Last Thursday I traveled to Lago Vista, on the shores of Lake Travis, for my friends at the Austin American-Statesman.    The assignment was the 26th Annual Teen Lake Escape, a 5-day-long overnight camp sponsored by the Sunshine Kids Foundation, a group dedicated to making lives better for kids (and families) coping with cancer.   My Thursday visit was a day when the teens,  20 kids from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, got to visit with area first responders, including those from the Travis County Sheriffs Office, Travis County STAR Flight, the Austin Police Department, the Travis County Fire Department and the Hays County Sheriffs Office.   The most fun part for photos was going out on the lake in a Sheriffs Office boat, but not fun when I got soundly splashed by another boat from the same department.   This was a heart-warming camp.   With so many bad things going on around us all the time, isn’t it nice to see a ray of hope?  I think so.

After a day of shooting something assigned, I wandered out a little bit tonight to follow the light.   The first photo in this post is a swath of land that says something about the expansive nature of portions of the Blackland Prairie.  The golden area, of course, is corn, not yet harvested.   The others?  Well, they’re a few miles down the road, grain elevators, and yes, more corn fields on the last one, a little after 8:30 this evening.

Just something simple from tonight’s wanderings, grazing along County Road 366, just outside Taylor. 

On Tuesday I had a little day trip to Lampasas, Texas, to do a few portraits for my friends at the Austin American-Statesman.   Since I was already there, it was  a day to play tourist a little, too.   Rambling is always fun.  It’s a pretty little Central Texas town.  Recent census figures have its population at just under 7,000, give or take a few.  It’s about 70 miles northwest of Austin.  The downtown area is adorned with limestone-covered buildings.   Murals adorn some walls, adding brightness and color  to a stroll.   Green’s Feed Store, just off the square, seems to do a steady business. There’s an old-fashioned bandstand, too.   The focal point is the Lampasas County Courthouse, here since 1884.  It’s still a functioning courthouse, too.  After a few photos outside, I wandered in, not sure if it was okay to take photos.  A friendly judge, however, welcomed my little tour.   No court was in session, but on the second floor, I found a darkened, locked  courtroom that leaked in just enough ambient light to grace the seating area.  One could almost imagine a ghost whispering through here.   A note on the feed store:  I think it looks better in black and white, but am including it both ways here.    I’m glad I got to wander here on a warm summer afternoon, discovering the Texas charm a little at a time.

We need the rain.  And it came tonight to the Blackland Prairie.  Before the bottom dropped out, however, the skies became beautiful, the land below them taking on sweet droplets of textured light.   Okay, I’m watching a political convention so I won’t stay here long.  For what it’s worth, I watched the one last week, too.

Among the many things I photographed this past weekend was the Clear The Shelter Campaign, part of a nationwide initiative where animal shelters offered dog and cat adoptions at no cost, with everything taken care of in advance, shots, spaying and neutering, etc.    My visit was to the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter in Georgetown, Texas, where a lot of folks were looking for new family members.   Among them Elizabeth George, with her grandkids, Juliana Santiago, 9, and her brother, Joelle, 10.  They fell in love with Sadie, a two-year-old who appeared to have some dachshund and maybe chihuahua?    Then there was mom Jennifer Larsen, with her daughter Elliott, 7, and son Miles, 19 months.  They were looking to add a cat to their family.   Jennifer’s husband, also a photographer, was traveling out of state, but she wanted him on board with their adoption plans.   Knowing dad’s weakness, she texted him a photo of Elliott sporting a huge smile.   That did the trick.  “He can’t say no to her,” beamed mom.  So Trudy, a sleek ebony 2-year-old cat, became a member of the Larsen family.  I liked watching these little bits of life unfold.  When you can, adopt or rescue your next family pet.

Elizabeth George with grandkids Julianna Santiago and her brother, Joelle. And new family member, Sadie.

Jennifer Larsen and daughter Elliott, visit with Trudy, their new family member.

