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Re: WOWsa! Great Bluebonnets a FIRE!! Started by RichO at 04-17-2007 7:56 AM. Topic has 5 replies. WildflowerHaven... » Texas Wildflowe... » North Central T... » Re: WOWsa! Great Bluebonnets a FIRE!! Hunting Texas Wildflowers - New Book!

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04-17-2007, 7:56 AM RichO Joined on 02-15-2005 San Antonio, TX Posts 637 Ennis 2007: The hills are covered with bluebonnets This weekend I was able to make it to Ennis and I am glad I did. Bluebonnets were literally covering many of the hills in the Ennis area. I was so amazed by what I saw. I took fewer photos than I usually do partly because of the weather and partly because I just drove around taking it all in. There were not just fields covered with bluebonnets, but hillsides. As I drove the Ennis garden club's marked trails, I was rarely without a view of a field of blue in my sight. Bluebonnets in the Ennis were at or very close to peak. Some white was left on top. Plants near or along roadsides more often had seedpods developing than those in the fields. I think for landscape photography the area should still be good through most of this week. Top roads for me were: Cody Road FM-1181 (Field open to public near intersection of Lone Oak and FM-1181) Lone Oak Road Mach Road Walker-Creek Sugar Ridge Road Here are some of many scenes I saw.  This is along Mach Road. Lone Oak Road near FM-1181: Sugar Ridge Road Compare this with a photo of the same area taken in 2005. http://community.wildflowerhaven.com/photos/north_central_texas/category1017/picture492.aspx More photos... Egrets and Bluebonnets along Walker Creek Road: http://community.wildflowerhaven.com/photos/north_central_texas/images/2076/700x467.aspx   RichO Hunting Texas Wildflowers    Report

04-17-2007, 7:25 PM gregner Joined on 03-28-2006 Posts 41 Re: Ennis 2007: The hills are covered with bluebonnets Very nice work once again Rich.  I especially like your picture from Sugar Ridge.  I am lucky enough to be going on business to north Texas tomorrow and plan to hit the Ennis area on Thursday afternoon and Friday.  Hope the weather is nice, looks like a great year in Ennis. The spring of 2007 will be one to remember!    Report

04-17-2007, 8:05 PM RichO Joined on 02-15-2005 San Antonio, TX Posts 637 Re: Ennis 2007: The hills are covered with bluebonnets Thanks Gary, There was no lack of fields of bluebonnets along the routes I traveled. Saturday when I drove into Ennis via I-45, I noticed fields between Corsicana and Ennis, so I am sure with scouting, fields could be found outside of the normal "bluebonnet trails" in Ellis and Navarro Counties southwest and southeast of Ennis. Monday I drove to check out Cedar Hill State Park (which is also having a good year). I took US 287 back to Ennis to do some afternoon photography. On US 67 before I reached US 287, I saw several large fields of bluebonnets, some were moderately covered but one was almost a solid blue. On US 287 near Walnut Grove Rd/Plainview Rd exit, I saw another large field nearly solid blue. On the way back from Ennis, I took SH-34 West to Italy and picked up I-35 there. Along SH-34 I also saw fields of bluebonnets. That area is mostly cultivated land, but here and there are some small ranches and open land. To be accurate, there was not a continous stream of bluebonnet fields, but I did not have to travel far before I would see one. It was like this in the Ennis area. Not every field had bluebonnets, but you if you traveled the marked bluebonnet trails you did not have to travel far before you would see a large field. Some routes the fields were one after another for a span of 2 to 3 miles. To top off my trip, I was surprised to find fields of bluebonnets along I-10 near Hillsboro, West and Salado. In 2005 I traveled via SH-22 from Hillsboro to Meridian and found fields of bluebonnets there, so I would imagine there are some this year. However, with all the fields there were not as many really good photo opportunities as there are in the Hill Country or Brenham, unless you could get access to a field and shoot with a wide angle lens from a step ladder to get a good wide angle panorama landscape shot. Too often the fields that were solid blue and near a road had a fence with a tree break running along the fence. I have to say that I saw more fields of bluebonnets in two days than I have ever seen in one season.         RichO Hunting Texas Wildflowers    Report

