Tonight was another of those evenings where no specific idea came to mind.   When it began to rain, I thought to wander through downtown Taylor.   The rain flowing in the street, combined with some longish camera exposures created some interesting color patterns.   Hey, it’s something to do, right?   And utilizing the tripod is good for enhancing one’s work ethic.    The second and last photos are basically the same scene, but by the time the latter was taken, the rain was really pounding.   Soon after that one, I  packed up for home.

On this Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday my cameras were aimed at Georgetown, Texas, where there was a march from the town square, followed by a service at Macedonia Baptist Church.   I don’t think there’s more to be said.   The photos can do the work here.

It wasn’t my expectation to post more fog imagery, but when heading out the door for a Sunday morning errand, the fog was there, more dominant than Saturday’s.    You probably know this by now, but unless I’m doing a daily round of aerobic exercise, the camera stays with me at all times.   By that, I mean a camera, not a phone.  Not to bash those who use phones for their photos, but this is my living, my passion.  But, as usual, I digress.   These photos were taken Sunday morning in and around Taylor’s Bull Branch Park.  Included are a few ducks crossing the road, and a feisty squirrel.   All images are presented in black and white.   Fog, for the most part, simplifies and clarifies things, strips them down to the essentials.   As does black and white photography.  

A few of these are presented in black and white.  Sometimes it seems the proper way to go.  Our Blackland Prairie weather today was cool and quite foggy.  I didn’t get out to record what I saw until about 5p.m.    In this post you have a deserted farmhouse, a pair of barns, a lovely tree and its tractor.   You also have a long stretch of road, seemingly endless.  One of my mentors, Bill Clough, who grew up in the Texas panhandle, has a body of images much better than this.    On that same long road is a sturdy tank, also known as a stock pond.  Tonight there was no stock, which adds to its interest.   At least I think it does.  The state flag adorned on an outbuilding completes the misty Texas evening.

Some subjects I will likely just pound into your consciousness, for better or worse.   The moon, in all its forms, is one of these.   In recent years, the phrase “Super Moon” comes up more and more.    Let’s be clear, folks:  I consider all forms of the moon “super.”   While I like it when I get those tight shots of full moons with a bird flying past, what inspires me most is working it into the prevailing  landscape, including the skies and clouds that embrace  it.   These photos were taken this week, when it’s described as waxing gibbous.  Essentially, it’s a full moon.   If you want to get precise, it’s 99.6% full.  My concern was not being able to see it due to clouds and predicted rain.   The first three photos in this post are from Wednesday night, when the skies were still clear.   The little pond reflecting the moon is at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, in Wuthrich Hill, Texas.  Note that I do NOT call this a tank.   There’s not a cow to be seen.  It’s strictly, and sweetly, a pond.   The last three images were taken Thursday night in East Williamson County.   The clouds were so prevalent, I hadn’t expected to see the moon at all, but when leaving the grocery store, there it was, fading and reappearing.  I watched it for several minutes.   It’s just pretty enough to almost make me howl.  Almost.

While wandering around Georgetown Thursday evening I briefly stopped on a bridge overlooking the San Gabriel River, on the north side of San Gabriel Park.   In the far distance there was a heron relaxing on its perch.  Joining her were two ducks, although barely visible.   Looking below, into the blue water, made so by the lateness of the hour (it was approaching 6:30), a red shirt-clad fisherman was still at it.  He caught a few perch, but seemed to have had a good time just enjoying this unseasonably warm January night.   A technical note:  that last photo’s exposure was 1/5 of a second.  Normally I won’t mention this stuff, but was happy to see my fisherman just sharp enough keep!

A few weeks ago there was a story on National Public Radio about family heirlooms, specifically this:  what happens to something you cherish, but your children don’t feel the same about it after you’re gone?   It brought to mind this very old family rocking chair, now at least 100-years-old, but I think it actually dates to the late 1800s.   I took some photos of it today, but also include a photo taken of me, in either 1953, or early 1954, when Maw Mathison, our next-door-neighbor in Texarkana, was babysitting me while mama and daddy were at work.  Somewhere in the 60s, mama had it reupholstered.    Since my parents died in the 1970s, I’ve transported this chair from Texas, to Louisiana, Georgia and now back to Texas.   What will happen to the chair when my wife and I are gone?  Will either of my grown children feel the need to keep it in the family?   It’s something I think about a lot.  I love this old rocker.

This is a followup to last night’s post from the 71st annual Williamson County Livestock Show in Taylor, Texas.   I’m not certain there will be more visits to the show this year, but you never know.   These photos were taken on Tuesday, the day set aside for the judging of goats and lambs, or, if you prefer, sheep.   I call them sheep.   Something I’ve noticed about these shows:  they appear to be filled with more female competitors than their male counterparts.   Parents I talked to notice this, too.   One mom, whose daughters raised sheep, commented “Boys don’t like to do all the frilly things we do to them.”   That may be true!  At any rate, this batch of images were taken for my friends at the Austin American-Statesman.

It’s been an extremely busy two days documenting the drama, and the fun, at the annual Willliamson County Livestock Show.   This year, the event has moved from the old show barn in Georgetown to the newly-remodeled and expanded Williamson County Expo Center in Taylor.   It’s only two miles from my house, too!   The photos posted tonight are from Monday,  when poultry and rabbits were judged.   These kids (and sometimes parents and grandparents)  take this stuff seriously.  And it gives them focus.   As one of two teen sisters from Hutto said with a laugh “It keeps us out of trouble.”   You can’t argue with that.  The last two photos show a mom watching as her 14-year-old daughter (last photo) goes on to win Grand Champion in her rabbits class.   It was nice to watch this unfold.

Tonight, I have some paying work that needs to be cleared so I decided to stay even closer to home than usual, paying a visit to Taylor’s Murphy Park, just over a mile from home.   Once there, I watched ducks, then turned my camera to a waxing gibbous moon.   This moon phase is over 50% of full, but the longer, tripod-mounted camera exposure blows out the highlights, giving it the appearance of a full moon.   That moon is a few days away, but I kind of like how this one looks, too.