Photographs taken during Monday through Friday walks in Taylor.  By now you don’t need explanations, do you?   They’re all made with an inexpensive Olympus camera, as light as your phones.   Very little time is spent on any one photograph.    I never leave home without a camera.

And one more bird offering  tonight, friends.   A week or so ago, while driving between Thorndale and Thrall, heading west to Taylor, I noticed a very large group of birds flying in formation overhead.   Enough, in fact, for me to pull over on the shoulder for a few photographs.  I’m thankful for highways with shoulders.   Back home, I looked the birds up.   If correct, those dang birds are Sandhill Cranes.   I can’t say where they started, or where they were going, but there were a lot.  It would’ve been nice if they flew a little lower, but I did what I could to get a photo.   Since that night I’ve tried for another sighting, but so far, just this one time.  Photographer colleagues Billy Weeks, Kathleen Greeson and Bill Frakes all do magnificent photographs of these cranes.   After seeing their work, I’m a little reluctant to share one here, but we do what we can, right?  If they’re not Sandhill Cranes, please advise!

Although the  egret migration to Taylor’s Murphy Park is still a few weeks away, I sometimes stop by for a look in the off-season.  Throughout the year you’ll always see cormorants, geese, herons and ducks. The Great Egrets usually arrive in the early Spring.  When I stopped by a few evenings back, however, there were a number of Great Egrets onsite.  Not many, but a presence.  This park is about five-seven minutes from home.   I enjoy my time there, whatever the month.

Without a doubt, I’m enamored with misty and foggy landscapes.  Throughout the day we had a smattering of rain, followed by misty scenes in East Williamson County.   The opening photo is the San Gabriel River, as seen from County Road 366.  That photograph was taken from the long-dormant truss bridge, seen in the second shot.   The old-growth pecan tree is at the Jonah School site.   The school still stands, but that tree is wonderful.   Included is a second photo showing an original merry-go-round at the 1922 school, but I really like the tree.  The post ends with a cow enjoying her foggy pasture.   Fog is elegant.

As the afternoon progressed I wasn’t certain of a moon photograph tonight at Immanuel Lutheran Church.    Clouds, no rain, just clouds, covered much of the skies around Taylor.   At the time  for moonrise, a little after 7:30, there was little to see.    I drove around for a few more minutes, then stopped by at 8 p.m.   A Waning Gibbous moon, at 97.7 percent,  made an appearance.    

Since it had rained the past couple of days, it was a nice surprise to see the moon make an appearance Wednesday evening in Taylor.   I’d written off the notion of a lunar offering.   When this was taken the moon was in its Waning Gibbous phase, at 99.9 percent visibility.   Along comes a very long freight train, one that took several minutes to pass.   Rather than sit on my rear end, I got out and took a few shots.   Back in the car, it was still a while before that train finally passed.   No gigantic moon photo, friends.   Just stuff I see.

It was quite wet when these photos were taken Tuesday evening in Bartlett, Texas.  I was thankful for lens cleaning tissues to wipe off my lenses, but I do find this community visually intriguing.   With a population of just over 1,600, Bartlett resides in both Williamson and Bell Counties.   Like Granger, its neighbor five miles south, it retains some wonderful cobblestone streets.  One of the best things about winter here is the opportunity to photograph places in the  evening hours.  

Probably mentioned before, but windmills are an obsession.   Growing up in Northeast Texas, I don’t recall seeing very many.  During my decades in Georgia, sightings were rare.   When settling in Central Texas, however, it seemed they were everywhere.   I like that.   Their presence  is soothing.   Many windmill photos are taken.  Not all are shared.  But some are.

013025 GEORGETOWN, TEXAS: The skies are adorned with color after sunset, as seen from County Road 398 on Thursday, January 30, 2025. Photo by Andy Sharp. 1

Seen Monday evening on the way to Walburg, Texas.   A small grove of trees, encased in fog and mist, fronted by a field of Blackland Prairie soil.  Our area is rolling on toward progress.   Hopefully, we retain some of what is there.   Quiet places are healing.

The 9th Annual Free Soup Supper was held this evening at St.Peter Lutheran Church in Walburg.    Homemade dishes were offered to anyone who came.   There were soups, of course, but plenty of sweet treats, too.   While food is a focus, it’s really  an opportunity for friends to get together.