04-18-2007, 4:22 AM gregner Joined on 03-28-2006 Posts 41 Re: Ennis 2007: The hills are covered with bluebonnets It is always a challenge to find a good photo opportunity with most of the land privately owned.  Only rarely do you get the chance to meet a land owner and get permission to go on their property. I also tend to get overwhelmed during springs like this one with so many wildflowers everywhere, it is tough to make a decision where to photograph, especially if the year before was far less impressive.  Big fields of bluebonnets are always a pleasure to see, but without some point of interest in the photograph, they all look the same. The last biggest challenge is the weather, mainly the wind.  Seldom do you get calm conditions that are favorable for landscape photography, especially if you are using film and large format.  Exposures usually range from 1/8 second to as much as 30 seconds in order to get maximum depth of field.  It needs to be calm or images are blurred.  Stiff southerly winds predominate in the spring.  You often need a lot of patience waiting for that break in the wind. I have found that the best conditions are usually a day after a cold front. Once the northerly winds subside, there will be a period of calm before winds shift to the south.  This past Sunday was an example, it was nearly completely calm all day, and as a bonus, cool and dry.  Perfect.    Report

04-18-2007, 8:26 AM FlowerPower Joined on 03-08-2005 The Woodlands, Texas Posts 137 WOWsa! Great Bluebonnets a FIRE!! Rich, Thanks for sharing your report and I always enjoy SEEING the photos!  It looks like the Ennis area had a great BB year.  The difference between your 2005 and 2007 photos are amazing.  Gary is absolutely right about all BB fields looking the same unless you can find a center of interest (like your diagonal bridge) to make them unique.  With the wind this year (seems more intrusive to me) it is really tough to get good photos unless you're willing to do some of the blurry more abstract shots that seem to be so popular now.  Our bluebonnets in the Houston area are almost all gone to seed now and with the cool spells and rain the second season (my term) wildflowers are really showing well.  However the wind continues to keep the camera indoors. I for one think it has been an above average blueblonnet year and I was lucky enough to meet a few land owners in the Brenham area and they were happy to share the site and smells of their bluebonnet fields.  One lady went out of her way to flag me down.  She said that they had just bought their property along Phillipsburg Church Road and had no idea that it would be covered with bluebonnets.  She said I tell my husband every day that this land just makes me HAPPY!!  I told her it makes a lot of us HAPPY!!  :0) Murry Flowers will brighten your day whether mild or wild, Murry!    Report

04-18-2007, 9:27 AM RichO Joined on 02-15-2005 San Antonio, TX Posts 637 Re: WOWsa! Great Bluebonnets a FIRE!! Thanks Murry, In a way, I am glad the weather was not all ideal for photography during my trip, as it forced me to slow down and just enjoy the sights and smells.  Land owners who do open their properties for others to enjoy take a huge risk. A small portion of visitors will not respect the property nor the wildflowers. The one large field (5 acres +) along FM-1181 near Lone Oak showed signs of wear and tear from the visitors. Large furrows and holes were created in the bluebonnets by people venturing into the field to get that "photo in the bluebonnets." By Monday there were so many holes in the bluebonnet field that you could hardly find a spot without hole. On Sunday, I also passed by several locations where enterprising young persons (with supervision of parents ) had set up lemonade/refreshments stations on the edges of their properties. For the purchase of a drink, you could take a stroll into the property to view or photograph the bluebonnets. One property owner even had the Texas flag flying and a couple tractors strategically placed in the front field of bluebonnets. I have not visited Ennis often enough to know if this was a banner year for bluebonnets. Regardless. it was a amazing experience for me.       RichO Hunting Texas Wildflowers    Report

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