Baseball is a game I like a great deal, but never cottoned to having to cover the Atlanta Braves during my years in Atlanta.  While I liked the Braves as a team, the daily newspaper deadlines for night games was tough!   But beyond that, baseball, at its core, begins with the very young.   These photos were taken during baseball games in June 1975 during my time at the Shreveport (LA) Journal.  These boys were part of the 6-8 year-old group playing as part of the Broadmoor Family YMCA league.   These little guys had a lot of heart. 

The July 4th holiday, as it has been for many years, a very long day of work.  During the Atlanta years, I was up around 4am to either run, or cover,  the Peachtree Road Race.   Now back in Texas, the is still a long one, documenting the Georgetown Sertoma Club’s celebration in San Gabriel Park.   It begins in the morning with a hometown parade, mostly children in gussied-up rides, but with parents nearby.   After that, the day continues in the park, with folks enjoying themselves while dealing with the oppressive heat.    Yesterday’s high was expected to be 99, but I’m guessing it surpassed that number.  Scouts from Troop 405 were busy making hand-cranked homeade ice cream, a demanding task!   Kids enjoyed the sweet critters at the petting zoo from Fry’s Fun Farm, except for one sleepy-eyed 2-year-old who, said mom, was nearing nap time.    One young fellow decided to go shirtless, cooling off in the San Gabriel River.  I’d have done the same if my cameras were water-proof.   Nearing mid-afternoon, I drove back home to Taylor, edited and sent along the daytime images, then scurried quickly back to Georgetown for the nighttime fireworks show, preceded by a pretty good Elvis performance.     It ended up being a 15-hour day, but a productive one.  Stay cool.

Last night, while looking into something else in Coupland, Texas, I happened on a nice Blackland Prairie field just outside town.  That field had its share of cows, but there were also donkeys.   For reasons unknown to me, donkeys are becoming a presence in Central Texas.  I see them everywhere, but don’t always take their photos.  Except last night, resting on their hill of grass, munching on some of it, I reconfigured a little.   That last one, giving me the eye?  That was kind of nice.

The Williamson Museum recently opened a new exhibit location in Round Rock, the Williamson Museum on the Chisholm Trail.   And it’s actually on Chisholm Trail Drive in historic Round Rock.    The main exhibit area is in the Dr. William Mitchell Owen house, dating back to the early 1850s.    On Saturday, the museum held an early Fourth of July celebration, with watermelons in abundance, lots of ice cream, sack races, a skit performed by museum docents and tours of the beautiful Dr. Owen house.   The blackberries in the final photo were an ingredient in a traditional medicinal drink called shrub, which included the berries, mixed with vinegar and sugar and boiled to perfection.    These are a few photos taken for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.

Friday night, rather than saunter into the countryside, I decided to pay a close-by visit to downtown Taylor, Texas.    At the right time of day, the light on some of our buildings is glorious.   After shooting a few photos, however, I began to notice the billowing colors of the American flag at Heritage Square Park.  Just like that my focus (pun intended) changed.   The July 4th holiday-inspired session began when observing the flag’s reflection in a window of one of those historic buildings, followed by some images of the flag itself.   Looking skyward was a gift … a waxing gibbous moon.  Being a fool for the moon,  a few frames were made in that direction too.   Just down Main Street there was yet another flag, gracefully flying behind the Howard Theatre.   As I headed back to my car, parked on 4th Street, the Heritage Square Park flag still looked nice so I shot a little more to end the night’s work.

Sometimes, well really quite often, I just get in the car and drive.  It’s not a given I’ll find anything inspiring, but you never know until you look, right?   These are a few shots taken Wednesday evening.  All, as you might expect, are from East Williamson County, Texas, not a one more than twenty minutes from our house.   Those tall stalks in the first photo are pretty active agave plants.   If they’ve been growing like this all along, it’s a wonder they haven’t gotten my attention before now.  The rest are what they are.    That warmly-lit structure with cattle strolling by in back?  It’s a very small, very old house, apparently long abandoned.   At the end, a black and white treatment.  Just wandering, folks, just wandering.

This one’s very simple, something I shot a couple days ago.   When you get right down to it, you’re looking at a snapshot, something you could shoot with a phone.   But mine’s not with a phone.   I wasn’t going to post it, but what the heck.  It’s growing on me.

Those corn stalks on this prairie land are beginning to lose their color, fading into a warm and crisp shade of yellow.   Other crops, like those in the opening image, are taking their time in the spotlight.   From a distance, I’m not sure if the green I’m seeing in that first photo is cotton, but I think it might be.   It’s time for that.  But back to the corn.  You’re not seeing burnt-up corn stalks here, but let’s just say our farmers need to consider a harvest pretty soon.

Star and Lucy are family members.   Star, a pit bull  rescued by our daughter, will be 7 on July 4th.   The previous owners had her ears clipped far too much.  She is a sweetie pie.   When I see stories about the harm done by pit bulls, it makes me cringe.   Unless you’re a squirrel, or possum, Star is a peace-loving baby.    Those of us with enough years on us will remember Petey, the dog on the Little Rascals.  Petey was a pit bull.   Lucy?  She’s 13 now.  My wife and daughter adopted her when we lived in Georgia.  Lucy went un-adopted for 9 months.   Just before her time expired, we brought Lucy into our home.    They’re both good babies.

When I arrived at the Williamson County Sheriffs Posse Rodeo arena in Georgetown, Texas on Friday evening for their annual rodeo,  it was a downright hot 103 degrees.   Knowing it would be a hot night, my choice of attire switched from jeans and boots to shorts and a very light shirt.   Nevertheless, as I wandered through the stands taking feature photos for my friends at the Williamson County Sun,  a lady apparently decided I looked poorly and offered a cold bottled water.  Normally, I don’t accept things, but this time I did.   Heat aside, I completely enjoy rodeos.   The action in the arena is good, but more than that, it’s  the culture surrounding the sport.   Families bring their little ones, coaxing them, if they’re 55 pounds or less, to hop on a sheep’s back for Mutton Bustin.   One fellow who’s been around since 1969 is rodeo clown Leon Coffee, who hails from Blanco, Texas.   Leon keeps telling folks he’s retiring, but there he was again this year.  He graciously allowed me access to his inner sanctum to get a few shots of him preparing for the night.   A saddle bronc rider I met, 37, has been at it for quite  a few years, breaking a lot of bones along the way.   Still, they keep coming back.   Since returning to Texas in 2009, I’ve visited this arena every June, but I hear tell its time may be winding down to make way for something else on this ground.   I think that’s sad, but we’ll see what transpires.