Last weekend, an unplanned assignment fell into my lap on short notice.  The occasion was “Chase the Chief,” a series of activities culminating in a fun run and a 5K race, all held at East View High School in Georgetown, Texas.  The “chief” is Georgetown Chief of Police Wayne Nero.   You can see him running in full uniform in one of these photos.  The proceeds from  this event, which attracted 1700 participants on a slightly-wet Sunday afternoon (thankfully, past rains held off), raises money for the athletic departments at Georgetown schools.   Naturally, a lot of kids took part.   My favorite moments are at the top of this post, a fellow carrying an American flag in the 5K race.  Joining him for the race (at the right in the opening shot)  was his 7-year-old daughter, who took a turn or two at toting that flag.  Dad was there to lend a hand as needed, but the little girl did her part!   These photos were taken for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.

I noticed that we go back to Daylight Saving Time this Sunday.   For many friends, that’s a good thing.  That extra sunlight gives you more time to pursue your  outdoor interests.   Count me in the minority.   I love evening light.  A blaring sun in the sky isn’t always conducive to a soothing scene.   But I digress.   Here are two night photos taken in recent days at Taylor’s Murphy Park.   One is a young man, fishing with his dad.  That new Coleman lantern was mighty handy.   The other one shows the same area where the young man was fishing, taken a a few nights later.   It’s one of those tripod-mounted scenes, the. view beginning in Murphy Park, then Lake Drive, and in the distance, the winding path of Bull Branch Park.  

When growing up in Texarkana, my friends and I used to love those pickup games of basketball we played on the grounds of Grim Elementary School.   Our fun was had on goals without nets.  We played not on concrete, or wooden surfaces.   Our surface was dirt.   With the aptly-named March Madness nearing, tonight seemed like a good time to post a little basketball action at Taylor’s Fannie Robinson Park.   While I’ve photographed those grain elevators a few times, the occasion to photograph them with basketball hasn’t happened … until this evening.   I like the juxtaposition of elements here, in small-town Texas.   The photo session concluded when I was beaned by a basketball.  My own fault, of course.  I told the young fellows not to worry about hitting me.   Ibuprofin is a handy thing to have around.

It’s been years since I’ve been to a movie theater.  Actually, it’s been a while since seeing an Oscar-nominated movie in any form.   If you guess I’ve not tuned into that little awards ceremony tonight, you’d be correct.    These are photos taken not long ago in downtown Bartlett, Texas, population a little over 1600.   Part of the town is in Williamson County, some in Bell County.  The main thoroughfare, shown here, resides in both areas.   This might be one of those posts nobody sees.   It is what it is.   Truth?  Maybe I’ll watch “Trip to Bountiful” again … very soon.

For coming on close to nine years, I’ve taken photos of Immanuel Lutheran Church, known around here as “The Church on the Hill.”    An image I’ve yearned for, however, has been elusive.   My first view of this church was from a distance, driving on U.S. 79 from Hutto to Taylor.   On Friday evening, however, returning from a little task in Hutto, the sun, almost down, reflected some wonderful light on Immanuel’s windows.   Those windows, even without the sun’s help, are quite nice.  Last night, they looked resplendent.    I’m including different, but similar versions here.   The original part of this old church is shown at right.  Other sections have been added, with windows, through the years.   What you see here are with, and without, those extra sections.    If you find yourself driving east, from Hutto to Taylor along Highway 79, and the time of day aligns with the setting sun, look to your right.   I think you’ll like what you see.

For quite some time I’ve argued with professional photographer friends about the use of cell phone cameras for imagery.   While still on the side of pro-quality cameras, I’m starting to look at this in a different way.   Here’s why.  For years, I’ve taken long walks most days, usually about 2 hours.   While I’ve not wanted to tote the “real” camera on these strolls, there have been times when a camera, a tool, would’ve been nice to have. Every photo presented here was taken with a phone’s camera.   And not a really fancy one, either.  It’s a low-end model that cost just a little over $100 brand-new.    Never let it be said I’m not willing to change.   These mobile devices have their places.    Because they allow more controls, I’ll stick with the “real” cameras, but am learning to appreciate other ideas.   

On this first day of March I ran some errands in Georgetown.   Driving east toward home, the setting sun by a grain elevator south of Weir looked mighty nice around 6:20pm.   Because of clouds, I hadn’t expected to see tonight’s full moon, but a little before 7, driving through Circleville, there it was, near a pair of grain elevators topped by its blue star, a bit of a night beacon, joined on this evening by a lunar beacon.   I’m glad the clouds didn’t spoil the view.  These are for my good friends at the Williamson County Sun.

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking.  The actual “full moon” is on Thursday.   Let’s go back to my rule of thumb regarding moon photos, friends …. when it looks good, shoot that baby.   Tonight’s moon over the rookery at Taylor’s Murphy Park is in a Waxing Gibbous phase, over 97% visible.   It looked close enough to me.  By the time Thursday rolls around, it might be too cloudy to see.   Shoot the moon when you can!

Last Saturday I spent my morning at Georgetown Farm Supply, where Abby Brewer was conducting a Chickens 101 class for about twenty interested folks.  Brewer raises about 125 prize chickens at her home near Jarrell and presented the ins-and-outs of how to care for and raise chickens.  That’s a popular pastime for a lot of people these days.   I’m reminded of my own childhood in Texarkana.  When I was about 5, we had mess of chickens.  One of my jobs was to collect eggs.  The resident rooster, however, didn’t like little humans and regularly gave chase.   By the time I was 7, we had moved on past chicken-raising.   Anyway, Saturday’s session was fun, for both adults and kids eyeing up the baby chicks.  These photos were taken for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.

A horse finds room to graze under a canopy of trees on a warm and peaceful late-February evening on the Blackland Prairie.  I’ll leave it at that.