This one’s just about trees, things noticed during my wanderings.   Winter light can be harsh, tedious, but also serene.   If you see things at the right time of day, they breathe life into your world.   These would likely be pedestrian scenes at certain times.  

Berry Springs Park & Preserve, a Williamson County park in Georgetown, is one of my favorite places to take a camera.   This morning I spent a couple hours walking around there.   There were quite a few people out there, including a mom and son out for a birding expedition.  It’s a good place for birders.   A Waning Crescent moon was shining above the trees.   And a hawk!  Most of the time when I see one, it’s while driving.   As soon as I stop for a photo they make a quick exit.    This hawk, which I THINK is a Red-Shouldered Hawk, was starting to get tired of the photo session, moving from one tree to another.   Since I didn’t have to worry about stopping for traffic, I followed her for about twenty minutes before she finally had enough and left.    The post concludes with some good morning light on some leaves, something simple.  

Tonight I visited with a friend near Bartlett.  While I’d hoped to take some photos of Princess, her beautiful Texas Longhorn, Princess wasn’t having it.   But on my friend’s land there’s a 1941 International pickup truck that drew me in.   International Harvester began making trucks in1907.   Hers is a K Series model.  During World War II the company stopped production of these trucks in 1942, but resumed  in 1946.   The company still made  trucks until May 1975.    I’ll get back to Princess later.   This old truck is a gem.   It’s regrettable today’s trucks are so big.   Back in the day, these got the job done.

As you likely know by now,  fog, clouds and mist are conditions I find enlightening.    This morning all those things were prevalent during my morning walk in Taylor.  Anticipating rain, I carried an umbrella.   It wasn’t needed, but it’s best to be prepared.  Rather than babbling on here, let’s just post some photos.   By the way, that’s Saint James Episcopal Church in the last one.  

From Wednesday evening in Coupland, Texas.  The burial site is for St. Peter’s Church of Coupland.   It’s a view that I enjoy seeing.  

The brick cobblestone streets in Granger (and neighboring Bartlett) are nice, but when  rain falls  on them  at night, those bricks just glow.    It’s been a while since I’ve photographed Granger’s West Davilla Street in the rain, but I did so Tuesday night.    Even with  an umbrella and rain poncho, I was getting throughly soaked.   Old streets like this are  small-town treasures.   I hope their governments continue to care for them.   My hometown street was brick when growing up in the 50s and and 60s.    In later years it was paved over with asphalt.   That’s sad.   Despite a severe personal drenching,  last night was a delight.  

It’s rainy a lot tonight in our area.   Clouds arrived this afternoon leaving us with some interesting skies.  The rain had begun this afternoon when I saw the donkey, comfortable in its enclosure.   The others two photos are just our Central Texas palette.

This small pond is one I’ve driven by many times.  On a recent outing, with good warm light at hand, I stopped for a photograph.   Since first seeing it a dozen years ago, I’ve not once seen livestock   here.   So let’s call it a pond, not a tank.   Even  during the hot and dry summer months it always seems to contain water.    I’m thinking  it’s a spring-fed pond.    The tree adds a touch of elegance.   At one time there was a rowboat at its edge.       It’s a simple, quiet place, enveloped by the Blackland Prairie. 

This morning I rose early enough to record the first sunrise of 2024, but just found cloud cover. The sun did finally come up later in the morning.   Encouraged, I decided to try for a New Years Day sunset.   The sunset was rather pedestrian for this area, but about twenty minutes later the skies held onto an interesting mix of blues, oranges and yellow, making for a nice palette in the western sky.   So this is my “sunset” photo to mark the new year.  Happy 2024, friends. 

No surprise here, but the weather forecast was wrong.   Expecting a sunrise photo on the first morning of 2024, we were cloud-laden.   One makes do with what’s there.   The San Gabriel River and the venerable truss bridge, plus two barns I like a lot.   All are in Taylor.   As this is written just before 9a.m., the sun is out.   We’ll see what the day brings.