Texas in the Spring time. Caution Picture heavy.

[texas1928]

very rare bluebonnet.


















New Life.

[LDS Jock]

1. looks like that here in Austin

Is Lubbock like that too? I'm not familiar with that part of the state.

[texas1928]

3. Nope, that is the Texas Hill Country.

We have dirt and wind here in Lubbock.

[LDS Jock]

4. have any dirt and wind pics?

:P just kidding

[texas1928]

10. here you go.

December 2003

[LDS Jock]

22. I think I like the other pics better

ewww

[texas1928]

46. Well one thing you can say.

You are seeing New Mexico in that picture. Cause that is where that dirt came from.

[Nothing Without Hope]

60. I lived for about 6 years in Odessa, where the sandstorms

would regularly cause the automatic streetlights to go on, they were so dark. I didn't care for Odessa - though I did go to the Permian High School of the movie Friday Night Lights - but I love the area around Austin/San Antonio.

[fleabert]

63. oh lord. good ole Lubbock dust storm.

I remember them well too. I miss a good dirtdevil sometimes. But a duststorm I can do without for quite awhile. :-)

(thanks for the little glimpse of home, btw)

[texas1928]

94. Yes that is a particular nasty dirt storm.

At one point the visibility was down to 100 feet. They had severe pile ups that killed a few people on 84 outside of Lubbock due to the lose of visibility.

[fleabert]

99. Yikes.

my 91 yr. old great grandma (mamaw) still lives there, on her own! luckily I have too cousins in college at tech and they check in on her quite often. She's a stubborn woman, refuses to move, despite the dust and the winters!

[benny05]

69. Lucky you, You live in Lubbock?

Pics look to be around Kerrville...

[texas1928]

95. Yes I live in Lubbock.

I grew up in central Texas though. It is not a bad town here in Lubbock. There is some great scenery here, especially on and along the Caprock.

[imenja]

75. beautiful flowers

and it makes me miss Austin even more :cry: :)

[Straight Shooter]

2. Indian Paintbrush, my favorite.

You're a damn fine photographer. Thanks for sharing. :thumbsup:

edit: What camera did you use? Really super-duper pics :)

[texas1928]

5. Not mine

Dad took them. Was testing out the scanner.

[Straight Shooter]

7. Wow.

Tell your dad he is a damn fine photographer. (Leave out the "damn" if he is sensitive to that sort of talk :P )

edit punctuation

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[nuxvomica]

8. Those pictures are incredibly beautiful

I'd like to do a sketch off the first one. What are those magnificent flowers called? I have zero ability to identify flowers. And those foals are just perfect aren't they? :-)

[texas1928]

11. The blue ones are Bluebonnets...

That is the state flower of Texas. The red is Indian Paintbrush.

The foals are just gorgeous. I love horses when they are that little.

On edit: Sketch away.

[Ellen Forradalom]

9. Oh wow.

Thanks for showing us a bit of Texas' beauty. Poor state gets such a bum rap.

[Bouncy Ball]

90. I always forget that people don't know this state has

some gorgeous parts to it. When I was growing up, my stepfather always used to tell us we were lucky to live in a state that had grasslands, mountains (if you can call those things that), desert, coastal areas, high plains, piney forests, rolling hills. Almost every kind of geographic variety you could want.

Of course, we'd say, it's so big!

The tall piney forests of the southest peter out after you get past east Texas. Then you get the high plains of north Texas, the grasslands and the coastal areas down south. Then the hill country, the gorgeous hill country.

All the way to desert in El Paso and the panhandle. Beautiful. We even have white sand dunes out there.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

12. Where were these taken?

I do believe I recognize the old house in the top pic. If it's not the same it has a twin right down to the shrub on the corner. :)

Those are stunning photos. This is what it looks like in my part of Texas right now. Spring always reminds me why I live here.

[texas1928]

14. They were taken through out the Hill Country.

I do not remember where the house is, I Think it is down and around Llano.

[Dover]

16. That's on hwy 281 just north of Marble Falls. A favorite spot!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

18. I live very near there.

It's strange to see my part of the world posted on DU. :)

[texas1928]

20. Well your part of the world explodes with color in the Springtime.

I love going down the Bluebonnet Trail in the Spring.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

24. It is beautiful isn't it?

My entire property is covered in bluebonnets and other wildflowers right now. I had my windows open today and the scent was heavenly. :)

Thanks for sharing these with everyone. They really do capture the essence of the Texas Hill Country in spring. :)

[texas1928]

25. I would love to have a horse ranch down there.

I miss the green of the hills and seeing horses run.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

28. Sadly our ranches are quickly being subdivided into 'burbs

I know of two ranchers who in the past 10 years sold out and the land is now being turned into housing developments. The old house in your photo won't be there for too many more years. It now sits on prime commercial property. :(

[texas1928]

Some one should restore that old house.

