Last evening, once again with no destination in mind, I left the house about thirty minutes ahead of sunset, listening to NPR’s “Marketplace.”  Ambling along County Road 366, I passed the home of Mike and Deby Lannen.  On impulse, I turned left on County Road 368.  When it came to an end,  about two miles on, left seemed like a good way to go, on County Road 369.  The sky was evolving nicely, a farmhouse looking grand on its hill.   With no cars in back, I stopped the car, stood on the road, and snapped a few frames before moseying along.   Just ahead, where the road ended at County Road 101, there were some cows, making their way to a weathered barn.  Some would say all barns are weathered, but they aren’t.    With traffic still non-existent, I left the car again and made a few frames, then turned right on 101.  Now I  was coming up on one of our busier highways, Chandler Road, used by morning commuters  to get from Taylor to Round Rock, Interstate 35, or maybe even Cedar Park.   But it’s also the night’s road home, too.   I suspect it  was a good drive for them.   Not caring to enter that little spot of traffic,  I turned around, retracing the road just traveled.  The cows were still smelling their barn.   Then, with skies almost on fire with red, there was a windmill in the far distance.  Luck was with me,  still no traffic.  I got out, made some photos, savoring the light.  Once again, I turned around just up the hill,  taking another right on County Road 369.    That farm seen in this post has a fine barn, too.  For reasons I don’t know, the owners leave a light on inside.  A Motel 6 for livestock?   I’ve photographed this scene before, but it still merits attention.  Snap.   Done for the night, I enjoyed the rest of my ride home on the prairie.  It never gets old.

Occasionally I’ll break from the routine of pictorials and community journalism to simply admire some nearby beauty.   Yesterday my wife mentioned her flower garden of zinnias was attracting interest from Monarch butterflies.   So I stepped into the back yard for a few minutes.  The last photo is sans butterfly, but it’s serene. 

It’s the middle of October and it’s still dang hot in my part of Texas.   After several hours on the streets of downtown Hutto yesterday, I was feeling it as the temperature climbed into the low 90s by early afternoon.  Weather aside, I had a good time in this fast-growing Williamson County city covering their 31st Annual Olde Tyme Days for my friends at the Austin American-Statesman.   You’ll notice some hippo imagery here.  The hippo, you see, is the town’s longtime mascot, also serving in that capacity for Hutto High School.  Hippos, mostly concrete ones, can be found all over town.   Among the happenings documented during my stay were their parade, a pie-eating contest sponsored by the Texan Cafe,  a visit with a longhorn named Route 66, who, for a small fee to raise money for Hutto High’s FFA program, allowed folks to sit atop his massive back.   There was also a car show.  I concluded my coverage with a few photos taken before the afternoon’s beauty pageant, where little ladies of all ages and sizes, all looking marvelous in their dresses,  were vying for various Miss Hutto Olde Tyme Days crowns.   While all the contestants were adorable, the neatest was 2-year-old Aniyah McGinnis, keeping a tight grip on her stuffed kitty.  Aniyah, like the other entrants, was getting warm at this outdoor venue, and it was two hours past her nap time, too.   Mom said she’s had her kitty cat since birth.  I do believe she let mom and dad  hold her furry friend  before she went onstage!   These are just a few slices of life in Central Texas.

When they say the moonrise is at a certain time, you can generally add a bit of time to that.  It’s up, but it takes a while to really get a good look.   At any rate, these photos are from the town square in Georgetown, Texas.   The first photo in this post is my favorite.  It was one of the last ones taken, around 8:30.  Note that moonrise was at 7:01.  It wasn’t that far along at that time.  It’s all good though.

The week has had an edge to it.   To relax tonight, once again I trolled through the Blackland Prairie in East Williamson County, Texas.   One stop, along County Road 419, was a stock pond, nicely reflecting the moon on its surface.   With that image complete, I wandered around a bit more, stopping at another stock pond (sometimes called a tank in Texas) along County Road 424.    Around the corner, almost in Milam County, was Zion Lutheran Church, its twin spires standing tall under that nice moon.    It’s good therapy.

This has been a good week to get outside late in the day.   The light, at least for yours truly, is improving in quality.  Oh, I know some of you cherish those extra snippets of sunlight.  You have more time to get outside with your kids, or your grandchildren.  Or perhaps take a horseback ride after work.  I get that.   But to arbitrarily govern sunrises and sunsets, via Daylight Saving Time, is unnatural.  Leave nature alone.   Here’s a few photos taken this evening: windmills, landscapes, one with a spider, and yes, another farm house, adding some warmth to the evening with a swell front porch light.   A good day ends on our Blackland Prairie.

Since 1974 I’ve covered football, starting with Northeast Texas high school fields for the Tyler Morning Telegraph.   I continued to cover football for several years in Louisiana, for the Shreveport Journal.  From there, it was on to Atlanta, for the Journal & Constitution.  Along the way, I branched out, covering major college football, and pro football.   All of that was fine.   But the most fun to be had was covering pee wee football.   This was (and is) football at its most basic, where kids learn the game before moving on, if they so choose.  These are photos I took at a pee wee game in metro-Atlanta, from September 1982.   There might be a temptation to call the images cute, but I like to think of them as little bits of life along the way.   The clothing styles might change, but the game goes on.

Tonight’s post is just a collection of wanderings through the countryside east of our Taylor, Texas home, including barns, a tree, a church I photograph often, a dusty dirt road, hay bales and a farm house, leaving the light on.  No, this is not a Motel 6 commercial.   Nearing home, I stopped by Bull Branch Park and visited the ducks, settling in by the pond for a night’s repose.   Starting to pack up the tripod, my eye noted the little stream that flows into the park’s pond.  So I stayed a few more minutes.   It was a pretty nice night.

While on another assignment last weekend in Coupland, Texas, I had the opportunity to step inside a beautiful structure, St. Peter’s United Church of Christ.   I’ve  admired its exterior for a few years, but Sunday afternoon I stepped inside for a while.   A little history is in order.   The congregation was formed in 1894 by Swiss and German immigrants.   The church you see here was built in 1906.   It continues to be an active congregation.  For a number of years services were conducted in German.     Inside the sanctuary almost everything is original, except for the cushions on the church pews.    This is one of the lovely Texas gems in my part of Texas.

Saturday morning I traveled south, to San Marcos, Texas for the annual Sacred Heart Powwow, a wonderful gathering hosted by the Indigenous Cultures Institute.    Much of the activity centered around their Native Cultures Tent, where dances were performed and pounding drum beats kept things moving nicely.    There was quite a crowd gathered here at the Meadows Center.   This was a pretty long drive from my home in Taylor, but well worth the time.   These are some of the photos taken for my friends at the Austin American-Statesman.