fade into history, are an exception.    These “tiny landscapes” were taken recently at the home of a good Taylor friend and neighbor. Another friend made sure I didn’t fall off the ladder used to reach the flowers!    All the images are from just one tree.   If you have magnolias where you live, enjoy them while you can.   Soon, at least here, the summer heat will make them a thing of the past, at least for this year. 

This isn’t the first time I’ve posted this grand white horse.  When time allows, I like to swing by her pasture to see if she’s still there.    The field is shared by another beautiful horse, included a little in this post.  The second photo is “adorned” with the shadow of a fence.  For some that might be a distraction, but I think not.   Almost every time I drive by, she prances my way.  We visit a while, then I mosey on home.   

While the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter gets a renovation, a number of the shelter dogs are being housed in the old show barn at San Gabriel Park in Georgetown.    Like the rodeo arena that this corridor, the show barn is due to be demolished, but for now it has new purpose, as the shelter’s “Canine Corral.”   From Monday, June 25th through Wednesday, July 4th, all adoptions here are free as part of the “Save All the Tail Waggers” campaign.   I took these few photos Thursday afternoon.   The show barn is dusty and warm, but the shelter folks have misters operating round the clock in addition to large fans.   Still, I can’t help but feel sorry for these sweeties. Every shelter I’ve been in for several years is filled with Pit Bull, or similar breeds.  It’s just sad.  We have Star in our family, a Pittie rescued a few years ago by our daughter. She’s a gentle and caring dog.  What happens to make these dogs turn bad?   Simple answer:  human beings who have no business owning one. I’m also a little concerned about the July 4th fireworks show in the park, directly across from the show barn.  Dogs, at least most I’ve seen, do not care for that much noise.  If you’re in the area, take a look at the show barn for some deserving pooches. 

Even though it’s been mighty warm in Central Texas since April, the official beginning of summer, the summer solstice, arrived this morning in Georgetown, Texas  at 5:07a.m. Central Daylight Time.   Presented here are some photos taken this afternoon at two popular cooling-off spots, Blue Hole Lagoon and San Jose Park.   We’ve already reached triple-digit temperatures, but today’s high was only the low-90s.   These were produced for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.

I’ve been rather prickly with friends on Facebook today.  It’s time for something more fun.   Late yesterday afternoon, on the way home from an errand, a quartet of Texas Longhorns were having what appeared to be a bovine meditation session, resulting in a shutter click.   And then there was a tiny little four-legged critter riding herd over a western shop in Taylor.   He (she?) had some attitude.  I like that.   And in honor of  a couple of days of rain and cool weather, raindrops, just because it was there.  Who knows when we’ll see it again, right?

The Blackland Prairie skies in East Williamson County, Texas were primed to release an adornment of much-needed rain.   While the anticipated moisture didn’t really materialize, Mother Nature painted us something lovely in Wuthrich Hill, at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, seen in the opening photo.   Not quite finished, I continued south and east, to Noack, where a visit to cornfields and Christ Lutheran Church made it a good conclusion to the night’s wanderings.   Those following me for a while know that I stay close to home, paying many repeat visits to favorite things.  Proximity, in part, drives that train, but as I’ve said before, I like it here.

There’s a county road a few miles east of Coupland, Texas I find refreshing.   In February I drove along its corridors, but didn’t post a thing.   That happens sometimes.  Last evening I made a drive along that same road.   Two versions of a shiny barn are presented here.   Also offered is another county road, which intersects with the road on which I focused.   That “side road” is presented in two versions, one from last night, the other from February.    One final photo, just because I like it, was on another road, but not far away.  By the way, those are birds atop that barn in the first two photos.  Don’t ask me what they are.