It would be neat to see someone living in it. I would live there.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

33. So would I.

I looked into buying the property about 5 years ago. That's when I found out it was commercial and that they want two arms and legs for it. It's destined to be the future home of some tire and lube or some such. Of course with the way the economy is now it may just get a reprieve. With the rising cost of gas less people are going to be willing to commute from here to their jobs in Austin. :)

[texas1928]

19. That's right.

It is near Marble Falls.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

17. It's the same old building then.

I knew it had to be. I've taken more than a couple of photo's of it myself. :)

[Dover]

13. Glorious wild flowers! See...Texas IS a blue state!

I see you've been driving along 281 near Marble Falls. I know that old building...a favorite photo spot for wildflower rubberneckers (so sad the commercial land around it is getting so developed...eck!).

I do love the Hill Country in the Springtime. With all the rains in February it ought to be a bumper crop of flowers this year.
thanks for posting.....good for the soul.

[crispini]

15. Nice!

:thumbsup:

[Red_Viking]

21. Gorgeous! Made me homesick!

I was born & raised in Austin, and just moved to Oregon last summer for law school. Your photos are beautiful, and remind me of my dad's place out near Marble Falls. I've taken many pictures out there. Oregon has lots and lots of beautiful flowering things, but no Texas Bluebonnets. :)

Thanks for sharing!

Peace,

RV

[texas1928]

23. You are welcome.

While I was in California, I would look at Texas Websites, just to see home. I was homesick for it, So when my company asked me to transfer to Texas I jumped on it.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

26. Breathtaking.

Up here in NJ, the only things blooming are floods and mud.

I can close my eyes and feel the warm breeze.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

27. Wow, texas1928, those are just marvelous!

Your dad has quite the eye for photo-taking! And I LOVE the foals; so young, free and frisky...The flowers are magnificent. I had NO IDEA Texas could be so beautiful. I always think of Edna Ferber's Texas: open, flat, lots of oil wells and so on...

Thank you for posting these! I needed educating!

:hi:

:pals:

[texas1928]

29. I live in the flat area of Texas.

We have oil wells all around us. Then you move down to the Permian Basin and it is oil central. Those picks are from Central Texas. It is called the Hill Country. Come to Texas, in the Spring Time and Stay in the Hill Country, you will see some beautiful scenery.

[Maestro]

30. Now people should understand why

I am not leaving Texas to the repukes. This is one beautiful state. Sure we have our ugly parts but who doesn't? Thanks for the great pics.

[texas1928]

31. I love my State.

I hate what Bush did to it. And what the Repukes have done since.

But it will always be my home. Even if I move away. It is sad that Texas is not Democratic anymore. But if the last election is proof of anything, Texas was more blue than it has been in a long time.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

32. Misunderestimator and I went through Texas on the 10 south last week

Those are beautiful. That's just what it looked like out towards you.

I saw those but what are the yellow flowers all over as well?

[texas1928]

35. Oh man

You should have gotten off the interstate when you were near San Antonio, and driven some of the side roads. You saw some of it, but missed a lot of it.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

37. Yeah we did miss a lot, I am sure

We were on a timeline.

We had dinner at La Fogata's though. We stayed in San Antonio overnight.

Can you tell me what the name is of the yellow flowers (tons of them) off the highway in that area? They aren't dandelions.

[texas1928]

38. Some of them are a buttercup.

There are others that are yellow and I can not remember their names.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

40. Thanks

I think buttercups were what we were seeing...there were some orange ones also

[texas1928]

42. And there are some that are a wild form of daisies.

They are smaller than your commercially grown daisies.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

43. And that could very well be what they were as well

millions of them. Wonderful pictures, btw...thanks for the thread. :thumbsup:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

34. Beautiful pics!

Thank you! :beer:

[texas1928]

36. You are welcome.

Glad you likes them.

[senseandsensibility]

39. I really enjoyed those!

Thanks. And just for an ignorant Californian who until this moment never had any interest in Texas at all, what are the names of the towns in the Texas Hill Country? I'd like to visit the area some day. I've fallen in love with wildflowers in the last year or two!

[texas1928]

44. well let's see.

Llano, Marble Falls, Fredericksburg, Mason, then you have Austin, San Antonio, Bandera, Brady, Corsicana, and there are so many more. Stay in San Antonio, or Austin, and take day trips around. Make sure you visit Enchanted Rock State Park, it is a very neat sight to see.

[Dover]

61. And don't forget to stop in for some home cooking at the Bluebonnet Cafe

in Marble Falls! Leave room for the wonderful homemade pies too!

People drive for miles and miles to have a meal there. I don't get it....it's just home cooking afterall. Don't these people cook?

