Sunday Morning in the Hill Country

Hay Field, Comfort Texas
Hay Field, Comfort Texas
Super Takumar 35mm 3.5 @f5.6
It has been my habit to go for an early Sunday morning ride since I was old enough to drive. For most of that time my preferred vehicle was some motorcycle. As a young man I favored speed. The technical challenge of riding the back roads and canyons was my obsession. Much later the idea of enjoying the ride in a more relaxed fashion finally occurred to me and I slowed down. That’s when I bought my first camera.

For some years now a four wheeled vehicle has been my choice for Sunday morning drives. Not as much fun perhaps but infinitely safer while allowing me to carry some lenses and a tripod. I got old or I got practical. Take your pick.

Echo Bluff Ranch Gate
Echo Bluff Ranch Gate
Super Takumar 35mm 3.5 @ f3.5
If you live in Central Texas the obvious place to spend Sunday morning is in the Hill Country, The pace of life there matches my weekend ambitions. Getting out before church means you see few people. You can literally stop anywhere to shoot even in the middle of the road.

I carry a camera whenever I’m on the back roads but I tend to look more than shoot. Once in a while something catches my eye but mostly I drive slow and enjoy myself. If I shoot more than two or three photographs then I’m highly motivated. Last weekend I got three.

These photographs were all made within a few miles of Comfort Texas. Just at the Southern edge of what I consider the Hill Country. There are still many active farms and ranches in the area but they are slowly being replaced by recreational properties. Some of which are quite large.

Fence Line Super Takumar 35mm 3.5 @f8.0
Fence Line
Super Takumar 35mm 3.5 @f8.0

Foliage

Guadalupe in Flood
Guadalupe in Flood – Zuiko 28mm 3.5 @ f8.0
The experts say it is weather not climate change. The extreme year to year changes are just normal fluctuation. When a butterfly flaps its wings in China the wind blows in Texas. Maybe so but lately people have been swimming for their lives on one part of the globe and desperate for moisture in other places. Where I live the average temperature is up, up and away. A scary trend if it is one.

Just last year one reservoir in the Hill Country was seventy feet below normal water level. Last week it was full and overflowing. It’s just the weather not climate change. I’m not sure where all those Pacific islanders are going to live a few years. Closer to home I’m not sure where people in Miami and New Orleans will live either. Get ready to meet your new neighbors. They may be a little damp or perhaps very thirsty.

Medina in Drought
Medina in Drought

Memorial Day

Memorial Day Vigilance
Memorial Day Vigilance – Zuiko 28mm 3.5 @ f8.0
Memorial Day in the Texas Hill country is the same as most places in the United States. We spend time remembering sacrifices made by our fellow citizens but also enjoying the day with family. We have learned maintain a certain vigilance that keeps us alert even in peaceful rural surroundings. Our way of living seems on a knife edge.