Living in Texas: bluebonnets

My first year experiencing Texas bluebonnets, I was pulled over by the cops.
Our second year (last year) the whole state was in a horrible drought and I think I saw 2 flowers all Spring.

This year, Mother Nature has been kind.
Lucy has been learning about Texas history in her kindergarten class and was thrilled the first time she spotted a bluebonnet, “Mom! That’s the Texas state flower!” So we ventured out for a closer look.
And though it’s not illegal to pick a bluebonnet (just socially frowned upon), the kids were a bit reluctant to tromp through the field. Owen especially didn’t want to crush any flowers. Sweet kids.
But I lured them in long enough to snap a few photos.
and a few goofy moments.
Thank you Texas for sharing your beauty with us.

  1. We are definitely in the wrong part of Texas…your photos are so lovely. Though you are right about how pleasant it is this year after suffering that drought. It is almost slightly a little bit green here in West Texas…in a yellowish, brownish kind of way.

  2. 3) Felicia Mathis

    Wow these are breath taking shots! Seeing the bluebonnets is my favorite part of spring here in Texas.

  3. 4) Saunja

    Beautiful!! I always LOVE seeing the Bluebonnets!!

  4. Boy, that’s one thing I do miss about Texas–the bluebonnets were always so lovely in the spring! Enjoy!!

  5. You’re making me homesick šŸ™ We’re heading back soon though šŸ™‚

  6. When I saw your beautiful photos, I had to look up Bluebonnets to see if my initial reaction to seeing them was correct: They are part of the Lupine family. I grew up in New Brunswick, on the East Coast of Canada and there were purple lupins EVERYWHERE. The species we have here seem to grow taller (about 3 feet hight), but, they are so prolific that we picked them all the time as kids. I now live in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where lupins also grow quite readily. A couple years ago a bird very kindly “planted” some lupins in my garden. Ahem…

    • 9) Liz

      I was born in TX but lived in Northeast Maine for a couple of years when I was a child. We would go to New Brunswick to eat at a certain place that had bluebonnets growing in the flower beds — my parents were always over joyed to see that bit of home! It’s nice to know they grow wild in other places besides TX.

  7. 10) Katrina Garcia

    although i love living in nyc, i do miss my home state <3

  8. 11) themissymom

    Really pretty photos and thanks for the link back to your cop story. Really make me laugh!!!!!

  9. How is it that I am just now realizing you are in Texas? I am obviously not paying attention! I am in Houston and I must say the spring wildflowers are one of the best things here! You just can’t help but smile as you drive down the freeway to see the bright blue and red splashes of bluebonnets in the medians, hills (I say jokingly since we are in Texas for goodness sake), bayou edges, etc. Welcome to Texas and one of the beautiful pleasures here. Drop a line if you ever get to Houston!

  10. 13) palak

    Awww… as a Texas native, I just love the wildflowers we have here. Fingers crossed for a milder summer this year!

  11. GORGEOUS pictures!! I love how you capture a certain mood that really draws the viewer in. So pretty!

  12. I remember the cop incident. šŸ™‚ I don’t remember seeing any of those pretty flowers when we lived in Texas. Maybe I was in the wrong part? Anyway, lovely flowers, lovely kids, lovely pics!

  13. 16) tara faul

    those pictures are absolutely gorgeous.

  14. 17) Farrah G.

    I miss Texas this time of year. We are opposite, I used to live in Texas, Now I live in the OC. The lighting was Fab, you captured great shots!

  15. 18) Sara

    What beautiful pictures and flowers! And kids!

  16. 20) Erin

    I’m a lifelong Texan, recently relocated to New Orleans for my husband’s job. I miss Texas in the spring. Bluebonnets make me happy.

  17. 21) Elise

    Beautiful flowers and adorable kids!

  18. 22) Jeanine

    Oh I just LOVE Texas bluebonnets!

  19. 23) Kara

    Could your children be any more adorable? I don’t think so. Beautiful photos!

