I have an affection for Texas Longhorns.  By that, I mean the cows.  They are just grand boys and girls.     Elegant would not be too strong a word to describe these beauties.    Last night, I wandered out the door, doing one of my drive-about adventures, just seeing what there is to see on the Blackland Prairie.  Just over a mile from home, however, I saw some friends….Tulip, Crybaby and a big boy named Sancho, always a shy fellow.   He’s the fourth photo down.   The group was  joined by an unnamed calf, just growing into its horns.   Without a second thought, I backed up and pulled into the driveway of Taylor friends Deby and Mike Lannen.   Deby loves her longhorns, thus the names.   Apparently, our bovine friends preferred the back pasture.   I followed them to Deby and Mike’s house.  Deby greeted me and gave her blessing for photos, commenting on the nice skies in her “back yard.”   This will be a photo-heavy post, friends.   I adore these critters.  And Texas skies, too.

Here’s a few photos I took at last weekend’s 9th Annual Wine and Music Fest, sponsored by the Downtown Georgetown Association.   Some of the music was  provided by saxophonist Mike Hamilton.  Let me tell you, friends, if you haven’t heard this guy, you need to.   It was a good afternoon on the square, not diminished in the least by a strong, but quickly-moving band of rain showers.   It’s all good.

Sometimes, a face just gets your attention.   Bryan, who I met at the 67th Annual Taylor Rodeo last weekend, has one of those faces.    He may have had a beer or two, I’m not certain, but even without the aid of strong drink, he’d still have that visage.  Bryan was working in the livestock support area.  He was not competing, but he won my attention.   And his images cry out for black and white.  The last one of these three is reminiscent of a photo I took in 1973, on East 6th Street in Austin, Texas.  At some point, I’ll find that negative and post it.

This was something I’d planned to post earlier today, but hearing of the death of golf legend Arnold Palmer, at 87, caught me off guard.   Anyway, these are a few images taken at this year’s 67th Annual Taylor Rodeo, sponsored by the Taylor Rodeo Association.   Normally, this fine event is held in July, but a renovation of the Williamson County Expo Center, where the rodeo is held, put things off.   I’m happy to see they were able to carry on this year.   As with most times when I document rodeo, I concentrate on the culture of the sport, as opposed to the action that takes place in arenas.  Rodeo action, it must be said, is pretty neat though.   And so is mutton bustin, for the little folks and their sheep.   These photos include a little bit of the audience, some support personnel, the Lone Star Cow Girls drill team, from Magnolia, Texas.   And  a very friendly dog on the back lot.  

Thank goodness!   We have achieved rain in Central Texas, friends.   While none of us want flooding, most of us welcome the moisture.   Let’s hope the precipitation forecast for tonight and Monday cleanses the air of ragweed and ushers in some cooler temperatures.  Lord have mercy, it is autumn after all.  Here I present you with a little symphony of raindrops, from my back porch this afternoon.

There are so many things I could post tonight, but I don’t feel the need to be labor-intensive.   Rather than do that, let’s just give you sense of of what I so often see from my car seat, or in a mirror, or over its roof.   It’s incredibly-peaceful here.

A friend made a Facebook post Thursday, tongue in cheek, regarding autumn in Central Texas: it’s  the beginning of our second summer.   With temperatures topping out in the mid-90s yesterday, I got that.   The Autumnal Equinox officially arrived in the Austin area at 9:21a.m. Central Daylight Time.   I wasn’t feeling the need to record its toasty start.   A little before 4p.m., however,  plans changed.   So what if it’s hot?   It’s still a new season.   A first stop was the Georgetown Public Library, where I played on Facebook for a while.   A few minutes before 6, I got back in the car and headed for Berry Springs Park & Preserve.   If nothing else, it’s a good place to watch birds on the pond and take in the beautiful trees.  After visiting with some herons, it was time to head for home.  But the clouds were dancing nicely.   And a young fellow on a swing was getting some big pushes from his dad, almost high enough, it seemed, to touch the sky.   It was a fitting start to autumn after all.  

“All of our years here on the farm have been good.  Of course, I’m talking about the living of them, not the economy of them.  The way I see it, anything you love and enjoy doing is not work.  And I’ve done it from can to can’t.”

–Georgia farmer J.M. Brown in 1983

Mr. Brown, 71,  during the time I worked on this story, was the patriarch of a Georgia family of farmers that began with his grandfather.   In 1983,  he was joined by his son, Jimmy, 52, and Jimmy’s sons, Danny, 26, and Chuck, 22.   Together they farmed 1500 acres in South Fulton County, Georgia, the county home to Atlanta.   Over the several months working on the story, they were traditional farmers, tilling the often-parched land, but diversified, harvesting trees for lumber and adding catfish to their pond, where fishermen paid to put their hooks in the water.  It was all part of making a living the best way they knew how, keeping them to close to the land.  They juggled bills and fixed the farm equipment themselves.   That labor took its toll on the elder Brown’s back, landing him in the hospital for a while, but his wife, Vivian was always there for him.  Perhaps  nicest thing that happened was the birth of Chuck’s daughter, Ashley Ann.  That’s J.M. Brown in the last photo, holding his great-granddaughter, the sixth generation to live on the family land.

Often, when I wander out the door on any given evening (or early morning), I don’t have a destination in mind.   I didn’t last night, either, but driving along Texas HIghway 29, I remembered my old friend, the little red barn in what I call Jonah.  Technically, it’s between Jonah and Taylor.   Kids in the area attend Georgetown public schools.  To me, it’s Jonah.   The last time I stopped by for photos in at the start of May, with corn crops galore all around.  A few weeks ago, I saw a truck and pulled in for a few minutes.  The young fellow mentioned rattlesnake sightings “right over there.”   “Over there” was the decider.  I got in the car and moseyed home.   People keep saying I need to get some snake boots.   That’s under consideration.   Those last two photos?  They were taking as I was leaving.  The first one includes the roof of my car, a hand-held exposure at a higher ISO.   Deciding I was being lazy, I popped the trunk, set the camera on a tripod, lowered the ISO and shot it again.   The quality’s a little better on the second one, but I kind of like the car hood!

As you drive north of Walburg, along F.M. 1105, you soon come to the little community of Theon, just a bump in the road, but coming over the rise, in the distance, you’ll see the twin spires of Holy Trinity Catholic Church of Corn Hill.   Technically, it’s in Jarrell, Texas, but the community is Corn Hill.   Last Sunday the church held their annual bazaar.   As always, it’s festive.   The parish hall fills with diners enjoying barbecue, fried chicken, desserts and plenty more.  With dining complete, the hall is transformed into the area for the bazaar’s live auction, while another room is taken over for bingo, kolache sales and a cake walk.   On the church grounds, even on this warm Sunday, there were kids’ games, raffles and plenty of live polka music.  The multi-tasking fellow with the horn and accordion is none other than Fritz Hodde.    For those interested, a visit inside the church sanctuary is always nice.   Once again this year, I did just that, ending up in the choir loft, where a couple from Cedar Park were getting a look at the beautiful stained glass windows.   This is the season for church bazaars in Central Texas.   Holy Trinity is one of the best!