Bluebonnet Trails: Ennis

I went to photograph the blue bonnet trails near Ennis and Palmer today.  It was a perfect spring day with a gentle breeze and a deep blue sky.

I think I was probably a week early as the fields are not filled yet but there are some amazing patches of them.

My first stop was the  Event center in downtown Ennis. The people are all happy to help, giving maps and bragging about the treasure they have to share with everyone. It was exciting to hear about the places to go and see and I was on my way.

I followed the map down to the veterans memorial park. I enjoyed watching families and couples taking pictures of each other in the vast fields of blues and reds.

I got to walk on a trail of bluebonnets and watch as all sorts of people took selfies, full blown professional photography and multiple cell phone pictures. The atmosphere was cheerful as the blooms surrounding us.

I drove along long roads where there were few people. Open fields of flowers and beautiful estates surrounded by great fields of pristine green.

I got lost, found my way and lost again winding up at Bardwell Lake, a lake where I was almost run over by a speed boat my first time water skiing.

I went back up to Ennis and up 45 to 313 and continued following the blue bonnet trails. The first thing that caught my eye was a field of long horns, several other people were also snapping photographs as well.

I followed the road, passing several horse farms and one giant horse begged to be photographed.  It was a Belgian horse and its foul and they were close to the fence. The mom was quite friendly and approached me close enough to be able to pet her giant head.

Next stop was the Sugar Ridge Winery. The road leading to it was beautiful, huge fields of blue bonnets, a small pond that was lit up by the high sun. There were people picnicking with wine and families running down from the fields of flowers.

Every turn and hill on this long winding road was just filled with stunning views. It reminded me a bit of the wine country in Sonoma-although the hills were a bit more modest. It was just an amazing green that you don’t see around Dallas much.

I arrived at the winery to the distinct smell of boiling crawfish and to  a group of happy patrons sitting out on chairs on the lawn. I was tempted to order a sampler flight but decided to take some home instead.

The owner was quite proud of his wines and shared with me his two favorites-a white and a red and I was set. Also got a magnet too.

The drive back was a lot quicker and easier than the ride down-got stuck in traffic and detoured down Buckner boulevard-live and learn.

The ride home I realized how close this uniquely beautiful area was and the  landscape reminded me of place in New Jersey, again with a bit more modest hills.

Since I went a bit earlier than the peak bloom, I will definitely go back to the blue bonnet trails and if I love the wine as much as I think I will, I will probably need to stock up-more on that to come.

Texas Tulips: Beauty in Pilot Point Texas

I watched a story on  NBC 5 News about Texas Tulips in Pilot Point, Texas. Saturday morning I was on my way to Pilot Point. I had to see this, a field full of multicolored tulips just an hour away.

It was a perfect day for it too, cool, sunny and a little bit windy. There is a $2.50 per person entry fee, the parking is so well organized and the people running the place are very friendly and helpful. You pick your own and they pack them up for you, just in time for Easter.

When you first get there, all you see is a crowd of people in a field full of colors, I was envisioning impressionist paintings with every turn. There were young children with cut tulips trailing behind parents, lots of selfies, happy couples and many like me taking pictures of the whole scene.

What also interested me is the story and idea of how Texas Tulips got it's start. The story epitomizes the American dream of having an idea and building a business from your passion. Watching your inspiration grow much like the tulips in the middle of a field somewhere in Texas.

The story begins in Holland almost 40 years ago. The Koeman family started a horticulture farm that grew to include leeks, chrysanthemums, irises and tulips. The son Pieter joined the family as the company gradually developed a reputation of having early tulips. With the passing of their father, Piet Koeman, the company changed course and settled in Pilot Point where they found fertile soil. country charm and nice weather and an opportunity to meet the people that bought their tulips. Texas Tulips was born.

There are so many different colors and varieties, the way they are laid out across the field in rows is a work of art in itself. I enjoyed watching people just enjoying themselves being out among such a beautiful colorful backdrop. 

