These sunflowers growing wild along Bill Pickett Trail in Taylor are not what I shot tonight, but they’re what’s being posted.    Bill Pickett, for those unversed, was an African-American (and Taylor native)  who brought the rodeo sport of bulldogging to the world.   A statue of Mr. Pickett is being dedicated this week in Taylor.   I am proud we named a road after him.

This week, I spent time at three good places to cool off in Georgetown as summer bears down on us.  Two are Parks Department city pools, the third a series of cool (really) splash pads at San Jose Park.   The first four  photos, beginning with a dad and his daughter,  were taken at the the splash pad, followed by three  shots from the splash pool at the Georgetown Recreation Center, a very kid-friendly place.  The rest of the photos are from the city’s venerable Williams Drive pool, which has been around a long time.  It’s still popular today.  Just ask the grandma and grandson in the final image.   These photos were taken for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.

On Sunday evening I posted some storm photos from Milam County, Texas.  My goal had been to find an old structure photographed by Frank Armstrong, one of my  early-1970s professors at UT-Austin in 2004.   Sadly, the building fell victim to a fire in 2008.   Since I’d made the hour-long drive, I made a few images of what I saw, presented in both color and black and white.   My preference on all is b/w, but each to his/her own.  The first couple,  from Burlington, Texas,  shows what remains of their fire department, an International Harvester with grass growing around its base.   The second photos are of a Burlington resident cycling back home with his very nice dog.  He was the one who gave me the news of the 2008 fire.   Note that I normally don’t cotton to seeing folks on bikes without helmets, but folks, this town is tiny, a few hundred folks at most.   I’m pretty sure they fared well.  Burlington is about eleven miles north of Cameron, the county seat.   The last photos, as the storms began to brew, are from Ben Arnold,  7 miles north of Cameron.  These days, the most active spot in Ben Arnold is a bar.  This, however, is not the bar.  The latest census pegs this dot on the map at around 148 residents.  The community began in 1890, as a stop on the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway.  The town was named for 3-year-old Bennie Arnold, the daughter of B.I. Arnold.   Bennie was the mascot for the first train to pull into the station.   I may be wrong, but I think Ben Arnold will remain a sleepy Texas town.  It bears repeating:  b/w is my preference. 

Until I was looking for the name of someone I photographed a few years back on Memorial Day, I didn’t realize this was the first Sun City Memorial Day  to be held outdoors since 2014.   Rain threatened in the intervening years, taking activities indoors.  After recent storms in the area, this morning was quite humid, but thankfully it was outdoors once again, at Veterans Memorial Plaza.   There was quite a turnout despite the humidity.  One couple I admired, you see them holding hands, are both veterans.  He’s 97, a World War II Navy veteran.  His bride, 92, was a WAVE during that same war.  They’ve been married for 70 years.    As if you need a reminder, Memorial Day is meant to be a solemn occasion, honoring those who’ve died in service to the country.   Unfortunately, speakers at these events are often elected office holders who feel the need to make this a partisan occasion.   That’s regrettable.  I’m thinking now about Howard Elder, a high school classmate and fellow marching band member.  For reasons unknown, Howard dropped out of school and joined the Army.  He didn’t come home from Vietnam.  He was a good guy.   This is not about politics, friends.  If you choose to make it so, you’re missing the point of the day.

This afternoon I drove about an hour east of my Taylor home, to Milam County, Texas.  I was looking for an old structure one of my college professors photographed in Burlington, a few miles north of Cameron.  I found Burlington, but also found out the building succumbed to a fire in 2008.   On the way back home, however, I found a storm.   These are a few images from tonight’s trek.  

