We’re getting more rain in recent weeks, along with a cool-down in temperatures.   It’s been raining for several hours in our area of Central Texas, currently about 55 degrees.   I celebrated the day with an evening drive to Bartlett, Texas, a community of a little over 1600 in both Williamson and Bell Counties.   Like Granger, Bartlett is adorned with magnificent brick cobblestones streets.   When raindrops fall on their surface, they shine like spun gold.    When these photos were taken around 7:30 tonight, the rain was coming down hard.   Drivers passing by probably wondered what that fool was doing standing on the road with a camera and tripod.   Mostly getting wet, but perhaps a little inspired, too.

Watching the flight of birds never gets old.   I’m continually amazed at how they’re able to move so well without crashing into one another.   Just another example of nature’s designs.  

Taylor doesn’t  get the outstanding autumn scenes  like some places, but there’s a bit here and there if you look around.   These few are from recent morning walks.  Our fall season usually improves as the month  moves forward.

After the time change.   Photos taken this evening near Thrall and Noack.  Our Central Standard Time sunset occurred at 5:39 p.m. tonight.  Like most of the country, we transitioned from Daylight Savings Time back to  Standard Time early Sunday morning.   Most friends, yearning for more sunshine, would prefer we remain on Daylight Savings Time all year long.   I do not.  We perpetuate  poor light.   As we fade into lower light, the skies latch onto  serenity.   I’d prefer if we embraced Daylight Savings Time in late-autumn, and  into summer.   And send it packing in November.  Yes, that’s Noack’s Christ Lutheran Church.

A few photos taken at Sunday’s opening ceremonies for the Georgetown Field of Honor, with flags on display through November 12th behind the Hammerlun Center for Leadership and Learning.   While there were speakers to photograph, my choice is just to give you impressions, perhaps share a mood.  One that moved me was a tight photo of a determined face.   The gentleman, 82, is a retired Army Sergeant Major.   That’s a big deal, friends.

Two mornings in a row the landscape was transformed by fog.   This time I ventured a little bit out of town for photos.  The San Gabriel River is included.  And trees.  And a spider.  And a hawk.

A few photographs from Saturday’s opening day of the  7th Annual Georgetown Field of Honor, coordinated by the Rotary Club of Georgetown.   This year the display of 1400 American flags is in the beautiful Old Town area of that city, in a field behind the Hammerlun Center for Leadership and Learning, overseen by the Georgetown Independent School District.  Flags were still being placed Saturday, some with photographs of those being honored.   Although Saturday was the first day, there are opening ceremonies beginning at 1:30p.m.   If you’re in the area, get there early.  Parking could be challenging.  These photos are generic scenes, but the last four highlight the U.S. Marine Corps members celebrating the its 248th birthday, complete with a cake sliced with a ceremonial sword.  Included in those are a 93-year-old Marine, plus a 17-year-old cadet, a member of the Round Rock High School Marine Corps Junior R.O.T.C. program.  Her group served as color guards for the ceremony.

Photographing foggy scenes is almost always a pleasure.  It can be nature’s monotone.   Early this morning I stepped outside to a heavenly layer of fog in Taylor.   An actual assignment was coming up in Georgetown, but I took a few minutes for a visit to Murphy Park, celebrating its 100th year this weekend.   Fog can take a complicated scene and bring a feeling of serenity.  And clarity.   

Georgetown’s 7th Annual  Field of Honor, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Georgetown, officially opens Saturday morning, but I stopped by to see how it looked tonight.  Because of ongoing construction at San Gabriel Park, the  usual venue, the 1400 American flags are flying behind the Hammerlun Center for Leadership and Learning.   This year’s site is smack dab in the the heart of Georgetown’s Old Town district.   I think it’s a better site than the park.   The Field of Honor will continue through November 12th.

When moving to East Williamson County, Texas in 2009 I soon began to notice how trees, large and small, tend to stand out around here.   They have room to breathe.   Some are probably feeling down and out after the summer’s intense heat and drought.   Quite a few didn’t survive, but many  did.   The opening photo is a little tree I’ve admired for a while.   In early-2022 a sign on the Beyersville road where the tree rests indicated the road was closing for a development of some sort.   Earlier this week, the sign was gone, leading to a drive along that nice unpaved route.   I’m thankful the development didn’t put an end to this one’s life.   The other four are just some trees making a go of it on the Blackland Prairie.