WILDFLOWERS ARE BLOOMING

Took this picture last weekend, just a half mile down the road from the farm...

Texas wildflowers
The picture doesn't do it justice but we're still happy with how it came out (as always, click to enlarge).  It's just so pretty and calming.  Texas wildflower season is indeed a thing of beauty, a sea of color everywhere.  Bluebonnets are the state flower of course but all the wildflowers are just so stunning.

We are going to a home show this weekend to check out some things we are considering and when we're done, we're going to head around the area and see if we can find some more great shots.

Happy Friday!

HORTON HEARS A WHO FLOWERS IN BLOOM

For some reason, these don't always appear at the farm each Spring.  Because of that, we love that somehow they are rarer than the other things popping up on a regular basis.  

Dr. Seuss flower?

Sure enough, last weekend, they were in a few patches around the farm.  The first time we ever saw one, the FIRST thing we both said was...

HORTON HEARS A WHO!!!!!!!

The iconic Dr. Seuss character who finds a whole world living on a speck on an awesome looking pink and yellow flower. 

Horton Hears a Who flower

The only thing missing on ours are the striped stems, ha.  They are SO pretty and so unusual, even if it is "just a weed", we love having them around.  

I thought about cutting some to put in a small vase and see how long they last...and maybe we'll just have to start listening a little closer to them.

Hmm, just thought about it, maybe I should try to press some in my flower press? 

WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY

Texas Wildflower season is famous for its beauty.  Here are some pictures I've taken.  All of these are on our property.  I guess we do have color, at least at this time of year.

Let's see...we have...

PINKS..

BLUES...

WHITES...

PURPLES...

YELLOWS...

There are others but this is what we have captured over the last few weekends.  

One of these days, we're going to make it to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center.

p.s.  A few of the pics above I'm using as wallpaper on my office computer.  A little touch of the farm at work during the week!

Enjoy natures beauty!

AT THE FARM

Playing "beat the rain" game. Check out this forecast.  I'm not even sure why they put 90%.  I'm pretty sure it's gonna rain, ha.  'Tis the season!

When this posts, I'll already be at the farm.  

Haven't mowed for the last two weeks so I'm sure it will need mowing now, and I need to edge too.  Once those are done, I will top off the flowerbeds from last weekend with more soil, then with the rest of the day, I'll see about creating some new flowerbeds in front of the house.  I have the timbers, the cardboard and some soil, so it will be a good day if I can pull off a couple of those like I did last weekend in front of the garden.  

The good thing about this rain is that the fruit trees are being kept well watered.  We had an inch the other day, and an inch and a half last weekend.  They are saying two to three inches are possible Sunday.  Also a chance of tornadoes and hail.  THOSE we can do without.

Yellow Texas wildflowers\

Let's enjoy some sunshine and flowers before gray skies and storms...these are growing just outside the front fence on the corner of a neighboring property.  Yellow always makes us smile when we see it.  

Hope your weekend is off to a good start!

WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY PRE TURKEY DAY

OK, so I know it's not Wildflower Wednesday like WAY back in April (could that really be over six months ago?) but I couldn't resist...

Texas Spring Wildflowers

...sharing another one in this cold weather.  No flowers like this  blooming now but it's a good time to see some and be reminded of the Spring to come.  

The longer weekend (for us here in the states anyway) is about to start.  We're doing our own in house Thanksgiving, photos will come later.  2nd Man is off today but I'm still not feeling 100% so we may just have a quiet holiday all by ourselves.  He will start the prep work and we can eat ourselves into oblivion tomorrow.  Happy Days!

YELLOW AND WHITE

Found these Spring-like yellow wildflowers blooming happy and bright...

...and these Winter-like flowers blooming cool and white...

At the same time. 

Off to do an important errand first (a surprise is coming!), then off to the farm for a beautiful weekend.

More later, hope your weekend is off to a great start!

WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY

Every Wednesday for the month of April, I will post wildflower photos taken around the farm.  For us, it seems that March showers bring April flowers.  At least in these parts!

