Much time this weekend has been devoted to documenting,, editing and finalizing photographs from from Taylor’s Bill Pickett Youth Rodeo, held Saturday at the Williamson County Expo Center.  The event is designed for young folks eighteen or younger.    Mentioned numerous times through the years, but the culture of rodeo is what draws me in.  It seems everyone wants to see action photos, but the features encompassing the sport are my primary inspiration.  On Facebook and Instagram I’ll make features and action separate posts, but they’re altogether here. If you see a photo posted, check with the Williamson County Sun to get it.  I don’t market a thing.  The first thirteen shots are features, the remainder action.   A note about action.  Among the most compelling events is bull riding.   Unfortunately, at these mostly evening rodeos, bull riding is saved for last, when the light is almost impossible to deal with.   Organizers probably do this to keep their audience in their seats for the grand finale, but it’s a visual nightmare.  I love documenting rodeos, but it’s exhausting, labor-intensive work.  

Another batch of photographs from daily walks, opening with a dandy chicken crossing the road.   Most were in Taylor, but one walk this week was in Georgetown.   This post is usually done on Sunday, but it fits well where it is this week.  There’s much on the plate tonight, none of it to do with social media.   As mentioned a few times, I don’t spend very long on a situation, only stopping long enough for a snapshot before meandering on.   Although Nikon is my primary camera, walk photographs are done with a very small Olympus.   Camera weight is tedious.

A photograph taken tonight, a little over an hour before the Summer Solstice.  Probably mentioned before, but I am no fan of summer months, particularly in Texas.   I do, however, like this scene, a cornfield nestled under fine Blackland Prairie skies.   Have a good evening, friends.

My term for this grain crop is milo, but  it might also be called grain sorghum, or great millet.   It’s showing up in several fields in our area right now, looking vibrant and healthy.   Most farmers I’ve talked to use it as feed for livestock, but it also can be used as a human food source.  From what I’ve read, its origins are in Africa. Call it what you like, but it’s a visual treat to see.

The Summer Solstice arrives Friday  in Central Texas at  9:42p.m. Central Daylight Time.   Our summers here are really about seven months long.   Heat makes its way to us in early-April, usually holding on until early-November.  Families find ways to cool off.   Splash pads are wonderful inventions.  These photos were taken on Tuesday afternoon at Taylor’s Heritage Square Park.  If splash pads had been around when I was growing up in the 50s and 60s, I would’ve been a huge fan.

When not traveling excessive miles in search of prairie scenes I am drawn to the rookery at Taylor’s Murphy Park, very close to home.    These are from two recent outings.    Migratory birds, primarily egrets, have been coming to Taylor for years to begin new family members.  They continue to inspire.

During the decades in metro-Atlanta I often sought out unpaved roads.   When we left the area sixteen years ago, there was one dirt road I used to visit, not far from Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, near Marietta.   I wonder if it’s still unpaved.   These three photographs were taken recently, not far from where we now live.   While they can be dusty (or muddy if it rains), they are charming.  This is east of Granger, south of Bartlett.   In the opening photograph you’re looking north into Bell County, Texas.   Curious cows wander here.   Before getting a photo, one of them was strolling in the middle of the road.   No worries.  Traffic is light.   And the deer?  They could be the same ones seen a few weeks ago on this same road.  

As this area continues to experience the bloat of development, the camera often turns to tiny landscapes, little things that catch my eye.   This was seen on Saturday morning in Georgetown, minutes before coverage of Juneteenth.  I am not a Master Naturalist, or even a gardener.   There’s no attempt identify this plant, only an effort to observe light’s passage.

It’s becoming unnecessary to say much regarding the photographs I’ve been posting from daily walks.   On each daily walk, mostly in Taylor, the shutter on my camera is depressed anywhere from 150-400 times.   A lot of it is junk.   Heck, maybe all of it is.  But it truly is a therapy.    If not one person ever saw one of these photos I’d still do it.  Life is tedious. This helps.  Fifteen tiny landscapes are offered this week.

The Georgetown Cultural Citizen Memorial Association held its 73rd annual Juneteenth observance today at the Georgetown Community Center.  Do your research on Juneteenth, a national holiday with roots in Texas.   There’s a lot going on in our country that divides us.   Juneteenth, formally observed on June 19th, makes  an effort to bring us together.   Hold onto that.