The Bluebonnets Were Early This Year. . .

. . . and I missed them for the most part. My son, David, forwarded an article he'd read about them and said, "You better get out there and get your pictures," or words to that effect. So I read the article and explained that in this area it was still too early for "the really impressive shots". But it made me think I ought to check the 'Net for signs or even go out and check for myself. That was about March 28th, so I decided I'd check out Burnet Co the 30th.

It didn't take very long to figure out Dave was right, at least on Park Rd 4, around Inks Lake. Maybe they'd be better farther west. So early the next morning I was on the road to Mason Co and when I got there I remembered my drive home from the Big Bend a couple weeks before - the dozens and dozens of deer feeding alongside the highway. . . and I wondered if deer eat bluebonnets. . .

The dearth of bluebonnets notwithstanding, I was still out on a beautiful morning, primed to take pictures and the stiff wind seemed ready to start clearing the low clouds away. Now, if I can only find the right spot.

I did. Ten or fifteen miles south of Mason on US-87, headed towards Fredericksburg I came on a highway cut through a red sandstone (I believe) outcropping that quickly caught my attention. Once out of the car (the metadata says 7:06) I started shooting and kept it up for the next 46 minutes.

Most of the shots are views looking up the cliffs, trying to catch the occasional patches of blue as the clouds tumbled by. Standing there trying to steady my camera, I wondered how strong the wind was and whether, standing in the cut, I was experiencing the venturi effect. Offhand, I'd say I was.

These cactus blossoms surprised me (pleasantly) for two reasons: first of all, they were pink - and I don't remember ever seeing pink ones - I'd have expected yellow ones; and second, they looked like roses - and I'd expected cup-shaped flowers. Will wonders never cease?

The cliffs extended about 20 feet above the road surface on both sides of the highway and the cut may have been close to a 1/4 mile long.

The light was constantly changing, another effect of the wind pushing the cloud cover out of the way.

It was dynamic, and invigorating; I was proud to have kept my feet, recalling my crash landing in Yellowstone and my tumble a few months later in the Great Smokies (both in 2014).

As I mentioned, I spent 46 minutes in this cut and I could have kept shooting longer but I realized at one point that I'd recrossed the road and shooting again a section I'd already covered. It was time to move on. I continued down to Fredericksburg, which was packed with people, and moved on through town, up to the Willow City Loop off TX-16. I saw a few Longhorns on the loop, but they had already drawn enough attention to cause a small traffic jam so I departed as quickly as possible.

 I skipped a run past Enchanted Rock based on the number of tourists in Fredericksburg . Up in Llano Co I cut over to US-281 and home via Marble Falls FM-1431. I'd pretty much missed the bluebonnets and didn't see much to shoot other than the highway cut, but it was a good day nonetheless.