It’s that time in CenTex again when the wildflowers are out and so are the bugs. Even though it didn’t start out as a goal, I wound up spending some time wandering the fields of Overlook Park and breathing in the bluebonnets. I never knew they had such a ‘loud’ smell until I started walking among them every Spring after moving here. A friend of mine cultivates them in her yard and told me about their unusual way of propagating and how they overcome things like drought and other hardships…
They germinate in the fall, when there is still quite a bit of heat, but they need the cold to develop root structure. Only a small percentage of the seed germinates the first spring. This delayed germination ensures that many of the plants can survive from year to year.
As we were wandering down the path towards Stillhouse Hollow Dam, we ran across these trees:
Three trees growing in an interesting grouping.
Of course, Mr. Teddy (at bottom left) wanted to run up and mark the middle tree, and *immediately* got dive-bombed by some rather large, black, noisy bug… he ran off with his tail tucked. He totally has a bug-fetish; he gets incredibly upset by anything touching his fur. His life is ruined if there’s a fly around.