As we approach the official start of summer in the south and southwest, local folks will quickly let you know this:  summer’s been here for a while.   With that in mind, here’s some photos taken in early- June 1976 in Shreveport, Louisiana, where I lived for six of the best professional years of my life.  I liked the spirit of these bare-foot boys as they sold three flavors of Kool Aid: grape, cherry and pink lemonade, for the grand sum of a nickel.    Good times.

Flags are one of my favorite photographic subjects.  Thank goodness, then, for Flag Day in the United States.  I’d forgotten what day it was, but on my morning walk, I noticed an abundance of American flags billowing in the Texas wind at Heritage Square Park in Taylor.   Late this afternoon, I chose that park to catch up on my reading, then transition to flag photography.  After a few minutes, a group of Boy Scouts, from Taylor Troop 167, stopped by to take them down.  The flags, I’m told, were to fly from 7a.m.-7p.m.  The scouts placed the flags in the morning, too.   I’m glad I stopped by this lovely downtown park.

Norman’s Crossing is a tiny community in East Williamson County, Texas that I enjoy.   You might recall posts from there, including a former one-room schoolhouse, and a lovely pasture of horses.   In the farm country where we live, it’s also common to see family cemeteries, most often placed right next to the fields many families have tilled.  One in Norman’s Crossing I like is the Saul family cemetery.   The photos posted tonight are taken at different times this year.  My first visit there was in March.  I’ve sat on those images for while, but then last week I stopped by there again.  The bare trees of March gave way to almost-summer leaves…and a field of wheat just beyond that once-barren tree.    The passing of seasons create new landscapes for one’s pleasure.

Another event I covered last weekend was Taylor’s Lone Star Summer Grand Prix Dog Show held at the Williamson County Expo Center.   While I know little about dog shows, I do love dogs.   And it was obvious the owners love them, too.    When I asked for a dog’s name after taking photos, the usual answer was  “Do you want their show name, or what we call them?”  These are smart, well-pampered dogs.  Some of the breeds were new to me.  One thing I didn’t know:  a “heeler” is really a nickname for Australian Cattle Dogs.   I like learning these little things.   These photos were taken for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.

Since I’ve been busy this past week with non-photographic things, it’s been tough to chase the moon when it becomes fuller.  After determining that there would be a moonset, however, I rose early on this Sunday morning, a little after 6, hitting the road.   What I’d forgotten, however, was the added  presence of a sunrise.  At 6:22, the sun made an appearance, prompting a few photos.   But I still wasn’t finding a good spot to photograph the that Waning Gibbous moon.  Almost ready to bag the idea, I remembered the abandoned old farm house along a dirt road.  By 6:45, I was there, and so was my moon.  I snapped a few photos.  By 7a.m., I was on the way home.

This little festival in Florence, a small town in far north Williamson County, Texas, is a hoot.   The focal point of the two-day festival is their parade, which took place this morning along East Main Street.   For whatever reason, I missed my visit to Florence in 2016, but was happy to see a young buckaroo, Shooter, now 3, still coming with his dad.  Shooter, in the opening photos, was having some trouble keeping that hat on his head.  We do have some wind in Central Texas.   Shooter made the day worthwhile.  I liked the washer tournament, too.  It was held next to one of Florence’s vintage structures.   That building is totally covered with ivy  …. poison ivy.  Thankfully, the washer tournament officials posted warning signs.  As someone with very sensitive skin, I stayed well away from it, as did the washer competitors.   We have some interesting little burgs in Texas. 

Tonight was Georgetown’s first of free Friday night concerts on the town’s scenic square.   This evening’s entertainment was provided by Roland Waits and the Wayward Travelers.  The concerts will run throughout the summer, every Friday evening on the courthouse lawn.  It’s a great venue, for children, and adults who want to get in touch with their inner child.  Some folks got good parking places, enjoying the fun from the bed of their trucks.  These photos were taken for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.

Since I’ve been on one of those big sky kicks recently, it seems appropriate to mix things up with some smaller landscapes.   Water, in all its forms is a source of immense interest.    These photos were taken this week while I was shooting photos of our trail system in Georgetown, Texas.   You can find some good scenery when you get off the beaten path.  Drops of water speckling the surface of the north fork of the San Gabriel River begins this post, followed by a little area along Booty’s Park trails.  I don’t really know what to call this area of water, plants and lichen, but a couple on a hike said it reminded them of Japanese gardens.   Whatever you call it, I find it refreshing to see. 

While some of this week has been about the manual labor of flooring work, I did manage to get out the door a little, but not too far from home.   The two photos posted this evening were taken a few minutes apart, both just west of Taylor.   For car admirers, that car sharing a field with some bovines is a Plymouth.  It’s been here a while, but this is the first occasion where she had four-legged company.  Those spots in the sky above the Plymouth aren’t digital dust, they’re avian.  And the horse?  Well,  I like horses … so there.  Both images were taken as sundown neared, the best time to have a camera.

These are some photos I took  Monday evening, when the skies held the promise of storms.   Actually, they never really came, but the cloud patterns?  I was impressed.   All, of course, are near my home on the Blackland Prairie.   Some are presented in both color and black and white, others, like this first one from Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Wuthrich Hill, Texas?  Just b/w there, folks.  I like it just like it is.