This week I attended two graduation ceremonies in Georgetown.  The first, on Wednesday night, was for Richarte High School, the school district’s alternative high school for students who might need a little extra care along the way.   The first photos are from there, including the class valedictorian, waiting backstage for things to start.   The other two fit well into Richarte’s theme of helping.   The 2-year-old being held by his aunt, with his father at his side, is the son of one of the graduates, followed by a post-ceremony photo with baby, mom and dad.    The rest of the photos were at East View High School’s Friday commencement, held at the HEB Center at Cedar Park.   Past high school graduations have been held outdoors at the district’s beautiful stadium, but late-spring heat, and last year’s stormy weather on the big night caused the district to look for a safe place.   I still like the stadium though.  And it’s in Georgetown, not Cedar Park.  The onstage activity was rather mundane.  After the ceremony, several students mentioned they’d been instructed to keep it low-key.  That, of course, makes for tepid images.  One family in the audience made a good image though.  Thankfully, at the very end,  a young lady jumped up, raised her arms high and celebrated.   After getting her name for the paper, I thanked her for her enthusiasm.   Another I like:  grandfather waiting with red roses for his granddaughter, who worked the phone trying to find some of her  fellow graduates.  

When I think of schools, it’s hard to not remember Grim Elementary School, in Texarkana, Texas, where I spent my first years of formal education, beginning in 1958.   That divine old building came along in 1913.   Before my first dip into world of learning, Grim modernized, putting its original desks up for sale for the grand some of a quarter … 25 cents.  That happened to be my 6-year-old’s weekly allowance.  Since Grim was less than a block from home, I bought a desk.   It has a place in my home office in 2017.   This is a roundabout way of letting you know how I spent my Thursday in Georgetown, Texas … documenting the final hours of Annie Purl Elementary School.  They’re opening a new Annie Purl in the fall, but Thursday was  a time to remember the old school, built in 1953.   This original version has been, for a couple years, just for pre-k through second grade.   I arrived on campus about 30 minutes before the doors opened, at 7:20.  Except for a two-hour period, where I did my daily walk, I stayed well beyond closing time.  The first image and the last one are the same, but I do like black and white.  It’s the first photo I took Thursday.    The school’s demolition will begin in the next few days.  Those murals you see here?  They’re going by the wayside.  I find that sad.   And can’t help but think about Grim Elementary, taken away for a road-widening project.   Progress … I guess.

While relaxing at the library in Taylor late this afternoon, a storm made itself known.  Naturally, I dropped what I was doing and made my way outside.   Serious downpours like this sometimes leave behind a rainbow.  Not always, but you have to be ready.  I was ready.   After a couple stops, where nothing came together,  a rainbow came to life above a corn field along F.M. 973, a little south of Taylor.   On the way home, I also stopped to look at a rain-soaked field of new crops.    These prairie scenes seldom grow tiresome. 

Since the start of the day on Saturday in Central Texas, our skies have been filled with storm clouds.   Those clouds, mostly, have not produced a lot of moisture, but they have produced some interesting skies.    You’ll find a mix of both color and black and white images here.    I’m not sure which works best, but it’s fun to consider the options.   These photos begin just after dawn on Saturday, with my favorite shack outside Taylor.   In between, there’s a nice barn along County Road 409, north of Taylor.    And there’s Christ Lutheran Church, in Noack, presented in both color and b/w.  You’ll find grain elevators, also Noack, in color and b/w.   The opening l image, taken tonight, color only, is Immanuel Lutheran Church, the little church on the hill, a wee bit west of Taylor.  Tonight’s skies still had clouds, but the promise of clearing was apparent, too.

Even with storm clouds rumbling this morning in Central Texas, more than 400 single moms and military wives came to Celebration Church in Georgetown, Texas for the 9th annual Single Moms & Military Wives Oil Change.   Moms were treated not only to free oil changes and car washes, there was also a bit of pampering, also gratis, including massages, manicures, facials and waxings.   If the kids accompanied mom, they had the option of going to an area for play, or just hanging with mom.   While your beliefs regarding religion and faith are your own, I cover what’s out there.   Celebration Church is one of those very large megachurches, but they do some good things for our community.   Carry on, friends.