A few photographs from tonight’s Lighting of the Square in Georgetown. Even though I arrived 90 minutes early, parking was at a premium. Four blocks away wasn’t too bad though. The post begins with a sweet lady closer to my age group. She was a visual gift. Others require no explanations. 
A few good hours were spent today taking photographs at the annual Georgetown Community Thanksgiving, held in the San Gabriel Community Center at San Gabriel Park. Two hundred pounds of turkey breasts, plus a bunch of fixings, drinks and desserts were provided free of charge to anyone who came. For homebound residents, hot meals were delivered to their doorsteps. Helping make this possible are members of the Georgetown Beard Club, the City of Georgetown Police and Fire Departments, plus a whole bunch of volunteers. When mentioning the Beard Club in previous posts, I’ve been asked what that means. The Beard Club is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that does a lot of good things in the area. Click on the link provided. I begin the post with three photos of a couple in their 90s. He is completely deaf, she has mobility issues. Volunteers were on hand to make sure they got what they needed. Before the serving line opened, one young man brought along a book to read. He and dad are both avid readers. That’s nifty. Each year this event draws people from all walks of life. Some of them are homeless. A couple or three of those are pictured here. Enough explanations, friends. Just some photos now. 
These photos are basically just silhouettes seen as I wandered around our area the last couple of days. The opening photograph is from Monday evening in Milam County, Texas. The other two are both from this evening, each (barely) in Travis County, but not far from home. Passing often-photographed grain elevators I was intrigued by the shaft of sunlight streaming between them. The last one is mostly just a sunset and clouds configuration, but if you look closely you might see a commercial aircraft to the right of the sun. I’m sure the airplane was departing Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, heading to points north. Many are traveling this holiday weekend. 
Well past sunset last evening a farmer worked well after sunset, tilling that Blackland Prairie soil in East Williamson County, Texas. Maybe I’ll share something more later, but this quiet rural scene might fulfill a need to offer something to my friends. 
Friendship Park is an area near Granger Lake, named for a community that once existed here before the San Gabriel River was dammed to create the lake. I would’ve loved to have seen Friendship, but the area is really nice. Anglers flock to the lake in large numbers. Trees and prairie grass are abundant. And deer find it to be a safe haven. 
A few years ago, as spring and summer growth lessened, I began to notice an old shack resting in the middle of a field, not far from our home in Taylor. During warmer months, the structure was covered in brush and vines, hardly visible to most folks. Around seven years ago, however, when granted permission to photograph a nearby barn, I took a closer look. The person who owned the barn explained that it was what remained of a hand shack, also called a picker’s shack. Many years ago, before expensive combines and tractors were common, farmers hired seasonal laborers to hand-pick fields of cotton. Since most didn’t have a place to rest their heads at day’s end, farmers often built these structures to accommodate their workers. If you look around our area, you’ll find a few remaining. Occasionally, I’ll photograph one of the others, but it’s this one that keeps drawing me in. When these were taken on a recent evening, warm light fell into its interior, highlighting something there. On closer inspection, I saw it was a high chair, resting around bottles and pieces of tin, probably from the roof that’s falling in. That chair was proof that people, families, lived there for brief periods before returning to their homes. For now, this shack remains. The land where it sits is probably quite valuable. Time, and economics, will determine its future. The Blackland Prairie is evolving. As long as this shack is around, and I’m around, I’ll document its old bones. 
This continues my weekly offering of photographs taken during daily walks. Sometimes these walks are in Georgetown, but these are all Taylor scenes. Although they say we don’t have much autumn color, I’m seeing a bit here and there. These were taken with my Olympus OM-D E-M10 mirrorless camera, great for strolls! 
The fence posts along this road are nice, but receive a little boost when the prairie grass is growing nearby. Just a quiet space 
on the Blackland Prairie.
Seen this evening near sunset at San Gabriel Park in Georgetown. We do have snippets of autumn’s splendor in Central Texas. And a mom and daughter embracing the light on the river. 
Seen around 7:30 this morning, morning light streaming through a window in my office, falling on a stack of prints (and old calendar). The prints are likely decades old. I need to be organized, but it’s not a priority for now. 