Besides the amazing colors and varieties, I was impressed by the names like Ice-Cream, Flaming Parrot and Monsella. I enjoyed the atmosphere, almost felt like I was in an impressionist painters' dream and I assure you there will be paintings to follow. 

I would highly recommend checking it out if you get a chance to take a ride to Pilot Point. I'm really enjoying a recent trend of finding out of the way places close to home-stay tuned for next weekend, sure what I'll discover, part of the excitement of exploring the road.

Trinity River Audubon Center

Had a day of volunteering with colleagues from Texas Instruments at the Trinity River Audubon Center. First of all, I never realized a place so beautiful and pristine was so close to downtown Dallas.

After taking a shuttle through the city, on a very gray overcast day  we arrived at the gates of the nature preserve. It’s the largest urban hardwood forest in the United States at 6,000 acres.

Besides the hardwood forest, there is a wetland and remnants of the black land prairie. On our tour we learned about switch grass, invasive Johnson grass which some of our group worked to remove and the three hundred species of birds that pass through the refuge.

The bird-shaped visitor center is composed of recycled materials, from blue jeans insulating the ceiling to renewable bamboo for the flooring. The windows of the building are slanted to avoid the chance of bird strikes and all water that hits the roof is easily collected and recycled.

It’s nice to see an idea that works. This beautiful landscape was once an illegal dumping site which took the city three years to clean up and now it is a pristine landscape that is a testament to people caring about nature and nature restoring itself.

We looked for the screech owls that are nesting now, listened to a Pileated woodpecker and learned about all the different mammals that leave their tracks on the muddy trails, including bobcat, coyotes and deer.

The river and its way of changing the landscape was our project as well. We moved granite rock to cover the muddy trails that the flooding caused.

It was great to see coworkers unite for a cause and I must admit their work ethic was as impressive in volunteering as it is with projects at TI. It truly is a great bunch of people to work with.

I am planning on getting back for birds and brew and the night walks calling for owls. I still am amazed how close a beautiful landscape is to the city and it’s nice to see environmental projects that work and improve our community.

Hagerman Wildlife Refuge

I've been talking about visiting this park for years and I finally made it today. It is so close to home it was really a short easy ride but the landscape was just beautiful.

I felt like God was showing me all the greatest designs of nature with a light that changed through the day always bringing me another amazing view of the spring landscape. I have not had this feeling of peace and simultaneous excitement standing behind a camera in quite a long while.

First of all, the greens were so rich and the storm that wrestled with the sky all day made the most amazing light and shadows that changed as quickly as I could shoot. I haven't had this feeling of excitement watching birds in a long time too.

I found a field of rich green grass that held large pockets of mallards, pintails, buffelheads and even a few dowitchers. I was able to sit on the side of the road and just enjoy the wildlife without feeling I was in anyones' way and yet I didn't feel like I was so remote as to feel vulnerable.

There were flocks of song sparrows, meadowlarks and the largest group of cedar waxwings I've seen in a while. There were cardinals, crows, herons and egrets and I noticed a flock of white pelicans that surveyed the sky in the midst of a darkening storm.

I stopped by the visitor center and the people there were not only proud of their park but they were able to tell me where a large flock of waterfowl were. I got a magnet, a beautiful magnet at that-hand painted I believe.

I got to walk on the Meadow Pond Trail but I wasn't up for the full 5 mile walk, I did get to see the first pond. I was completely alone except for two couples that I saw along the way. It was one of those amazing moments where you are emersed in wildlife, the sounds of frogs on the roadsides and cardinals calling along the fence rows.

The trail is actually a very old train track so it's wide and quite easy to walk, on either side there is water both from the pond and from standing water from recent rains. Along the way I was able to photograph red admiral and sulphur butterflies. All of the yellow wildflowers were alive with the sound of honey bees and I forgot how much I missed that sound.

I will definitely get back to Hagerman for another adventure and believe it will probably be a regular place for me to go to get away and enjoy nature. I would highly recommend this place both for its close proximity and for the beautiful, natural place it offers, I will be back for spring migration.

Hagerman Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center