So enjoy the beauty of Texas Wildflower season!
(click each to make bigger)

Bluebonnets 

We saved one of the best flowers for last.  

The Texas Bluebonnet.  

Nothing symbolizes Texas' Wildflower season as this flower.  Seeing bright blue flowers in the landscape is so beautiful (and unusual).  Blue and yellow together is even prettier!

It's like an ocean of blue everywhere you turn...

Close up of Bluebonnet flower

Here is one closeup...such a lovely flower.  And the state flower of Texas! What's funny is when you try to plant them on purpose, they almost never grow.  

But spread some seeds around randomly and they do great.  

Texas Wildflowers

I saw this white fence down the road from us.  It was along the front of someone else's property and they had wildflowers growing all around it.  It was truly magical to see in person.  An inspiration for us and our 'future'!

Hope you enjoyed Texas Wildflower season 2016!

WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY

Every Wednesday for the month of April, I will post wildflower photos taken around the farm.  For us, it seems that March showers bring April flowers...at least in these parts!

So enjoy the beauty of Texas Wildflower season!
(click each to make bigger)

We love this, it almost looks like a Monet painting.  It was an ocean of blue and yellow (with some pink and purple thrown in for good measure, ha)

Pink, yellow, white and orange...

Hot pink, more yellow, orange, just a palette of never-ending color.  We sure do love Texas Wildflower season...next week, we saved the best for last, the ubiquitous Texas Bluebonnet!

ENJOY!

WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY

Every Wednesday for the month of April, I will post wildflower photos taken around the farm.  For us, it seems that March showers bring April flowers.  At least in these parts!

So enjoy the beauty of Texas Wildflower season!
(click each to make bigger)

Texas Wildflowers

I wish I knew what they all were, we do have a Texas wildflower book (and some of you have sent great links on ID'ing them but haven't had time to slow down and do that).  I swear the one above looks like a painting...

Not sure what these are, wish the camera had gotten a better picture.  They were so gorgeous with the sunlight shining on them, they were almost glowing. 

There are a few bluebonnets popping up in this photo.  We think the variety of color in every field is what makes wildflower season so enchanting.

More wildflower photos next Wednesday!

WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY

On Wednesdays for the month of April, I will post wildflower photos taken around the farm.  It seems March showers bring April flowers.  At least in these parts of the country!

So enjoy the beauty of the famous Texas Wildflower season!

Here are some Indian Paintbrush...such a pretty flower, a brilliant orange, with hints of red.  They are one of the early bloomers in wildflower season.

These are in ditches on roads all around the farm.  We don't have ditches this deep in front of our property, now we kind of wish we did.  I'm not sure what these are called, I need to find our Wildflowers of Texas book...  

Here is a closeup...so pretty and these come up every year, growing wild with no human intervention, year after year.  Love them!

And finally (for today) this is the "buttercup" as it is called by many, but we believe they are actually called "pink evening primrose"?  

So refreshing and vibrant...

More wildflower photos next Wednesday!

TEXAS WILDFLOWERS ARE COMING UP

I posted this late yesterday, it was supposed to be for today but I messed up the automated post timing.  So in case you saw this yesterday and wondered why there is no post today...well now you know, ha.  

Beautiful, but WET weekend here.  The yard was swamped with water.  We had almost 5 inches of rain last week.  Needless to say there is nothing I could do outside.  When I stepped out of the car, my foot sank into the mud.

Got most of the inside finished...and by finished I mean, cleared out the clutter...but there will still be much cabinet/closet/shelves/drawer organizing in our future but hey, just walking in and having it 'back to normal' is a relief.

Now we need to get the inside cleaned up.  How many dead bugs CAN accumulate in windowsills?

The famous Texas wildflowers are coming up like crazy this year so I thought I'd share some pictures.  Our bees should be VERY happy...

Indian Paintbrush and other wildflowers

There are a couple of Indian Paintbrush above, love them almost as much as Bluebonnets.  Those aren't up yet but should be soon.  

Wildflowers along fence line

This is just down the road from our driveway, just popping up in the ditches.  They are so pretty!