[TheCentepedeShoes]

76. Ymm - the Bluebonnet Cafe

Ate there a few years ago. Have their cookbook. Spent about a week in the Hill Country looking at property and thinking of moving there at the time. Stayed in some great B&B's and drove all over.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

41. THAT must be why I haven't stopped sneezing in a week!

BWAAAAA-CHOOOOOOOO!

[texas1928]

45. Where do you live?

With all the rain Mountain cedar has really been throwing out a lot of pollen.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

48. Eastern Dallas

Rowlett, to be exact.

ACHOOO!

[Nicole]

47. beautiful!

I just planted some bluebonnets last week. Hope they grow here as well as they do there.

[texas1928]

49. where is here?

If they do grow and bloom, and you get seed pods, collect them before they burst and put them in a paper bag. Store them in a dry, warm place and they will burst on their own and you will have seeds for next year.

[Nicole]

50. Oklahoma

since we are neighbors I figure they should grow here.

Thanks for the tips on collecting the seeds. The ones I planted are some I grew from seeds a friend in Wichita Falls sent me.

[texas1928]

51. Well if you leave them on the plant

They will explode out and throw the seed all around and each year the bluebonnet cover will get larger. That is why those pics are like that.

[Nicole]

52. I will not let them explode

While they are beautiful, I don't want an entire garden full of them. I need room for other things. LOL

[texas1928]

56. Well, just don't pick the pods when they are too green

about the time they start turning brown. Pick them too early and they do not develop. It is a funny sound when they pop in the bag. Sounds like some one sprinkling salt in the bag.

[Nicole]

64. thanks again

for the tips!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

55. Usually you plant the seeds in September.

They germinate and by January you have about 2" plants. They are some tough little guys, I've seen then covered in ice and thaw out just fine. If you don't have any luck with them this year reseed in the fall. :)

[Nothing Without Hope]

53. Wonderful!!! Brings back beautiful memories of long ago for me

I'm a native Texan born and raised in Fort Worth and now living in Massachusetts. I remember solid hillsides of bluebonnets on the way to Weatherford, where my paternal grandmother lived then. So beautiful, and the "Indian paintbrush" (some of which are in your images), the "Indian blanket," and all the other gaily colored wildflowers made the intense blue of the bluebonnets that much more vivid.

Massachusetts is beautiful too, but the Texan kind will always touch my heart. Thank you!

Spring comes much later in Massachusetts - I saw my first robin and red-winged blackbirds of the season today, the crocuses have just begun blooming, and the tulips and daffodils aren't even budded yet around here. But I do love the months-long slow unfolding of spring in New England, and there's nothing like the fragrance of the lilacs when they burst out near the finale.

[texas1928]

57. Texas will always be a part of you.

It never goes away.

[Nothing Without Hope]

59. So true, and I would never want it to go away.

I don't get there as often as I would like, but it's always such a good, relaxing feeling to start hearing those warm accents in the airport and the plane on the way to Texas. It's the sound of home. And there's something about that special, quirky Texas humor that is irresistible to me. Some of my very best childhood memories were of successfully getting my father and his brother going on the old stories. Bliss! It didn't matter how many times I had heard some of the parts - though there was always something new - it was the sound and the rhythm and the pictures they painted.

I love Massachusetts too, in a different way, but Texas will always be in my heart.

There are a lot of Texans who feel profoundly shamed by what people like the Bushes and DeLay have done to the reputaton of the state, especially to the reputation of Texans as people of integrity. It's good to be reminded of fine, strong, honest, courageous Texans like Bill Ratliff and Ron Paul:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3452511&mesg_id=3452764

[texas1928]

93. Yes there are some good solid Representatives from this state.

But the bad ones give us a black eye. The one from our area, whose whole platform was "I will go to Washington and support george bush."
That was all he talked about in his campaign. Plus the Republicans redrew the lines here and got rid of one great Democratic representative in doing so.

[sonias]

54. Beautiful pictures texas1928

Tell your Dad, he did a great job with those.

Crispini posted this message to the Texas forum about TXDot wildfire hot line. They have a best places to view particular flowers.

The Texas Department of Transportation's wildflower hotline [phone]) and Internet site (www.dot.state.tx.us ) give users information on the best spots to find wildflowers along the 79,000-mile Texas highway system.

Sonia

[texas1928]

58. I have looked at that site.

It is a great site.

[fleabert]

62. OH! I miss the hill country!

I miss the bluebonnets so much. :-(

what a fantastic crop this year, the rains really did y'all well.

sigh.

[texas1928]

82. Yes the rain did do a lot for the wildflowers.

And everything else. My Mom said the Prickly pear is already blooming, and with heavy blooms.

[fleabert]

65. we have Ladybird Johnson to thank for all the wildflowers on the highways.

