One of my fondest memories of my early childhood in the 1950s is of springtime in East Texas when the bluebonnets, Indian paintbrushes, buttercups and other wildflowers would pop up in the fields and along the roadsides. We lived 15 miles from my grandparents and took State Highway 67 through the country to visit them. Every year, at the first sighting of a thick carpet of blue, I'd beg my dad to stop the car so I could play in the flowers. He would always pick a bouquet of red Indian paintbrushes for me, and I'd feel as if I were in a magical place.
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Larry Urqhart - Bluebonnet Field At Dusk (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center)
texson.com |
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| ranchflowers.com |
Today it is something of a Texas tradition to take family photographs in the bluebonnet fields during the brief few weeks of their duration. My daughter and SIL took the boys out over the weekend to let them play in the flowers...and managed to snap a few photos for Grammo.
I hope that, fifty years from now, the boys have the same fond memories of playing in the bluebonnets with their parents that I have of those beautiful spring days with my mother and father.
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| Jennifer and Joe with Grayson and Holden |
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| Jenn and the boys with the Dallas skyline in the background |
My sister and BIL fled Anchorage over spring break. They visited the LBJ ranch and she went on and on about the Bluebonnets...now I see why. How beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWe've been in such a serious drought here that the bluebonnets don't seem as spectacular this year as they usually do, but there are still some nice, thick patches. I'm glad your sister and BIL saw some pretty ones. They definitely went to the right place. LBJ's wife was a real advocate for highway beautification and for preserving or returning wildflowers to the roadsides.
DeleteDana, thanks for sharing your photos, you have a beautiful family.
ReplyDeleteSo we finally see Joe, the SIL of the mid2mod treasure hunt fame.
Thanks...I think they're all keepers! :) I didn't realize that was the first time I'd ever posted a picture of Joe. I may have to find one that shows him full-face. He's looking at Grayson in this one.
Deletesuch a beautiful family...god bless them :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sudha. I'm very blessed to have them all in my life so actively.
DeleteHi Joe & family, Hi Dana! I think you are right about fewer wildflowers this year...but it's still pretty down here in Fayette County. Round Top and Warrenton and all points are beginning to pop around here...I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully there will be some nice MCM stuff to see.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who will be selling at Round Top. Hope we'll be able to make it too. My SIL has finally hired one of our good friends to work at the store on Sundays, so maybe that will free us up to go some places as a family. (I've been working at the stores on Sunday, but no more! Yay! I love every aspect of this business except the actual selling...go figure.)
DeleteGreat pic of the blue carpet of flowers, I've never heard the term Blue Bonnet but they look a lot like Grape Hyacinth which are just begining to come out now in the north and I've actually seen them come up thru the snow in past years. The red flower looks a lot like one the grows in western Canada. My girlfriend and drove to British Columbia last year and I got some great shots of the flora and fauna. We are headed out road trip style for three weeks this summer again and hope to get more great pics.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, bluebonnets are part of the legume family. We also grow hyacinth here, and it's one of the first spring flowers to arrive.
DeleteI'd love to visit Canada someday and see your gorgeous scenery!
That top picture is sooooo gorgeous and relaxing to look at.
ReplyDeleteMakes me want to go have a picnic under one of those trees.
Great family photo, how cute are your Grand kids?!
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I agree that bluebonnet fields are so inviting! Aw, thanks about the grandkids!
DeleteWho says Texas is all flat and brown? Great pics! I've been to the hill country around Austin and it's some of the most beautiful areas in the country! Now I know a bit more...
ReplyDeleteOne of the nicest things about living in a state this large is that you can have it all...mountains, gently rolling hills, deserts, coastline. The Hill Country is very pretty. So is my pine forest/hardwoods area of East Texas. Fort Worth, where I live now...not so much. Mostly mesquite or cedar trees and a little cactus.
DeleteThank you! As a former Texas gal now living in (I know, save me now) the NorthEast, I love to see the bluebonnets!! We visited in November... Out to what WAS Lake Travis near Austin.. No bluebonnets then.
ReplyDeleteGlad I could make your day with a few bluebonnet photos! :) I've never seen the fall foliage in the Northeast, so you do have that to look forward to now.
DeleteGrammo, aww, love that! I just noticed some bluebonnets in a corner of my yard while mowing yesterday and paused to admire them. Then your lovely blog...and your family, enchanting! I used to horseshow in E. TX, Dana...love those wonderful pines with carpets of needles and that smell. Thanks for these memories and pics. Really hit home.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much. I don't want them to get too full of themselves...but they're all really as sweet as they look, even the "big kids."
DeleteWow, another thing we have in common! I showed Tennessee Walking Horses throughout Texas and Louisiana when I was a kid. We'll have so much to talk about! :)
Beautiful kids, grandkids and of course bluebonnets. And for some reason now I have the Bluebonnet song from the 60's stuck in my head!
ReplyDeleteThanks...I'm a very lucky person to have this brood. I don't remember the Bluebonnet song from the 60s...and I bet I should be glad. No...no...don't hum it for me!!!
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