Monday afternoon I had a fantastic time taking photos of kids getting to know some really cool exotic animals at the Go Wild Zoofari event held at Christ Lutheran Church in Georgetown, Texas.   The hour-long session, hosted by Bridges to Growth, a part of the Georgetown Project.   Among the animals were a lemur (Gizmo), an African Pygmy Hedgehog (Pepper), a wallaby (Zoe), a chinchilla (Prince Charming), an African Fennic fox (Miss Foxy) and my favorite, a big old playful cat, an African Serval (Khira).  Khira was having a good time batting at my camera.  She also wanted to tote away one of my fanny packs, but we put a stop to that.   By the way, Zoe is wearing a diaper.  It seems that this wallaby isn’t potty-trained.  These photos were taken for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.

When not feeling like taking an extended drive, one of my go-to destinations is Taylor’s Bull Branch Park, a mere half-mile from home.  It’s a sweet little park that I go through on most of my daily walks.   While pretty in the middle of the day, it’s serene when the light begins to fade.   There’s a gentle stream coursing through its boundaries, making its way through several cypress trees before feeding into a nice pond.   Sometimes on the pond, and in the stream,  you’ll see ducks and geese.   One of the resident ducks was apparently giving herself a bath in the narrow water of the stream.   At least I think that was her goal, with all that flapping.   Around the pond are a number of sturdy reeds.  The thinner reeds are a welcome sight to dragonflies.    There’s nothing newsworthy in this post, just yours truly watching the light.

Throughout East Williamson County, Texas, the Blackland Prairie is covered with fields of corn.   This year, farmers here  planted approximately 104,000 acres of it.   Again this year, I revisit Taylor-area farmer Larry Raesz, who just turned 65 in June.   He’s still going strong, planting 1200 acres.   Larry’s is a family-oriented operation, getting help from sons Bradley and Brandon, and plenty of support from his wife, Pat.   During harvest season, the family comes together even more, working throughout long, hot days, well into the dark of night.   Since there’s so much to be done, the Raesz clan have their suppers in the field.  Pat pitches in, providing everyone with a good, hot meal set out on a fold-out table, adding chairs and blankets, too.    The grandkids are often there, too, riding in the combine with Larry, or taking a seat in the tractor with dad, and when the grain trucks are filled and ready to go to Williamson County Grain in Taylor, a little one likes to ride along for that, too. I visited this same family at harvest time last season, but their bond is incredibly-inspiring.    Larry’s younger brother, Arnold, 63, isn’t represented here.  He’s just up the road from Larry’s home, but also runs his own farming operation with his kids and grandkids.    Larry and Arnold grew up in the farming life:  their father, Willie Raesz, Jr., who died in 2001, farmed all his life.   Willie’s father, Willie Sr., farmed this land, too.   That’s staying-power, friends.   The latest USDA census figures give the average American farmer’s age at 58.3 years.   I hope the Raesz family, and many others all over the country, keep it going.  

There was something else on the posting agenda today, but it’s very labor-intensive.   With that in mind, and wanting to post, here’s (wait for it) yet another windmill image.   I do love those whirling contraptions.  This was taken earlier this week on a piece of our prairie.

As old stuff goes, this one’s not that ancient.   I took this photograph in 1997, not far Cleveland, Georgia on a night when the full moon blessed us with its presence and the skies added even more light.   We were on a family weekend trip to the North Georgia mountains.   My wife by then was used to me pulling over to snap photos, but our daughter, 13 at the time, and her best friend along for the trip, was anxious for us to get going!   Undaunted, I stopped for about five minutes anyway.     Right now, we’re experiencing a waxing crescent moon … this full moon seemed the right way to go for archival work.

While wandering through San Gabriel Park last weekend, I saw a big sign. written on an old-fashioned chalk board …. Free Workout.   A group of women, some accompanied by children, were breaking a sweat and enjoying each other’s company.   Naturally, I pulled over and inquired if I could take photos for the newspaper.   They were all happy to oblige.   The workouts are held at San Gabriel Park the second and fourth Saturday of every month, all year long and sponsored by Juice Plus+.  The exercise begins at 9:30 and lasts approximately one hour.   Although this session was attended only by women, men are welcome, too.    The thing that’s really neat, however, is how kid-friendly this group is.   Saturday’s group included moms and grandmoms.   They spread out their yoga mats and weights right next to a playground area, but far enough away from the river to keep the kiddos safe.   What’s cool was watching the children joining their family members on the mats.    You can find out more about this group via their Facebook page, SweatSesh With Healthy Living. 

Something I’ve noticed in the years we’ve been back home is how things stay with us, perhaps long after their usefulness has past.   Consider old homesteads, like this one on a county road a little west of Granger this week.  The fields surrounding it are filled with cotton and corn, but the old house remains, with no real purpose other than to be … just be.   Just down the road a piece is yet another windmill, holding its spot under a blanket of cumulus clouds.

It continues to be astonishing how photographers haven’t felt the urge to document my area of Central Texas.   The land and sky here on the Blackland Prairie continue to fascinate my senses.  The opening photo takes you to a gentle hill adorned with cotton and corn.  That image was taken last evening.  The other photo?  Just another sunset in Taylor, seen a little over an hour ago.  

During all those years in metro-Atlanta, it was rare to find an actual dirt road.  I did manage to find one in Cobb County, a road that bordered a portion of Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in Marietta.   Back home in Texas, I try not to take for granted our many dirt roads, like this one seen in my rearview mirror on the Blackland Prairie tonight.

If you want to assign a theme to this post, let’s call it the river.   The San Gabriel River meanders through Williamson County, Texas, making its way into Milam County, eventually meeting the more-famous Brazos River before the final destination, the Gulf of Mexico.    On Thursday, I watched an egret for about thirty minutes, hoping she’d take flight.  She did not.  Today, I watched a fly fisherman from Austin enjoying the cool water on a very toasty day.   And there was a Plein Air artist, adorning her canvas this morning with her own view of the San Gabriel.   Rivers are one of the life bloods of this planet.   Take care of them.