Sunday romp in the meadow

I absolutely LOVE this time of year in Texas. Every little strip of grass along the highway is bursting with color. We've had a great wet season, so the flowers are more abundant than usual. Literally everywhere you go, there are wildflowers scattered along the ground. Check here for some stunning wilflower shots. Here is a small meadow we visited:

There is this ritual every spring that happens here. Everyone takes their kids out to the meadows of wildflowers and takes pictures of them amidst the bluebonnets. It's tradition. If you're Texan, you have a picture somewhere in bluebonnets. There is a reason for this: the land is carpeted in blooms and it's breathtaking. I've watched everyone else do this each year, and I've always resisted doing it. Not because I think the flowers aren't pretty (on the contrary, they make my heart sing anytime I drive anywhere) it's because I hate doing whatever the masses are doing. I always want to do my own thing and not conform with the crowd. Okay, Okay. For 5 years I've resisited joining the masses of other Texans, but I decided to do it this year.

Why did I do it? I mainly did it to share the pretty scenery with distant grandparents and friends who have never seen the Texas wildflowers. I don't expect any local Texans to even glance at this posting, because they are saturated with pictures of the same thing from other parents. I had never seen anything like this before I moved here....although that doesn't mean much seeing as how I grew up in the desert, so there weren't any flowers that grew wild anyway.

I heard stories of other families getting bitten by snakes when they ventures into the bushy growth, and doctors tell me how they hate treating kids who're hurt because their parents told them to go pose for a picture. I've heard of fire ant nests ruining the day, spider bites, bee stings, etc. This is another reason why I was reluctant to go play in the flowers.

This Sunday we stopped in one such meadow along the drive to church, and jumped out for a quick 5-minute photo shoot. The kids all had fun tromping through the meadow while I caught several candids. The only one who stepped in a fire ant mound was me (luckily I was wearing thick knee-socks instead of nylons, so no damage occurred). Everyone did collect a spider bite or two, but it wasn't as bad as a feared it would be.

On another note...I know the lighting is bad. I know we should take outdoor pictures near sunrise for good lighting, but honestly, when are you going to do that? Before school? Not happening. On a Saturday-- the ONLY day you have a tiny chance of sleeping in? No chance. Sunday it is, but then they all have to be ready for church before you go out, and that doesn't' happen quickly either, so the sun's rays are no longer soft and gentle. I figure we're lucky to have a picture in the bluebonnets at all, but the perfectionist in me still points out all the things wrong with these pictures. There is a small chance that I'll go out again with the kids and re-shoot everything.

There are swaths of different colors in different meadows, and my favorite fields are the ones that are dotted with a variety of red, blues, yellows, and pinks all together. It's breathtaking. Unfortunately it seems like the best patches of wildflowers are along highways, and you just can't really take pictures there.