A wandering this week took me to North Williamson County.   Since much of this rambling is free-form, I don’t always know where I’ll end up, or what I’ll find.   Last night, in New Corn Hill,  it was a cemetery.   Now understand this, folks.   I like cemeteries, always have.  Even when it’s dark.  If a ghost appears, I’d welcome them.   Last night’s cemetery was atop a rise behind Holy Trinity Catholic Church.   The twin spires of the church, built in 1914, are always exceptional to see.  The first time I saw them a few years ago, it was from a long way off.   In this part of Texas you can do that … see far.   The spires have been before my cameras a few times, but not the cemetery.  I thought it would be cool to juxtapose these burial sites with the church.   As I got down on the ground, however, I discovered a drawback … cockleburs.   Dangit, those things hurt!   Since I was already on the ground I figured, why not go ahead and shoot?  So I did, watching the light start out sort of gray.  It had, after all, been been cloudy throughout the day.     If you know me by now, you know I like the soft, subtle blue that arrives with nightfall.  As I drove away, as an afterthought, I took a couple of last photos of the church itself.  It’s a grand structure on our wonderful prairie. 

A Central Texas day that began with rain, heavy clouds and falling temperatures ended nicely cool.   The dropping temperature also helped get some nasty allergens out of the air.   These photos, taken about six minutes apart, in slightly different locations along the same stretch, were taken almost a full hour past sundown.   The color shift is the result of  changing conditions.  My Taylor vantage point looks west.   The light (not the natural kind) in the distance:  that’s Georgetown, a good 18 miles away.   I do like being able to see into the far distance.

Since moving to this area in summer 2009, my fondness for the land and sky around here has continued to grow.   I grew up in Northeast Texas, and love the area we Texans call the Piney Woods.   But here’s the thing:  after living in metro-Atlanta Georgia for 29 years, it was time to have some space, like this scene in a field just west of Taylor … one old tree, cozy in a farmer’s field.   A phrase I’ve used to describe this area of the Blackland Prairie, northeast of Austin:  land ocean.    It’s apt.   And loved.

Last week, rather than spend time out on the prairie, I stayed close to home, watching the activity at Taylor’s train yard.   It’s particularly nice at the end of the day, when the day’s final rays fall gently on the rails, rendering a golden palette.   There’s almost always activity, even if it’s just neighborhood boys as they cross the tracks on their bikes.    Twice a day, Amtrak comes through town, once about mid-morning, then again in the early evening.   Mostly, it seems to be on time.   I’d love to take a little train trip, even if it’s just up the road and back.   The last time I was on a train was near Easter in 1958.  Miss Bertha White’s first-grade class at Grim Elementary School in Texarkana found our way to the town’s Union Station and boarded a train to Ashdown, Arkansas, 19 miles away.  Once there, each of us received a colored baby chick.   Since we raised chickens, my chick fit in nicely in our chicken house.   These days, Union Station is no longer open.   At one time, I’m told, Taylor had a train depot, too.   I want to learn more about it.  In the meantime, here’s some images from last week.

Wouldn’t you think, after a few weeks, someone would claim these jeans?   When I passed by here Saturday morning, however, there they were ….. twisted a bit here and there, but still fence-sitting.    It’s an odd thing.

Sometimes I get to cover an event that inspires.   This morning was a good example.  Brittany Crosby is battling ovarian cancer.   Her husband, Rees works for the Georgetown Parks Department.  A fitness dance party was held today at the Georgetown Recreation Center, a fundraiser for Brittany and her family.  Participants, about 150 of them, showed up ready to dance…specifically the fast-moving exercise known as Zumba.    For almost 90 minutes, attendees, including Brittany and Rees at times, danced to the music.    At the conclusion of the dancing, winners of a silent auction were announced.   Everything about this morning was special.   Brittany and Rees have known each other since they were second-graders at Frost Elementary School in Georgetown.    Keep Brittany in your thoughts and prayers.  These photos were taken for the Williamson County Sun.

Brittany Crosby.

Brittany and her father, Robert Glover.

Rees Crosby, Brittany’s husband.

Brittany Crosby

Brittany with her husband, Rees.

Here’s the thing.   I hadn’t planned to howl at the moon again tonight, but on the way home from shooting some other photos, it looked kind of pretty.   This evening we had a penumbral lunar eclipse.  It’s a subtle thing, with just the hint of the earth’s shadow gracing its surface.   It’s also called a Snow Moon, but since this is south central Texas, don’t look for snow.   At any rate, these were taken a short while ago in Taylor. 

Our waxing gibbous moon, just about full, looked mighty nice here in Taylor tonight.   Last evening, while on the Georgetown square photographing the moon, I mentioned to friends that while I loved the architecture in Georgetown, the landscapes ruled along Taylor’s Blackland Prairie areas.   This evening, looking at glistening grain elevators close to Robinson Park, it came to me that we have architectural beauty, too.   More rural, yes, but just as fine.  

One of the most beautiful stretches of the North Georgia mountains is the Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway.   Depending on which end you start, it’s about 2-3 hours north of Atlanta.   These are photos I took in January 1982.   One is a lovely little church, Baptist if memory serves, nestled in the mountains.    The other photo, taken on the same drive, is just a little bit north of Helen.   I’d be willing to bet that little car is still sitting right where it was so many years ago!  Black and white photography is glorious.

I spent a warm afternoon in Georgetown today, but as I was getting ready to head home to Taylor,  a waxing gibbous moon presented itself above the town square.   Among the buildings highlighted:  the Masonic Lodge, now Gumbo’s North, and the M.B. Lockett building, where Burger University currently resides.   The last couple of photos, without the moon, are the same structures as in the moon images.  It was a pretty night to stay a little longer.   And cooler, too.