For various reasons,  last night was another restless one.   At times, no matter what I do, sleep won’t come.   And when it does,  I still wake up.   What’s a fellow to do?   Fortunately, there’s photography!   After being mostly awake since 3:30, I finally gave up around 5:30, threw on some clothes, grabbed the cameras and made it to Murphy Park’s rookery.   It’s a very active place this time of year.  The birds are nesting and bringing new avian life into our world.   The first photo was taken a little before 6a.m.   Dawn was  still a half hour away.   The full moon continued its presence in the clear sky, dappled with shades of gray, blue and magenta.    For an hour, I trudged around the little lake, first with a tripod, then free-form as the light level expanded.   Right before leaving, however, I noticed something very melancholy … under the park’s little gazebo, a man slept.  My guess?  He has no other place to go.   Even in a town of 15,000, many people live on the edge, experiencing pain we don’t understand.   It’s something to think about, it really is.

Summer has begun.   Tonight, in Jonah, Texas, horses frolic in a field near the end of a long bit of daylight, the longest day of the year.  

Spring said goodbye to us last evening, prompting one more visit to the Blackland Prairie with my camera, and a new lens, too.   The lens seems to work fine, thank goodness.  It’s all too expensive, this camera gear.   I’m surprised anyone can stay afloat unless they have a large reserve of funds, or well-off family members.   But I digress!   In addition to a lovely field of thriving corn along County Road 417, we were graced with a wonderful moon, mostly full.    A vertical image in this post was taken along County Road 419, above yet another field of corn.   We have it in abundance this year.   After tossing in the obligatory moon closeup, this post concludes with one more moon photo, along F.M. 1331.   It’s funny, but I’d not noticed the old barn’s tin roof before.   It’s an easy one to miss, but it’s there.   And now, so is summer.

Juneteenth is celebrated all over the world, but it has its roots in Texas.   On Saturday in Georgetown, the Georgetown Cultural Citizen Memorial Association held its 64th annual observance.   I photographed the celebration again this year for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.   There was speechifying, singing, dancing, eating, and remembrance.   In attendance were 94-year-olds, but on the other end of the spectrum, the very young, like a dad sharing a dance with his 9-month-old son.   It was a good day.

Just a quick, one-photo post tonight.    I’ve passed this field west of Taylor a few times.   This old Plymouth seems to have been nestled in this spot for years.    The vehicle matches its surroundings.

The calendars on your wall may tell you that summer begins June 20.   If you happen to live in Central Texas, you know that’s only a technicality.   Summer is here right now.  Yesterday afternoon the actual temperature was 95 degrees, but the heat index?   That was 103.    On Wednesday afternoon in Georgetown, I noticed quite a few folks cooling off at Blue Hole Lagoon.   It’s free, and there’s plenty of water to go around.   One young lady, expecting her first child on July 8, appreciated the rushing water as she sat near Blue Hole’s waterfall.   A proud mom-to-be, she didn’t mind her photo being taken at all.    If my cameras had been waterproof, I’d have joined in the fun.   It did look like fun.   Stay cool, and hydrated, friends.

Today was Flag Day in the United States.   Tonight, I photographed our fine symbol at the Taylor Post Office, with the moon hovering in the distance.   And I stopped at Murphy Park, watching one lone duck, born this Spring, amble gracefully along.

Sunflowers are adding their little touches of yellow to the Blackland Prairie landscape in recent weeks.   These aren’t to be confused with the gigantic sunflowers that grow as large as your head.   These grow wild, and much smaller, but no less delightful to see.   Mostly, I see them along the roadside, next to fields of our abundant late-Spring corn crops.    Over the last few days, I’ve made a few stops for photos.   Last night, as the sun was setting, I shot a few more.  Rain was forecast, but didn’t materialize.  The sun, being the sun, added a bit of texture to these little wildflowers named for her.   Enjoy them while they’re with us, friends.

On a somewhat sizzling Saturday, I spent my time taking photos at a farmers market, at Georgetown’s Wolf Ranch shopping center, where I encountered a 3-year-old selecting his own peaches, plus two Pomeranians, Chester and Bailey, enjoying the morning with their mom.   As the temperature rose, I meandered over to the Georgetown Square for Market Days on The Square, held the second Saturday each month.  There I found a vendor, relaxing under the shade of a big oak tree on the courthouse lawn, a fellow cooling off next to a big misting fan, and Gerty Belle, a 2-year-old Juliana pig, out for a stroll with her folks.  Gerty Belle is fully house-trained, topping the scales at only 45 pounds.    It was a good day, for both two-legged, and four-footed friends.

Minimal words with tonight’s post.   The corn crop on the Blackland Prairie is thriving.   These photos were taken at sunset tonight.  The first three were taken at small intervals, as the sun continued to disapppear.   The last photo is sans the corn, just sun and clouds.