There’s no adequate way to visually describe the  mass of avian life that arrives each Spring at Taylor’s Murphy Park, but we try.   These photographs are from  two recent outings.   When moving here in Summer 2009, the visual radar soon gravitated toward this site.   Granted, there are too many posts from here, but there could be more.   The impetus for tonight’s offering was prompted by a friend’s visit here this week.   The friend was captivated.   On one of these outings another first-time visitor was also enthralled.   If you plan to visit the site and want to see hundreds of migratory birds gathered, it’s best to be here in the time nearing sunset.   They’re around during the day, but at night they’re abundant.  

Photographs from tonight’s Full Moon, as seen from the Blackland Prairie.  Farm country. friends.

One from tonight at the rookery in Taylor’s Murphy Park.   The Waxing Gibbous moon was at almost 98% visibility.  Other photographs have been made here recently, but tonight, just this one.

A Waxing Gibbous moon, at nearly 93%, rises over Saint Peter’s Church of Coupland on Sunday evening.   Coupland is a beautiful community minutes south of Taylor.  

The walk photographs continue.  All from this collection were taken in Taylor.  Algae on the creek is almost interesting, but pesky.   The oppressive heat is slowing things down, but we’re good to go.   A water bottle is now a part of the stroll toolkit.   We soldier on.

Let’s be clear, friends.  Weddings are not part of my toolkit.  During a career spanning almost 57 years,  wedding photography has only been undertaken a few times.    A visit to Georgetown’s Berry Springs Park & Preserve this morning was just to look for butterflies, flowers and other botanical things.   When packing up to leave, however, a group of folks, many wearing cowboy hats, made their way to a grove of old-growth pecan trees.   A wedding was about to take place.   The bride and family gave permission for photographs.   If they had said no,  so be it.  So a nice slice of life was documented. .  This wasn’t the planned post tonight, but a photographer colleague posted a beautiful photograph this afternoon, a cowboy under a beautiful Nebraska sky, a photo taken years ago with Kodachrome film.     It is National Day of the Cowboy, mentioned in his post.   How many know that?   Thus this offering posted tonight.  A member of the wedding contingent mentioned the groom had been a bull-riding athlete.   Bull riding brings out the real cowboys.

“42nd Street” opens tonight at the Georgetown Palace, playing on the Springer Stage at this 100-year-old theater in the heart of Georgetown, Texas.  Just this one photograph, but others are on Facebook and Instagram (andybobsharp).  The show continues through August 30th.

Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in the Fayette County community of Praha, just east of Flatonia, Texas, is offered here.   It’s one the historic Painted Churches in Texas, one documented for a Texas Highways story in 2012.  Since we were in Flatonia on Sunday, we made a brief stop at the church.   The church was built in 1895.  Most of the majestic sanctuary was painted by Gottfried Flurry, a Swiss-born artist from Moulton, Texas.   Not included in the magazine story was the church tribute to nine soldiers from the church who died in 1943-1944 during World War II.  Three small chapels on the grounds recognize each of them.   All are buried in the huge cemetery behind the church.  

By the time this photograph was taken tonight it was in the lower-90s.   A “warm” sunset, friends.   Summertime in Texas.

As this is written the temperature in our area is 100 degrees.   The high today was somewhere between 103 and 105.   When these were taken Wednesday evening it was also in triple digits.  The fellow in the opening photograph was having a grand time, resting in his foldout chair in the middle of the San Gabriel River, at Mankins Crossing.   The others are from  Blue Hole Park in Georgetown.  If this had been on the weekend the crowds would’ve been massive.   Let’s hope for a cool-down.   Our summers are trials.