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.

While attempting a bit of video to accompany a column I wrote for the Williamson County Sun this week, this came along.   The tiny shack, at one time home to those working these Blackland Prairie fields,  added depth to a beautiful field of corn at the conclusion of a lovely day.

The latest main stage production at the Georgetown Palace Theatre is “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” playing weekends on the Springer Memorial Stage through June 18.   Directed by Lannie Hilboldt, the production stars Steve Williams as Joseph.    If last night’s dress rehearsal is any indication, the audience is in for fast-paced entertainment.   These are a few of the photos made for an upcoming review in the Williamson County Sun.   More photos can be found on  my Facebook page.

By the time I visited “Roots” author Alex Haley at his home north of Knoxville, Tennessee in May 1988, the Atlanta Journal & Constitution was still shooting black and white film, but also color transparencies.   The color here is Fujichrome, a much better film, in my humble opinion, than Kodak’s Ektachrome.   Soon after, to consolidate matters, we, along with many other newspapers, began shooting everything on color negative film.   The results when a color negative was printed on b/w paper were awful, but it was what it was.   As we wandered around his farm, Mr. Haley, who died in February 1992, was most gracious.   I do like the monotone images of him much better, but can’t recall what we used in the paper.

When spring comes to Central Texas, specifically on the Blackland Prairie, it’s a given … I will be posting crop images.   This is another expansive field of wheat I found this week a little west of Granger.  Spring, of course, is a time for wildflowers.   While I find them beautiful, farmers’ crops are just as elegant.