Local Blossoms

My recent trip to the Hill Country to view the spring wildflowers in bloom has caused me to pay more attention to the flowers and flowering trees that surround me here in South Texas. We had much more rain this year than we have had in the past several years, and the results are a plethora of blooming plants and trees. The beauty of South Texas is found not in grand, breathtaking vistas, but in small details like the sight of a blooming prickly pear or a jacaranda in bloom. Below are some pictures I took just yesterday.

The prickly pear blossoms always amaze me.

Where I grew up, we called these black-eyed Susans, but I'm not sure if these are called the same here. Maybe they are a form of sunflower. Whatever they are, they are all over.

I particularly like the Texas Wild Olive.

This is bougainvillea.

This is a Jerusalem Thorn. It looks like Husiache, but it's not.

This a a jacaranda in bloom.

These last two pictures are of a tree whose name I have yet to discover. Anyone out there know what tree this is?

Texas Wildflowers

A friend of mine and I took a trip up to Kerrville this weekend to see the annual spring explosion of wildflowers. We went to an area famous for its flowers-the Willow City Loop. It was very beautiful and refreshing. However, we were caught by a cold front which made this year's Easter in the Hill Country the coldest in memory.

The flowers are Yellow Huusache Daisies and Indian Blankets. We were taken by surprise by a cold front. Many of the trees were coated with ice.

Indian blankets

These are Indian Blankets or Firewheels.

These are Texas Bluebonnets we spotted on the Willow City Loop north of Fredricksburg.