It’s been a while since the last barns post.   Most of the barns I offer  have been in front of my camera a few times.   I feel it’s important to document them before they disappear.   A number of them have.   The barn with the John Deere, however, was in Mason County, Texas, about two hours west of Taylor.   In the hill country, it’s apparently more common to find structures made of native stone.   And I like that tractor!  

This is subject matter I’m compelled to post, but have held these few back.  The last one is from this evening.    Just windmills, friends.

The annual “Breakfast With Santa” was held today at the San Gabriel Community Center in Georgetown.   Coordinated by the Georgetown Fire Department and the Rotary Club of Sun City,  the event offered (of course) visits with Santa Claus, but also a breakfast that included pancakes, sausage, juice and coffee for attendees.   The food was prepared by firefighters, known to be quite handy in the kitchen!  

The Winter Solstice arrived at 3:21 a.m. Central Time.  It was a morning when I was up quite early, en route from Taylor to Georgetown for an assignment.  About fifteen minutes before sunrise, when the first photograph was made, the temperature was 30 degrees,  mist hovering over a pond.   Venturing on, I neared the San Gabriel River as it meandered  through Georgetown.   The other three photos were taken near the river,  all about ten-fifteen minutes after sunrise.    Early mornings like this are worth embracing.

Although the  Winter Solstice arrives at 3:21a.m. Central Time on Saturday, we still have tidbits of color making themselves known in Taylor, Texas.   This batch of photographs are from daily walks this week.    Tonight’s low here is predicted to be 31 degrees Fahrenheit.   Bit by bit, our Texas wind is blowing leaves off the trees.   Suggested before, but look for photographs close to home.   Travel when possible, but keep in touch with your neck of the woods.  

Driving through Granger this evening, I was glad to see the return of a Christmas tree made entirely of cotton grown by area farmers.    Last year, because the cotton crop was decimated by drought and heat, we didn’t get to see one, but good 2024  crop yields helped bring it back.  It’s a unique tree highlighting small-town Texas.

From a Wednesday night  stroll around the Georgetown square.  Traffic was heavy, but it was a good evening to be outside.   It’s billed as “The Most Beautiful Town Square in Texas.”   I would agree.

Two churches, Christ Lutheran Church in Noack, and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Wuthrich Hill, are joined by a photograph taken at Granger Lake.   The lake has nothing to do with the churches, but I like the scene.  The view was cut short by oncoming traffic.  Growth has its drawbacks.

These four photographs were taken Sunday.    The bits of autumn color we have here usually come later.   A good cold wind and rain usually disposes of them quickly.   The leaves in the opening photo were mostly gone when I drove by there this afternoon.  I’m guessing the trees in the last couple are history.    But stay tuned because I’m still seeing snippets of color in our city parks.   More from there at week’s end.  

As the area where we live around Taylor gets hammered by development, I sometimes cast a net into surrounding counties.   This evening it was Milam County.  Driving north of Thorndale near sunset, I remembered a peaceful country road leading to St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery.   German immigrants in the Detmold community established a church and cemetery here in 1900.   The first known burial, in 1903, was Gottfried Eschberger.  The cemetery is a final resting place for more than 175 residents.   In 1963, St. John’s Lutheran Church relocated to Thorndale, but the cemetery remains at  this impeccable  site on the Blackland Prairie.   Since the road leading to the cemetery offered a windmill, it’s included in this post.   As most know, I’m fond of windmills.   If you don’t cotton to them, you’re barking up the wrong visual tree.