Whenever possible, I try to represent beginnings, or conclusions.   Tonight’s rambling got off to a late start while I assisted a young man with car trouble.   Once that was done, I wandered.   The skies?   I can never grow weary of the way they present themselves over Texas, in particular on the Blackland Prairie.    We have a waxing crescent moon tonight.   Thankfully, the little bit of cloud cover didn’t mar the view.    Thank you for visiting my site, my therapy, my meditation, in 2016.   If possible, I’ll continue the wanderings in the new year.

Clouds gathered over Taylor today.   They weren’t storm clouds, just clouds, but they were interesting to see, especially combined with trees devoid of their autumn leaves.  The final photo in this post, a little closer to sundown, or what passed for sundown, was taken in a Blackland Prairie field.   These are presented in black and white, which seems right.

On one of my Blackland Prairie  drives this week,  this pasture came into view.   I’ve passed it a few times, seeing these lovely cows, but well out of my camera’s range.   On this rambling, however, they were being quite sociable.   So I stopped for visit.   Why would I not?

Since photographer Elliott Erwitt’s exhibit, “Home Around the World,” opened at the Harry Ransom Center, on the University of Texas-Austin campus, I’ve seen it twice.   Mr. Erwitt, born in 1928, remains to this day my favorite photographer.   The exhibit comes to an end on January 1.   If you’re a fan, or even if you’re not, you owe it to yourself to see it.  While Erwitt is known for his photos of dogs, my favorite image remains the little boy in the car, Pittsburgh, PA, taken in 1950.  

Tuesday evening, was a night staying in East Williamson County, but instead of stopping at the grocery for brown gravy, my primary destination, I ambled a little further east.   And it’s good that I did.  Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, in Wuthrich Hill, had a light shining on it, giving it a glowing persona.  Of course, it always looks lovely, but with a little night light, it really shines.  While there, a tree on the church property caught my eye, too.   

After a 43-year photographic absence, something I noticed right off the bat….parking around the East 6th Street area in downtown Austin, Texas is a little harder.   In 1973, while a student at University of Texas, I spent quite a a lot of time here, documenting what I saw.   In those days, parking was no problem.   Since returning to Texas a few years ago, it’s been on my mind to return for another look with my camera.   On Christmas afternoon, I finally reconnected.    What’s changed?   In many ways, a lot.   East 6th, like the rest of Austin, has gentrified.   These days, those few blocks are full  of clubs, bars and restaurants, catering to visitors as well as the locals … all, apparently, with plenty of disposable income.   What hasn’t changed?   The street is still a destination for those living on the edge of life.     Reasons for that I do not know.  It’s not my place to make that judgement.  In 2016, many carry hand-made signs, something not seen back in the day.   If I do return with a camera, I’ll continue to remain respectful of whoever comes in front of my lens.   Because the 1973 work was black and white, these will keep that continuity.

We took an afternoon drive today to downtown Austin.   It was a good way to spend part of the Christmas holiday, enjoying the scenes on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol, where the first few photos were taken.   There’s also St. Mary Cathedral,  a portion of which is reflected in a nearby building, then inside its beautiful sanctuary.   Let’s not forget the historic Driskill Hotel, always resplendent.  The last photo was on the way to the State Capitol parking garage, which had a nice glow to it, particularly when you top it off with Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium in the distance. 

These photos were taken Friday evening on the stunning Blackland Prairie in Central Texas.    They fit well into the name of this site … they are ramblings.   Sunsets,  skies, barns, farm houses, lone trees.   Happy Christmas, or whatever makes you happy at this time of year.  

On this Christmas Eve 2016, I dug through old files, finding two visits from the Shreveport-Bossier Rescue Mission.   The first two photos were taken on Christmas Eve 1978, the first a service, the other a checkers game to pass the night.   The second two were also taken at the mission, in December 1975.   The last photo, a young girl keeping her doll close in a room at the mission, always catches my attention, reminding me that there are any number of less fortunate souls out there.    While I like to say that my left-leaning political views were formed early in life, well before college and newspaper work, when I see children going without,  through no fault of their own,  it bothers me.   The thing about this work I do is this  … I’ve seen things up close and personal for years, not via the spin of television news, or talk radio, but right in front of me.   It can’t help but color how I feel about the world.

Most of the day on Friday was foggy, cloudy and just generally misty, a good day to visit Taylor’s Bull Branch Park.   This kind of weather simplifies the landscapes.  Normally, I prefer to stay away from making photos in the middle of the day, but not when days like this come along.   One I particularly like in black and white is here twice.   It’s presented in color as well, but the monotone grows on me.