Kyle Fahs, 15, visits with Hector, a 10-year-old Miniature Pinscher en route to a new home.

Mia gets to know her new mom, Kayla Rodrigues.

Juan Jaramillo and friend Stephanie Holder get to know their new dogs, Mary and Larry.

Emily Talley left the shelter with Jenna, a one-year-old chihuahua.

A kitten looking for a home.

The shelter had an abundance of kittens needing forever homes.

Sometimes, as you may have figured out by now, my restless ways, combined with the need for sweet light, results in rising early, usually before the crack of dawn.  The destination this morning was close:  Bull Branch Park , only one-half mile from home.   While it’s a nice park all the time, full of ducks and geese, the pond and its feathered inhabitants take on an added glow before sunrise.  The first of these few photos were taken a few minutes before 6a.m.   Sunrise was at 6:41.  I stayed around through sunrise, plus a few minutes beyond, moseying up the road to home around 7:15.   Once daylight savings time exits our world, I’ll be happy.  Then the sweet evening light provides its own soothing balm.  

While visting Coupland this evening, with something else in mind, I found my eyes turned to the beautiful Texas skies above the little town, and its focal point, Saint Peter’s Church of Coupland, with roots back to 1890.   Then, when I finished that, the moon decided to rise behind me.   It was a pretty night in Texas.

On Sunday afternoon, I spent my time well, documenting the 147th anniversary celebration of Georgetown’s Wesley Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, located at 508 West Fourth Street.   The church was formed in 1869.   By 1881, the church had acquired the land at this site, holding services in a small frame structure.  The present church came along in 1904.   Think about it … that makes seven years older than its neighbor on the square, the Williamson County Courthouse, dedicated in 1911.   Sunday’s event spanned a full three hours, but if anyone was bored at the length, it didn’t show.   I was certainly enthralled.  Church pastor Silas Swint gave over the reins of his pulpit to a former pastor, Reverend John McCormick, founding pastor at Round Rock’s CrossWork Christian Center.   Rev. McCormick brought along his choir.   This choir, there’ s no adequate description for how wonderful they were.   It’s not often I put down the cameras, but when they sang, I stopped.  Wow.   Notables in attendance included Georgetown Mayor Dale Ross, his wife Mickie, director of the Williamson Museum, Williamson County Commissioner Valerie Covey and Dr. Ron Swain, Director of Mission Ministries at Georgetown’s First United Methodist Church.   Church member Ethel Harrison, who turns 90 in September, was here, too.  She’s been here longer than anyone.   On the other end of the spectrum there was Jayana Davis, 2, who came with her family from Austin.   The horrific events of the past couple of weeks were mentioned, too.   How could you not?  Just yesterday morning, a man in Baton Rouge murdered three law enforcement officers before also dying.   Maybe we need more institutions like Wesley Chapel A.M.E. Church.

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, sitting atop a sweet hill in Wuthrich Hill, Texas, is one of those places I occasionally visit for my photo therapy.   Today,  I rose about 5:45, not sure where I was going, but feeling the need to wander and (of course) find some good morning light.   Prince of Peace does not let me down.   The church, and its adjoining cemetery, are only about 9 or 10 miles from home.   By 6:10, I was recording what I saw, including a small pond overlooking a nice swath of land ripe for planting. This morning’s focus, I decided, was the cemetery, just down the hill from the church.  It’s a smallish space, but well-kept.  I’m fascinated by gravestones that include a photo of the deceased on their surface.  Most of the area’s Lutheran settlers were  German, Czech and Swedish,  European countries where this tradition was common.    I found one, a Mr. Louis Stoll, born in 1895, his death following in 1927.   One that moved me, however, was that of a young soldier, Private Willie Schroeder, born in 1897, leaving this earth on October 18, 1918, just over a month from the end of World War I, on November 18, 1918.  War took him away early, but his gravestone honors his short life.    The church building?  It was dedicated in 1896.   Services are still held here.   Continuity is good.