On a morning outing to get a Sunday paper, the clouds in the west looked particularly inviting.  Normally, I’d not spend much time on a landscape in broad daylight, but it’s Earth Day.  It seemed right to snap a photo.  For this scene, presented in both black-and-white and color (my preference is b/w here), this windmill, and the field in front of it, are just over a mile from our Taylor home.   I’ve photographed that windmill quite a few times, but not at this time of day, not in monotone, either.   Just something to mark the date.  Earth Day was created on this date in 1970, the Spring I graduated from high school.   Be kind to our planet, friends.

Tonight’s post doesn’t really have a theme, except that the photos were made in and around the Georgetown area.   The first couple were taken Thursday evening on the Georgetown square, an effort to stay busy (focused) while waiting for the start of dress rehearsal for “My Fair Lady” at the Georgetown Palace.  The first photo is a variation of an earlier effort, that beautiful Masonic Lodge building, now home to Gumbo’s North, an area restaurant.  In the time since I last photographed this regal structure, a tree has grown taller, making the original photo a thing of history.   I do like the swarm of birds flying by.   Another square photo presents an Austin Avenue structure, its second floor home to a barber, reflecting the Williamson County Courthouse, opened in 1911.  The last photo, taken on this cloudy morning while on a paying assignment, is a nifty structure, adorned with our state flag.  At first, I thought it was a barn, but a closer look leads me to consider it a residence, one of those hybrid things, part-barn, part house.  Not many states display their state symbols in such interesting ways.    This and that, friends. 

This little exercise, taking photos with my phone camera during those daily walks in Taylor, is still plodding along.  At some point, I might back off on trying so hard.  Either that, or get a small, more powerful camera, one capable of RAW formats and better telephoto capabilities.   But it’s been good to have at least something on hand to record what’s around, like that white elephant atop a long-vacant building on Main Street.  What’s up with that?    You can, it seems, teach an old dog.  The “old dog” is seen in the last photo, by the way.

Even though most of the photos from the Georgetown Palace are posted on social media, I try to include a few here, too.  “My Fair Lady” begins its run tonight in Georgetown, Texas, continuing weekends through May 20.   Like all their musicals, tickets go fast!   Don’t miss it if you’re in the area.  These photos were taken for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.

During the summer of 1982 one of the little life slices I found to share with our readers at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution  was a Cub Scout Day Camp, held in July, another one of those self-generated assignments.    Times do change, don’t they?   In the years since these photos were made, kids have embraced technology, but at what cost?   How much exercise can today’s children get while watching the wide range of choices on hundreds of television channels, or playing video games?   While the growth of electronic devices has their good points,  are they making it less desirable to enjoy the outdoors?   And get some exercise while they’re at it?   In Taylor, thankfully, I see quite a few kids having a good time at area parks.   While some aspects of our earlier days weren’t  so good, staying active was a fine thing.   Get outside, kids.   You adults might set good examples by doing likewise. 

Since I wander, or ramble, along these country roads often, it’s pretty unusual for yours truly to get lost, but tonight, while searching out other specific things (which I found, thankfully), this old boy got really turned around.   Since being a human GPS  is the norm, it was with regret when I finally put the phone’s search mechanism to work.   You know, folks, if one’s to be lost, what better place than on the Blackland Prairie, watching cows settle in at their tank (stock pond), and seeing that tiny sliver of Waxing Crescent moon, only 11.9% visible.   It’s all just fine.

Last evening, well beyond sundown, I drove by Prince of Peace Lutheran Church  in Wuthrich Hill.  Even though dark, I could see those little Texas Bluebonnets, making their presence known.  Two favorite photographic subjects in one image is mighty fine. 

It was my honor once again this year to be able to photograph the 14th Powwow at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.   While many of these photos have a similar feel to past images, the opening two just made the day even better.   That young woman is Sheri, a Georgetown resident who attended the Powwow with her caregiver, Shelley.   Sheri’s lineage includes Apache blood coursing through her veins.   Although she uses a wheelchair, the music and the dancing inspired her to get up and dance a little bit, too.  It was awesome!    The rest, as mentioned, are images I like, including two grandmas taking care of sleeping sisters.  The blurred photos are meant to be that way.

Since coming to Taylor, in summer of 2009, I’ve admired this field along Carlos Parker Boulevard.   It’s a 40-plus acre swath of land residing next to Taylor Middle School.  It’s been for sale for most of that time, but lately I’ve noticed a larger sign posted there.   Tonight, I stopped by to take a few photos of the field of corn thriving there, and the farmhouse in the distance.  If anyone has lived there, it’s apparently been a while.  After almost 30 years in metro-Atlanta, we wanted small and quiet, open.   If and when this land sells, we’ll see what happens.  People need places to live, making this a good place for a subdivision.  More growth means a lessening of our tax burden, too, but the rural character of the area is something to be cherished.  I do.

Last evening, while en route to check something else out in Taylor,  the light falling on the grain elevators at Williamson County Grain got my attention.     Although I took some photos of these about two years back, the birds flying around them got my attention.   For a few minutes, I observed.   Then along came a young man, 16, riding his bike.   He stopped, introduced himself, and commenced to discuss photography.   Normally, I wouldn’t pay much mind, but then he pulled a little Nikon out from under his jacket.   He’s been taking a photo class at Taylor High School,  but he’s also interested in computers.   We talked about light, with yours truly mentioning the splendid advantage of light near, or after, sunset.  Since it was getting late, I asked if he didn’t need to be heading home.  “I’m supposed to be home by 8,” he replied.  This was about 7:45.   We talked a while longer, with suggestions that he point his own camera at the grain elevators.    Hopefully, he understood about my notion of watching the light.    Closer to his home deadline, I hopped in my car and moseyed home myself.  That other photo idea could wait.    After almost 30 years of living in metro-Atlanta, it’s hard not to worry about kids out close to dark, but then I remember that this is Taylor, Texas, a town of a little over 16,000.   Still, it pays to be cautious.  The young man was thoughtful, and curious.   Good things.  I hope the mini-lesson helped a bit.