Monday early afternoon I needed some photo therapy so I grabbed the camera and took a walk on the wild side...
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Wish I had taken my tripod...This is another flower that has several names in my wildflower books...Golden Tickseed, Coreopsis, Tickseed, etc. It is a member of the Aster family.
And as you can see the grasshoppers have hatched and have started eating. I am so not looking forward to the grasshoppers. I hope my chickens do a good job of keeping them away from the house and flowerbeds.
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One of my favorite photos from the afternoon walk...
Texas Dandelion or also known as False Dandelion.
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I loved this lone bluebonnet...
The grass is growing and starting to hide the wildflowers.
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And of course it wouldn't be a walk without Lydia, silly cat!
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I love daisies.
There are a lot of varieties and after looking through the books I'm thinking these are Arkansas Lazy Daisies or also know as Doze Daisies. Also a member of the Aster family.
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And guess who joined Lydia and me on our walk...KitCat. He's a real pain at times. He meows a lot and kept sitting on the flowers I was trying to take photos of, sigh! Goofy Cat!
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Lydia exploring and keeping an eye out on me, lol...
Someone needs to keep a look out! You just never know when those Giant Spitting Cobras will sneak up on you, lol.
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The bright blue of this dayflower caught my eye...
This is another one that has several names, yikes...are you ready? Dayflower, Commelinaceae, Erect Dayflower, Hierba Del Pollo, Widows Tears, False Dayflower, Whitemouth Dayflower, and I'm sure the list goes on, sheesh!
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I know, ewww...House flys!
but I was bending down to get a photo of the dayflower and spotted these two at it! I had to laugh, silly flies. It's spring and they're doing what everything else is out in the woods! Procreating and keeping their species alive!
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Venus's looking glass
Or Clasping Venus's Looking glass, Roundleaf Triodanis, and Clasping Bellflower. The common name "looking glass" refers to the reflectiveness of the shiny black seeds it produces. It is a member of the Bellflower family.
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We are just going to call this one Fleabane...
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Disc Flower...Aster Family
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Who needs tulips when you have Wine cups? The Wine cups are in peak bloom here right now and all over...Beautiful!
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See he won't leave me alone...Go Home KitCat! Go Home!
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You decide...it's either Bitterweed or Sneezeweed...They both belong to the Aster family.
I just thought it was pretty! But then I think all wildflowers are pretty.
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I bet you can guess what this one is? How about Prickly Pear Cactus and it's growing new spines, Ouch! I saw some Prickly Pear blooming in Laredo when I was there but didn't get a photo. I'll wait for ours to bloom here and then take a photo for your viewing pleasure, lol.
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Those things above, they hurt!! Nettles! Grrr...I thought it was mint that is until I walked through them and they stung me...OUCH!! I'm going to target them with the shredder/mower soon!
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Possibly Toad flax and a member of the snapdragon family...
I caught these on my evening walk while the sun was going down, love the soft light. Guess what I managed to sneak away on my evening walk with no cats, dogs or kids, wow!
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I only saw this one plant and the blooms were gorgeous. Not sure, but from looking at the books, I'm thinking it's a Larkspur and from the crowfoot family. All parts of this plant are highly toxic and it has also been known to cause death to cattle that graze on it, yikes!
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Old Plainsman or Woolly White.
It is all over the pastures and roadsides right now.
Same as above, just a different point of view...reminds me of fireworks popping off!
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I walked to the tank/pond and I tried to sneak up on whatever was there. There are ducks there normally but I scare them off all the time. This time I managed to get right up to the tank/pond and was standing there looking very quietly. I didn't see them until they were in mid-air grr...I've been hanging around my 7 yr old to much I've lost my ability to sneak up, stay quiet, and spot things lol...I do know we need some rain the tank/pond is drying up!
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Meadow pinks...aren't they gorgeous. See that yellow star in the middle, isn't it cool? I was excited when I found these as I call them Texas Stars but guess what only one of my wildflower books call them Texas star, in all the other books the "Texas star" flower is totally different. It is a member of the Gentian Family.
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I found this one down by the dry creek bed. I think it is a member of the Parsley family and possibly a type of Bishops weed or maybe Mock Bishops weed.
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Ahh one of my favorites...Wild Lantana. I have some in my flowerbed but I bought those plants at the nursery. These are wild and growing in the pasture and a much prettier bloom!
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My son found me while I was on my evening walk...he also found this caterpillar or inch worm or whatever you want to call it...I forgot what the locals call them but they're hanging from the Oak trees and drive me crazy. My hair seems to attract them. Michael is fascinated by them and kept pulling them down to look at them, eww...I told him keep them from landing on me please!!
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Not sure but I think he gave up on Giant Spitting Cobras and was looking for enemy soldiers and or tanks, lol...He's just as entertaining as Lydia!
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And right before we got back to the house I spotted this little bloom in the brush. Scarlet Gaura and actually from the evening primrose family. ~ Whew, that took awhile to identify all those but I loved it. Love learning about the wildflowers and what they are...Hopefully I got most of them right. If I didn't sorry, I tried. It amazes me all the different names they have for the same flower and all the color variations too. I hope you enjoyed the photos and the wildflowers.
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