As I was heading north from Taylor this afternoon, it was hard to miss the huge plumes of smoke in the distance.  These days I don’t claim to be much a hard news chaser, but curiosity is hard to ignore.   We’ve started our Central Texas week with very low humidity, somewhere around 20%.   That often leads to fire hazards.   This one created a lot of burning and plenty of smoke, but firefighters seemed to get it under control in short order.     The first photo also gives you not just a fire image, but a sense of the area where we live.    Even on fire, it’s pretty.

This is a little something I saw last evening while visiting the area near Bartlett, Texas.   It was late in day, with the sun shining a wee bit.  Perhaps that accounts for the color of the aircraft’s trail?   I don’t know the answer, but found it interesting.   Of course, the waxing crescent moon’s presence can’t hurt, can it?

When I was in Schwertner, Texas the other night, a lady I chatted with suggested I stop by Bartlett’s City Cemetery.   She recalled seeing burials dating back to the late 1700s.   When I wandered up that way tonight, I did manage to find some burials from the early 1800s.    It’s a large cemetery, very spread out on this piece of the prairie about 18 miles north of Taylor.    Coming into Bartlett, there’s a big sign indicating the town was established in 1881.  Obviously, a few folks arrived  a little earlier.  The photos posted here present some gravestones, but also (hopefully) give you a feel for the landscape.   Walking around close to dark, I managed to see a bench topped with an American flag.  This was an area set aside to honor veterans.   And then some trees, always trees, and sky, and moon, and stars.   It might be an odd thing, but cemeteries provide comfort.   After Sunday’s Memorial Bike Ride, I needed that. 

Last Monday 19-year-old Georgetown cyclist Tommy Ketterhagen was struck and killed while on a ride not far from East View High School, where he graduated in 2015.  This morning at East View, a 25-mile Memorial Bike Ride was held in Tommy’s honor.   I’d thought there might be a few cyclists on hand, but what I forgot was just how supportive this Central Texas area can be.   550-600 cyclists showed up to pay tribute to Tommy, among them family and friends, but probably a lot of folks who never met him.   About a mile into the leisurely ride, the group stopped at the site where Tommy died.  One of Tommy’s teachers from East View High knelt at the site, joined by her children and other friends.    Back at the school, participants signed a ghost bike for Tommy.  The bike will soon be placed at the crash site.   Among those photos:  Tommy’s mom signing the bike, as well as his sister, and Tommy’s father getting a hug from a good friend.

Tonight I covered the grand opening of the 90,000 square-foot sanctuary at Celebration Church in Georgetown, Texas.  The service was followed by a fireworks show on this chilly Central Texas evening.   It’s unusual to photograph a fireworks show in January, but of course, we’re in Texas.   And what better way, if you’re a kid, to take in the show from the bed of a truck?

Breaking up the routine, I aimed myself to northern Williamson County, Texas this evening,, coming to a stop in Schwertner, a little community that dates back to the late 1870s.  The latest census figures show Schwertner with 175 residents.   At one point, it had as much as 500 folks.  Still, it retains its own post office.  One old structure, on F.M. 487, looked like an old grocery store, but a lady walking her dog said it was a bar.  I like it though.  Then there’s downtown Schwertner, on County Road 392.   The same lady, one of the Schwertner family, said the Schwertner State Bank building goes back to 1910.  Leatherman Drugs, next door, is long gone, too.   I’m happy to see the buildings are intact.  They have great character.   Angling south toward Taylor, I snapped a few photos of F.M. 1105, coming to a stop in downtown Walburg, where I photographed the always-busy Walburg Restaurant, which also includes a bier garten in back.   To say there’s a strong German culture in Central Texas might be an understatement.

Coupland, Texas  is a very tiny community just a few miles south of Taylor.   It may be small, but it’s got maximum charm, including the Coupland Inn and Dance Hall, Jim Huntington’s wonderfully-large sculptures and a vintage caboose and railroad depot.   But there’s also There’s also a beautiful, historic church,  St. Peter’s United Church of Christ.  These photos were taken earlier this week.  St. Peter’s had its origins in the early 1890s, when German and Swiss immigrants began to hold meetings in a school house.   In 1905 and early 1906 the current sanctuary was here.  The fellowship hall was added in 1925.   For many years, services were conducted in German.   It’s still an active church to this day.  A few months ago I posted some photos inside the church, but always enjoy making images here.

This is one I saw the other night between Taylor and Coupland.   Although I’ve seen these grain elevators before, seeing them from this angle, so well-stacked up, made it worth a stop.   One supposes the two at left are mom and pop.   It didn’t hurt that the skies were looking kind of nice, too.

Earlier this week, I pointed the car north, landing on the southern outskirts of Granger, Texas.  A rain-soaked field between plantings looked image-worthy.   A couple of clicks and I motored toward a railroad crossing.  My favorite scene from the night was a new (to me) barn.  When I first stopped, it looked nice, but then the light came on….it looked nicer.  Two photos included, one a bit looser, adding the “context” one of my college professors liked to talk about in the early-70s.   He’s still teaching, still mentioning context.   That’s a good thing.

One of the places I find soothing and redemptive in Georgetown  is a sweet little pond at Our Lady of the Rosary Cemetery and Prayer Garden.   Yes it’s a cemetery, a beautiful one, but it’s much more.   In the woods in and around the pond are all variety of plant life, maintained by members of the Williamson County Master Naturalists and Gardeners.  When a day’s been stressful, I visit the pond.   The colors shift in the photos comes from photos taken at different stages of a lovely evening.    Nearby you can hear occasional traffic from the toll road, but once you’re here, it’s all good.