Field of Texas wildflowers

This is an amazing field right across the road that is nothing but a sea of purple and yellow.  Seeing it in person is incredible. 

Didn't get to clearing off the porch just yet but hey, that's an "outside" project and that will all being next weekend (weather permitting).  Sure hope it dries out by next weekend.  Standing water and mud does not make for good outside activities.

NATURES BOUQUET OF FLOWERS

I saw this clump of 'weeds' in an area of tall grass because the color caught my eye when I was walking past it. 

Together, they formed the prettiest "natural bouquet' I've seen yet.  2nd Man said it looked like something a bride would be carrying down the aisle.

Natures flower bouquet

I agree, it was just beautiful to see in person.  I wanted to cut it and put it into a vase just like that but alas, we know how that would have ended.  

Off to run "open house" errands in town, then Sunday will be off to the farm to see what I can get done out there.  Our weather today feels like the first real, true day of Fall.  It's GORGEOUS!

Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

POP UP FLOWERS

What's that little yellow spot?

Went to the farm this weekend and after the rains last week, the grass had started greening up nicely.  Then we noticed that these little yellow flowers were coming up all over.  

They are tiny little things...

Rain Lily

...one long, slender stem, no leaves, just coming up in random spots all around the yard in the full sun areas.

Copper Lily aka Rain Lily

Even though they no bigger than a dime, they are absolutely stunning up close.  This is a super close-up photo...isn't it beautiful?  I'm sure they will be fleeting, see them once, blink, and they're gone but hey, at least we captured the image.

We call them pop up flowers but I'm sure they have a "real" name, ha.

Anyone know what they are? 

Update:  Thanks to all the kind commenters who gave us the info.  The actual name is "Copper Lily"...also known as "Rio Grande Copper Lily" and the one we like best of all, "Rain Lily"...because rain is what brought them to our yard!

Thanks again everyone!

SIGNS OF SPRING

Well, I know parts of the country are still having snow on these first days of Spring...but we have buds on trees...

...the pear trees are flowering...

...this tree, ornamental pear we believe, is also flowering.

Indian Paintbrush blooming

...but the best sign of all are these first few pops of seasonal Texas wildflowers along the side of the road leading to the farm.  These are called Indian Paintbrush, which means Bluebonnets can't be far behind.

Wildflower season in Texas is rich with color and beauty.  I'll make sure to get a lot of pictures when it's at it's peak.

So while the weekend was wet and pretty much nothing we could do outside, it did nourish the soil and provide water for the coming Spring blooms.

YELLOW FLOWERS MAKE US SMILE

Nature provides us color when we least expect it.  These lovely yellow flowers are springing up all over the place.

When I mow, they are all along a lot of the paths.  Of course, as I mow they make me smile.  Definitely 'zen'.

And when we go for a walk around the property, they are popping up in fields and are definite smile makers there too.

Prairie Coneflower

Here is a close-up.  I'm not 100% sure, but it looks like a species of wild coneflower.  They grow just like a regular coneflower does and I think I found them in the Texas wildflower database.  It's called a Prairie Coneflower.

Yellow flowers are happy flowers!

TEXAS WILDFLOWER PHOTOS

Texas Wildflowers 

Here are some photos (click them to enlarge) I took recently of the sides of the road leading to the farm.  For those in other parts of the country/world, Texas is known for its wildflowers.  In April and May, they just spring up everywhere in the state, in ditches, esplanades, sides of the road, fence lines, and if you're lucky, they can even appear in your yard.

Of course these pop up without any intervention and bloom with just our sporadic rainfall.  I'm sure if I scattered seeds around "on purpose" and watered them regularly, they would never bloom, ha.  

I've taken a lot of photos of them I'll post in the coming days and weeks.  Anyway, enjoy the pics, we're off to run some errands today for the farm, picking up some things we need, including a couple of neat additions for the property.

More on that later plus I will catch up on replying to comments from the last week.  Please know that we read them all, we just can't always reply right away!  Keep them coming!

Hope your weekend is off to a good start!

Texas Wildflowers