This was taken on the way home tonight, tooling along Old County Road 366, just outside Taylor. It’s a seldom-traveled route, which is a reason I like it, like so many paths along the Blackland Prairie. 
Sinus and allergy issues. What’s to be done? Sometimes the solution is a little medication, which I have done. It helped … a little. But you know what helps more? Photography. Tonight, at Taylor’s Bull Branch Park, I became one with the ducks again. They seem to be getting used to me. They’d be sharper, but hey, these are tripod-mounted thirty-second exposures. Stay focused, friends.
We have an abundance of hay bales throughout the Blackland Prairie on these late-summer days. This is a field of hay a little over a mile from home earlier tonight. 
It’s not often I wander to Bartlett, Texas, but I did this morning, for the town’s annual Old Town Festival, which included food, vendors, a parade and a tractor pull. The evening was topped off by music and a street dance (I didn’t make it to that, too many irons in the fire). There was, of course, an English Bulldog there. Her name is Roxi. The English Bulldog is the local high school mascot. Roxi has been to a few football games! Recent census figures put Bartlett at around 2700 folks. It’s about 50 miles northeast of downtown Austin, but only about 18 miles north of our Taylor home. Like so many small towns in this area, its business district is adorned with old architecture, from the late-19th and early 20th century. East Clark Street, the “main drag,” has lovely old brick streets. The town has been the site for movie-making, notably “The Stars Fell on Henrietta” and “The Dalton Boys.” NBC also set its series, “Revolution” here. I do wish the old downtown buildings had more businesses for their beautiful structures, but I’m glad its still intact. The remnants of one was a place for making homeade hot tamales this morning, too. 
The night began with clouds. Throughout the week here in Central Texas, clouds were a significant part of the weather forecast. Expectations were not high, but I am persistent. Wandering the county roads near Granger, the moon finally peeked through those clouds. It made the trek worthwhile. As I took photos, a nice young fellow, Cameron, was understandably curious. I was, after all, driving slowly past his home. After determining I wasn’t up to no good, just a few photos, he invited me to park in his driveway while I continued to photograph the Harvest Moon through one of his windmills. It was a good night. I’d prefer not to be munching pizza after 10pm, but it is what it is. Thanks to Cameron, who has a fine name, one shared by our grandson.
After completing another assignment tonight, I took a few minutes to visit the moon, now almost-full, a harvest moon, I think. The photos are taken through the street lights at Taylor’s Heritage Square Park. And there’s just one tight shot of the moon by itself, too. Enjoy the view in your area.
One of my favorite assignments early on at the Atlanta Journal & Constitution was a dawn wedding in Skunk’s Holler, Georgia, nestled in the North Georgia mountains, about two hours north of Atlanta. The wedding, on a picturesque bridge, was followed by the couple departing in a hot air balloon. The happy couple were married in old-fashioned attire. The story was written by Bob Dart, one of my favorite writers. Bob could write slice-of-life stories that complemented my style and philosophy of photojournalism. The last photo in this post is Bob chatting with his sleepy daughter at the wedding. Bob and I worked a few good stories together before Cox Newspapers moved him to the Washington bureau, for stories deemed more “important.” I felt that was a mistake for Bob, who is, sadly, no longer with us. He was one of the best.
Driving around tonight, I had something else in mind, but after turning the car toward home, I remembered this vacant house sitting at the edge of a field. This was well beyond sundown, maybe 40 minutes beyond. I don’t know how long this place has been empty, but my wife and I think it looks like it belongs on a beach somewhere. In a sense, it’s near an ocean …. a land ocean called the Blackland Prairie, adorned with good, sweet light.
The first photo is one I shot Monday night while meandering through downtown Taylor, Texas. The moon is growing this week, making its way to full moon status by Friday, but the weather may turn cloudy and we won’t see it then. So here it is. The light was shining through a colorful window as I strolled along Main Street. By day, the old structure is home to a business, but at night? I think it may be a residence, one with a nice window. The other two photos were taken last evening, as clouds played peek-a-boo with the moon’s surface. I do enjoy documenting this lunar beauty. And downtown Taylor, too.
Like most small towns in Texas, and the South, for that matter, Taylor loves its football. My little town of 15,000 has a venerable stadium, set not at a school, but in a neighborhood. Though smaller, Taylor’s geographic location reminds me of growing up in Texarkana, Texas. Our football stadium, Tiger Stadium, was in my neighborhood, too, less than two blocks away. During my time working at the Atlanta Journal & Constitution, I covered many prep games at another neighborhood stadium, in Marietta. I really didn’t like that field. The sidelines were shallow, making us photographers always keenly on guard. The local folks, however, loved it. As James “Friday” Richards, former head coach at Marietta High told me one time, “It’s tradition.” So it is. This photo, by the way, was taken tonight, a Tuesday after 8th grade boys teams had finished playing a scrimmage. Alas, the Taylor boys lost, 8-0. Go little Ducks.