I was trying to remember exactly what I had heard about it, did a google and didn't find much, but I know she started it all.


In the spring, the state's highways and byways explode with color, courtesy of Mother Nature and Ladybird Johnson. More than 30 years ago, the former First Lady began the wildflower propagation along Texas highways, a program later copied throughout the country. Now, the blooms of multi-hued wildflowers are celebrated in varied happenings and on wildflower trails across the state. Many of the loveliest displays are seen in Central Texas. Year-round events are featured at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, where something is always in bloom.

http://www.traveltex.com/tx_act_events.asp?SN=5935648&LS=0

here's a little bio on the nature loving first lady!
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/cj36.html

[Lone_Star_Dem]

66. Ladybird Johnson does deserve our thanks.

Here's a direct link to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center website.
http://www.wildflower.org/



A pic of Ladybird Johnson taken in the Texas Hill Country in 1990
It looks like she's sitting in a field of Indian Blankets (Gaillardia pulchella).

Thank you Mrs Ladybird Johnson!
:toast:

[fleabert]

67. she was also part of starting Head Start!

classy lady!

edited to add: She took a highly active part in her husband's war-on-poverty program, especially the Head Start project for preschool children. (from her bio on the whitehouse site)

[Lone_Star_Dem]

68. I didn't know she was involved in Head Start!

All the more reason to like her. I did know she was deeply involved with habitat and species loss not just in Texas but through out the US. She's been one busy lady.

[DS1]

70. You guys shuur like your blue bonnets. 'sat all ya got?

:D

Nice pics ;-)

[texas1928]

83. We got more than that.

But I am not going to tell you.

:P

[GOPisEvil]

71. Springtime in Texas is my favorite time of year!

GREAT pictures! :-)

[Bouncy Ball]

91. ATCHOO! Mine too! ATCHOO!!!

[tibbir]

72. Wonderful pictures!

I live in Houston and I try to drive out to the Hill Country every spring to see the glorious show.

[Goathead]

73. Nice, check out Big Bend during spring bloom sometime.

It is incredible!

[texas1928]

89. I have not made it to Big Bend yet.

Would like to at some time.

[Spacemom]

74. Gorgeous pictures!!

Mind if I snag one for a desktop? :)

I love living in the hill country. We took the boys for a "sunday drive" yesterday. The fields are just covered. Too bad it doesn't last longer.

Thanks for sharing.

[texas1928]

86. Have at it.

I don't care if you take one or all of them.

[mogster]

77. Beautiful pics, thanks for posting

:D

[texas1928]

85. you are welcome

And welcome to DU.

[Lex]

78. Beautiful pics! Thanks for posting them, Texas1928! nt

[texas1928]

84. You are welcome.

I have more, just did not post all of them.

[VelmaD]

79. Those made my heart happy

Thank you Lady Bird Johnson. :)

[livetohike]

80. Thank you!

Just beautiful :-). Years ago I spent many weekends canoeing in the Hill Country. This brings back some good memories.

[texas1928]

87. You are welcome.

Every year my family would go down to the Hill country for the Day or a weekend. It was a great time.

[Cuban_Liberal]

81. The hill country is just awesome.

Blue bonnets and paint pitchers (?)...

:D

[texas1928]

88. The red is Indian Paintbrush.

But there could be some other red flowers mixed in.

[DemExpat]

92. Jeez...these are lovely for an expat Texan....

thanks for sharing.

:hi:

DemEx

[texas1928]

96. You are welcome.

:hi:

[donheld]

97. Colorado springtime, Yesterday

[texas1928]

101. I am not going to say anything, because...

We could still get snow here. And I do not want that to happen.

[flamingyouth]

98. Those pictures are absolutely gorgeous

I love the Hill Country. I've been there three times now and think it's just beautiful. :hi:

[Lady Effingbroke]

100. Thank you so much for the pics, texas1928!

I do miss the Hill Country, espcially during the springtime - I lived in Canyon Lake for a couple of years (I'm now in Houston, and I've lived in Texas since 1977).

Your father is an excellent photographer! :hi:

[texas1928]

102. thank you.

They are some of the best ones.

[tammywammy]

103. Thanks for sharing these beautiful pictures

It makes me wish I could take a road trip....sigh cannot afford the time off of work or the gas....

But, even here in the Metroplex, when I exit 183 going to work, the grass is full of blue bonnets. Even in a land of concrete, it brightens my day to see the flowers.

[texas1928]

104. Well bluebonnets as all wildflowers are a hardy breed.

They can survive in the weirdest places.

[yellowdogintexas]

105. those are fabulous, you had excellent lighting there,

much better than mine, over in photography

[texas1928]

106. The Texas sun works wonders.

:P

Just a bright sunny day. Most of those I was just getting my tan for the summer and usually ended up with a burn.