This photo of Taylor’s St. James Episcopal Church was taken last evening a little before 8p.m. In our community of 15,000-plus, dominated by Lutherans, Catholics, Methodists and Baptists, to name a few, St. James, at the confluence of 7th and Davis Streets, stands out. The church, made of cypress, oak and pine trees, was completed in 1893. I find it to be beautiful and enjoy documenting it from time to time. 
There’s no long explanation to tonight’s post. All were taken last evening in the downtown Taylor area. The opening photo shows an Amtrak train making its way south toward Austin a little past 7p.m. It’s similar to an image posted a year or so ago, but some friends who took a recent train ride on Amtrak made me think of it. The others are just scenes … the viaduct over the tracks …. the long-closed Blazimar Hotel, a really good place for a Halloween scary place, a grain elevator at Williamson County Grain, with the viaduct in the distant background, and, on the way home, a scene at 2nd and Main Streets, in the heart of downtown. 
Since moving to Taylor in 2009, I’ve seen him numerous times, always on his bicycle, traversing every part of our little town. He’s always been an intriguing man. For a long time, the front of his bike was adorned with Beanie Babies. Early Saturday evening, when wandering around downtown Taylor, there he came, pushing his bike across a busy (for Taylor, anyway) intersection. I grabbed a quick few frames, figuring that’s all I would get. Looking up Main Street, however, there he was, the bike parked, his shoes off, resting on a bench. I struck up a conversation with what turns out to be Taylor native Joe Lopez, 67. Joe has never taken to driving motor vehicles, preferring the quietude of two quiet wheels. At one, time, he tells me, he’d take his bike all the way to Georgetown, a little over 20 miles west, traversing Texas Highway 29. “It wasn’t as crowded back then,” he explained about the road. As we talked, he caught me unprepared for his next sentence: “You’re that fellow that drives around the countryside and takes pictures.” He wasn’t asking a question, just saying what he knew. How in heck did he know this? Yes, I do wander quite a lot, but didn’t know it was common knowledge. It turns out Joe is an avid reader of newspapers, which can be perused at our Taylor public library. He’d seen the occasional column I do for the Williamson County Sun. And he remembered. It comes as no surprise that the Sun has a following of readers in Taylor. Joe’s been reading it for years. But more on Joe. He’s a diabetic. Not long ago, complications resulted in the loss of a toe. Taking his shoes off for rest makes sense, does it not? Joe seems to have things under control, with medication and care. It was so good to finally meet him. Looking across Main Street at the McCrory-Timmerman building, now a hopping scene on any given weekend, he recalls shopping there as a kid when it was a department store. This wandering, if nothing else, tells us this important thing: stories are everywhere. 
On the way home from one of my wanderings tonight, I passed this baseball field near Bull Branch Park in Taylor, Texas. Even though it was a Saturday night, and well beyond dark, the parking lot, and the stands, were close to capacity. It made me think about baseball, and Texas. For whatever reason, my state gets a lot of attention paid to football. That’s understandable, but for kids like me, growing up in the Texas of the 50s and 60s, baseball was tops. Since I was on the small side, football was well beyond my skill set. But baseball? No problems there. Think about it. If you follow professional baseball, take a look at the Houston Astros, now in the American League Championship Series. Earlier this afternoon, they won their second straight game against the New York Yankees. One of their premier players is Jose Altuve. Mr. Altuve is not a big fellow, but he’s quite talented. Go Astros! But you know what, folks? This baseball thing begins like the scene you see with tonight’s post. Kids giving it their all .. families there to lend their support. 
Tonight’s offerings were taken this week. Since I don’t wander too far from home, they’re all close to home. 
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Back to Bull Branch Park tonight. With days getting shorter, I’m getting in touch with longer exposures again. For the most part, that means using a trusty tripod. It’s a handy thing as long as your subjects remain stationary. Sometimes they do not. Just ask the park’s ducks. 
Two Georgetown churches, First United Methodist Church and San Gabriel Presbyterian Church, have their fundraising pumpkin patches ready to go for this year’s Halloween season. Both churches got their pumpkins from farms on the Navajo reservation in Northern New Mexico. San Gabriel got 2300 of the oval delights this year, while First United is going all out. Today, they unpacked almost 3000 pumpkins, but are getting another shipment of 1500 in just two weeks. They don’t plan to run low! FYI, the last five photos are from San Gabriel Presbyterian. 
This photo, taken during the semi-annual Sun City, Texas garage sale, a huge event last weekend, could’ve been a rough moment for Rudy, the little guy in the foreground. Rudy is an 11-year-old Pomeranian/Pekinese mix. Despite his years, he still looks like a pup. Ambling along in the background is a clone of Rin Tin Tin. What might have been a bad spot in time was just fine, thanks in part to alert owners, and good leashes. The photo I missed, because I wasn’t expecting the big guy, was Rudy in flight. 
Yeah, I know this. I spend far too much time watching things in, around and above the rookery at Murphy Park in Taylor, Texas. If you happen to follow my posts, either here, or on social media, you know that this is a place I go for therapy. I like to bring my fold-out chair and a good book. The camera, of course, is there, too. Last night, it was just the chair and camera as evening settled in, the cormorants relaxing, the egrets looking for just the right spot. That second photo? Stormy weather was predicted. It didn’t materialize, but the clouds were pretty cool. I don’t usually post clouds, but these were mighty nice.
Near the end of my time at last weekend’s Clayman Rodeo, when putting away the gear to mosey back home to Taylor, I saw this interaction, a mama cuddling her 4-month-old son before changing his diaper. It was a very warm evening in Georgetown, Texas, not unusual for a south Texas autumn. The little guy, I’m pretty sure, was loving the enveloping arms of mama. They remained this way, fixed in time, for a few short minutes. The technical aspects of the photos are not so good, but the moments? I like them. Note that before I considered posting this, I made sure it was alright with mom and dad. On something like this, we need to be sure everyone is on board. Have a good evening, friends.
