The Hills are Alive....

After I left Pollywog Ponds I took the ramp to travel about a mile before my turn to head into Calallen, Texas and then over to the county park for more birding and walking the trail system there. I happened to look at the open incline that drops down onto the interstate highway and noticed a field of blue. The bluebonnets were in full bloom! I was shocked actually, 'cause it's kinda early in the season for them to be flowering. [taking the interstate home, on the OTHER side, the bluebonnets were not seen...it must be because the warm sun shines on them across the road longer!]. Anyway, I pulled off onto a driveway of a small business and parked to cross the road and take pictures for the first of the season blossoms!!  The bluebonnet is Texas's state flower, and they are very popular; making the news each year when they bloom.  I like them very much, mainly 'cause they are the only true, rich, deep blue flower around my area  [the plumbago is supposedly a light, powder, blue, but ours looks more lavender to me].

Also note:  The Texas bluebonnet is only found in the state of Texas; no where else in the world has this species of lupine.   From this site:

The early-day Spanish priests gathered the seeds and grew them around their missions, which gave rise to the myth that the padres had brought the plant from Spain, however this can’t be true since the two predominant species of bluebonnets are found growing naturally only in Texas and at no other location in the world.