Is this really Austin?

On the morning of June 10, after I took pictures of wildflowers at a few places on the Blackland Prairie in far northeast Austin, I wandered south and then west to see what I might find by taking a circuitous route home. At one point I gazed out toward the horizon, and rising above the trees I saw a tower that didn’t look like anything I’d expect to find in Austin. It turned out to be the Austin Hindu Temple. I worked my way over there and drove in to take some pictures of the architecture. After I went around to the back I discovered that along the edges of the parking lots native plants were doing their thing, most noticeably basket-flowers (Plectocephalus americanus). I took some pictures of them but it was already late and the wind had come up, so I decided to go back earlier the next morning. That was better because the temperature was cooler, there was no wind, and I even managed to catch the moon directly above the temple. I found that by getting low I could line up individual plants with the temple, which was a different take on my familiar subjects.

© 2020 Steven Schwartzman