It’s the middle of an extremely-busy weekend, but I’m stopping from post-production work just briefly to post a few photos from Taylor’s Bull Branch Park.   I post quite a bit from there.   Some of it might be repetitive, too, but what the heck, I like the place.   And so do the ducks.    Future ducks were in evidence the other evening when I was there, eggs nicely nestled in the cypress knobs.    It’s good to think about the new ducklings-to-be. 

These are a few photos taken last evening in Georgetown.   In Taylor, where we live, there’s a rookery at Murphy Park, where ducks, geese and egrets roost, building nests to harbor their newborns.   Georgetown’s San Gabriel Park has a place, too.   Lately, I’ve noticed the egrets gathering at the last part of their days in a few cozy trees.   If one looks closely, you’ll see nests there.   While these may seem like black and white images, they aren’t.   A cloudy day provided the muted tones.  The last  photo, taken well past sundown?   That’s the night’s blueness taking over, with a slice of the moon included. This might not be an official rookery, but the egrets call it home, at least for a while.

A word that sometimes rankles me is “cute.”   Sometimes my subjects are cute.  But consider that there may be more to it than that.   In these February 1983 photos taken on a cold day in Marietta, Georgia, grandparents spend time with two children they obviously love.    They’re simple images, straightforward and to the point.   Maybe, just maybe, that’s all that’s needed for readers and viewers to relate ….tidbits of life’s journeys, friends.   Technology has changed much since these photos were taken, but not the messages.

Before you get your hopes up in anticipation of windmills and tulips, it’s not that Holland.   Texas has one, too.  Ours is in Bell County, Texas, about a 25 minute drive due north of my home in Taylor.   According to the latest census figures, this Holland, home of the annual Corn Festival, held in June, is a bit over 1100 folks.  Holland was established in 1881, but it was around during the time of the Civil War, too.  Back then it was called Mountain Home.   From what I’ve read it got that name from a “mountain” south of town.   The mountain was actually a hill.   The town got its current name from James Reuben Holland, born in 1847 in Clairborne County, Tennessee.   Mr. Holland arrived in Texas in the 1870s with his family.    It’s a quiet place.   I enjoyed strolling around there this week.   The second photo in this post is probably my favorite.  That’s the First National Bank building, at the corner of Travis and Austin Street.   It was built in 1905.  It’s still a bank today, now a part of the Horizon Bank family.  I’m glad they’re still keeping it nice.  The deer heads mounted in the lobby are just about perfect.   There’s some street scenes, too, including something from the Holland Volunteer Fire Department.   Their crews had just returned from battling grass fires near Granger.   As i continue to explore my part of Texas, it’s good to include Holland.

As I was heading north from Taylor this afternoon, it was hard to miss the huge plumes of smoke in the distance.  These days I don’t claim to be much a hard news chaser, but curiosity is hard to ignore.   We’ve started our Central Texas week with very low humidity, somewhere around 20%.   That often leads to fire hazards.   This one created a lot of burning and plenty of smoke, but firefighters seemed to get it under control in short order.     The first photo also gives you not just a fire image, but a sense of the area where we live.    Even on fire, it’s pretty.

This is a little something I saw last evening while visiting the area near Bartlett, Texas.   It was late in day, with the sun shining a wee bit.  Perhaps that accounts for the color of the aircraft’s trail?   I don’t know the answer, but found it interesting.   Of course, the waxing crescent moon’s presence can’t hurt, can it?

When I was in Schwertner, Texas the other night, a lady I chatted with suggested I stop by Bartlett’s City Cemetery.   She recalled seeing burials dating back to the late 1700s.   When I wandered up that way tonight, I did manage to find some burials from the early 1800s.    It’s a large cemetery, very spread out on this piece of the prairie about 18 miles north of Taylor.    Coming into Bartlett, there’s a big sign indicating the town was established in 1881.  Obviously, a few folks arrived  a little earlier.  The photos posted here present some gravestones, but also (hopefully) give you a feel for the landscape.   Walking around close to dark, I managed to see a bench topped with an American flag.  This was an area set aside to honor veterans.   And then some trees, always trees, and sky, and moon, and stars.   It might be an odd thing, but cemeteries provide comfort.   After Sunday’s Memorial Bike Ride, I needed that. 

Last Monday 19-year-old Georgetown cyclist Tommy Ketterhagen was struck and killed while on a ride not far from East View High School, where he graduated in 2015.  This morning at East View, a 25-mile Memorial Bike Ride was held in Tommy’s honor.   I’d thought there might be a few cyclists on hand, but what I forgot was just how supportive this Central Texas area can be.   550-600 cyclists showed up to pay tribute to Tommy, among them family and friends, but probably a lot of folks who never met him.   About a mile into the leisurely ride, the group stopped at the site where Tommy died.  One of Tommy’s teachers from East View High knelt at the site, joined by her children and other friends.    Back at the school, participants signed a ghost bike for Tommy.  The bike will soon be placed at the crash site.   Among those photos:  Tommy’s mom signing the bike, as well as his sister, and Tommy’s father getting a hug from a good friend.

Tonight I covered the grand opening of the 90,000 square-foot sanctuary at Celebration Church in Georgetown, Texas.  The service was followed by a fireworks show on this chilly Central Texas evening.   It’s unusual to photograph a fireworks show in January, but of course, we’re in Texas.   And what better way, if you’re a kid, to take in the show from the bed of a truck?

Breaking up the routine, I aimed myself to northern Williamson County, Texas this evening,, coming to a stop in Schwertner, a little community that dates back to the late 1870s.  The latest census figures show Schwertner with 175 residents.   At one point, it had as much as 500 folks.  Still, it retains its own post office.  One old structure, on F.M. 487, looked like an old grocery store, but a lady walking her dog said it was a bar.  I like it though.  Then there’s downtown Schwertner, on County Road 392.   The same lady, one of the Schwertner family, said the Schwertner State Bank building goes back to 1910.  Leatherman Drugs, next door, is long gone, too.   I’m happy to see the buildings are intact.  They have great character.   Angling south toward Taylor, I snapped a few photos of F.M. 1105, coming to a stop in downtown Walburg, where I photographed the always-busy Walburg Restaurant, which also includes a bier garten in back.   To say there’s a strong German culture in Central Texas might be an understatement.