  20. 24) Deborah Jennings

    I love bluebonnets, too! =) But then, I am Texas born and raised and will die in Texas! I love it! Did you know that it is easy to make a bouquet of bluebonnets out of pine cones? Yep! You just spray paint the pine cones blue and then take a small paint brush and white paint and paint just the tips of the top “petals”. Then add a stick for the stems, place in a large-ish can and you have your rustic bouquet. =)

  21. Aw Lucy and Owen are just so cute! Beautiful light in these images, great work Dana!

  22. 26) Carmen Russell

    Pretty, pretty ,what a wonderful picture,very cute kids.

  23. 28) Heather B

    I miss my home state. Hopefully the Army will send us back. Great pictures!

  24. 29) ruth

    Absolutely beautiful. The kids and the flowers.

  25. 30) Fabi

    Pretty pictures.

  26. 31) Cami

    Last year was our first summer in TX but because of the drought we didn’t see many wildflowers. A couple weeks ago we took a 3 hr drive to Fredericksburg and I think I literally “oohed” and “aahed” and smiled the entire drive. I wanted so bad to stop and take pictures but my husband was reluctant to stop and I was too chicken to actually get out of the car and pretend to be a good photographer. Your pictures are lovely. You have such a knack for beautiful photography!

  27. This makes me miss Texas. I was lucky enough to serve my mission there. I still miss the bluebonnets in spring and fireflies in the summer.

  28. The bluebonnets are one of my favorite parts of living in TX, too. My hubby and I took a drive though the bluebonnet trails a few weeks ago and I took a ton of pictures. And they smell amazing too! Great photos! šŸ™‚

  29. Just lovely Dana! How neat to see those blue bonnets clustered around the prickly pears. Very pretty. I adore Owen’s smile in that last picture! šŸ™‚

  30. This is the first time we have been back in Texas for bluebonnets since before my kids were born (they are 5 and 4) and we haven’t gotten the chance to take bluebonnet pics yet! I need to do it soon, I know they will be gone before long. Love the photos, beautiful kids and beautiful scenery šŸ™‚

  31. I love the bluebonnets! I remember then from a childhood! It sounds like me and the tulips out here in Washington. The first year I went to see them, I was too late. I got to the ‘festival’ and the lady at the information desk said, I hope yall didn’t come for the tulips… Why else would I go to the tulip festival?? They had already cut off all the heads of the flowers. Then the next year I went, we were too early and only the daffodils were blooming…. last year, we made it to actually see the tulips!

  32. 38) Sarah K.

    So beautiful! Up here in WA it is tulip time. I need to get my kiddos out in the flowers. Thanks for the inspiration – your photos, as always, are stunning!

  33. So beautiful. The field. the photos. The sunshine.
    šŸ˜€

  34. OMG! those are so pretty and a can smell the summer… ahhhhh. they look a lot like Lupins, but smaller…

    Love your blog!

    Best wishes from Estonia!

  35. Gorgeous photos! So nice to take advantage of an opportunity like that. We have mounds of blue grape hyacinths coming up in our yard but the acreage is a bit more modest! šŸ˜‰

  36. 43) Katy Fox

    I love that goofy shot…so cute!

  37. 44) Marianne Z

    Those photos are WONDERFUL! Those are keepers and framers for sure!

  38. Gorgeous photos, Dana! I didn’t realize that bluebonnets were what I call lupines. There’s a lovely children’s book called “Miss Rumphius” about a woman who plants lupines in order to make the world more beautiful. Have you read it?

  39. 46) MaryMargaret

    Oh, Beautiful! Once I was lucky to be in Texas at bluebonnet time, and as we drove from Austin to San Antonio we saw a bride having her portrait done in the interstate median amongst the gorgeousness. So perfect!

  40. 47) Genesha

    I spent most of my childhood in central Texas. I remember fields of them everywhere. Thank you for sharing your pictures of your sweet looking children and bluebonnets. I miss seeing them each spring now that I live in Idaho.

  41. Beautiful beautiful. I recently saw my Dad in Dallas and we drove past some fields with bluebonnets and I wish I had stopped to take pictures. They are beautiful! I still remember your poppy pictures. LOVE fields of flowers! Thanks for sharing!

  42. love all the sunlight in these pictures, really, really pretty.

  43. OMG I just LOVE Owen’s facial expression in the last picture. Priceless.

  44. 51) Joan McLemore

    Gorgeous!

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