From time to time I’ll toss something old into the mix.   My great-uncle Harry was a farmer in Northeast Texas, Cass County.   Born in 1898, he lived on the family farm until his death, at age 97.   He never married, living with his two sisters, my great aunts Bip and Sal.   These photos are from 1983 and 1985.   One, taken in 1983, is Uncle Harry with my son, Austin, 7 at the time.   The closeup photo was also in 1983.  The plowing photos are from June 1985.  Throughout his life Uncle Harry was always working, always moving.   His brother, Carl Bradley, was my grandfather, but died before I was old enough to know who he was.   My father’s father died when daddy was just a toddler.   Uncle Harry was, for all practical purposes, my grandfather.  He’s one of the few people I miss a lot.

Bull Branch Park, less than a mile from our home in Taylor, Texas, is a place I visit a lot, mostly during daily long walks through town.   The walks are meant to be stress-reducing and healthy, but having nice scenery is a blessing, too.   From time to time, you’ll see posts from this park, often including the ducks that call the pond their home.  Also meandering  through the park, feeding into the pond, is a pleasant stream, or creek if you prefer.   I prefer “stream.”   The park is a place I enjoy visiting with a camera.  As is often the way of things, I like it when the sun is fading, or absent entirely.   Last evening, close to sundown, I made the short drive to Bull Branch.   As light faded, the stream took on a different character, evolving with the diminishing light. Most of these photos were taken without a tripod because I wanted to stay mobile.  Even an old fellow like yours truly did a fair job keeping things steady at some very slow shutter speeds!    After a while, a little before 8pm, I went to the car for that tripod.   The photos on the weathered dock over the pond?  Those are tripod images.  If you look at the ducks, you’ll notice some movement.   Even when bedded down for the night, these birds are apt to move a little.  Clouds were rolling in before I left the dock, creating some interesting night skies.   Anyway, consider these images the beginning of a relationship with this little park’s water.    I do wonder, by the way, how the park got its name.  “Bull Branch” sounds dissonant, but stress goes away  when I visit, never  a bad thing.

Anyone who follows my work knows I have a love affair with the moon.   They don’t have to be full moons, super moons, or even Harvest Moons to get my attention.   This one was taken above Bull Branch Park last evening.  Obviously, it has room to grow in stature!

Main Street in Georgetown, Texas includes a section of beautiful and historic homes.  Each Halloween, the neighborhood celebrates the occasion, drawing families from well beyond the town’s borders.  Included here are some photos from this evening.  One young lady was adorned in a taco outfit, hand-made by her mommy.    As time allows, I may post a few more on Tuesday. 

161031 GEORGETOWN, TEXAS: Going with a Star Wars theme during Halloween along Main Street on Monday night were (left to right) Wilson Collins, 6, his sister, Shelby Collins, 4, their mom, Jaime Sage, as Princess Leia, and dad, James Collins, as Jabba the Hut. They live in Georgetown. Photo by Andy Sharp.

Sometimes when I review an assignment, something new finds its way into my field of vision.  These young fellows were hanging out on Main Street early Saturday evening at the Taylor Car Show.   As a black and white image, for whatever reason, they made me think of the old “Our Gang” series.    I could’ve done without the mom being in the photo, but it is what it is.

This post is a mixed bag.  My primary assignment on Saturday was documenting the Main Street Car Show, held in my town, downtown Taylor, Texas.   Main Street is closed off for the show, making it a very pedestrian-friendly place to be.  But it’s much more than a car show.   Throughout the day, and into the night, there was live music.  After fulfilling my assignment, I added some other things.  A Taylor friend, Deby Lannen, resting on a bench, gazed west and said “Look at the sky.”  I did, and photographed it above the McCrory Timmerman Building.   I also wandered along Second Street, noticing lovely light reflected in the windows of a business there.   Heading to my car, around 8pm Saturday, I noticed a couple sharing a bench on Main Street.   It was a quiet way to end a long day, in black and white.

A little morning fog settled in along the Blackland Prairie this morning.   I took a quick drive-around, deciding that the images are more meaningful in black and white.   Because time is short, I’ll let the photos do the talking this time.

Grackles are fascinating birds.   Around these parts, they’re not always well-liked.  And for good reason.   For instance, you don’t want to park your vehicle under a tree where grackles reside.  If you do, beware of the “gift” you receive.   If grackles were common in Georgia, where we lived for 29 years, they stayed in the shadows, or I didn’t notice them.   When we came home to Texas, however, they seemed to be everywhere, in great numbers.   These photos were taken this week on the birds’ evening gathering, first stopping at Taylor Regional Park, then moving slightly east, to the parking lot at our local HEB supermarket.   Once situated near the grocery, they relax on the wires, in the trees and even on the store’s roof.   What’s really intriguing is how they fly in such large packs and don’t seem to run into one another.   The post begins last evening, where I watched a few birds as the sun went down at Taylor Regional Park.   A couple of images are black and white.   At times, monotone is preferred.   Grackles, I have to say, are the kudzu of Texas.

One of these days maybe I’ll have a specific plan for the things I document.   Until then, I’ll do the usual, wander, drive-around, or ramble.   Last night was no different.    As mentioned many times, these outings are therapy, or perhaps a meditation.  Whatever they’re called, the goal is to clear the mind’s cobwebs.   When returning home with nothing to show for it (that does happen), however, the meditation flops, as does the therapy.    Some of what I did last evening:  watch a car motor up a slight incline on County Road 417, past Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Cemetery; spend a few moments observing a Great Egret search for a meal in a stock pond along County Road 418; breathe  in a field’s beauty at sunset, with a horse grazing peacefully, followed about 15 minutes later by another horse relaxing at a barn’s entrance; for fun, I’ve included what I see sometimes in my rear-view mirrors, this along County Road 413.   These outings may not occur every day (or night), but I do what I can. 

Initially, I wasn’t feeling the inspiration tonight, but found a pleasant scene along F.M. 619, east of Taylor, as motorists made their way home.   That was followed by a stop at Murphy Park, where the resident geese seemed content, the park’s lake mostly their domain.