WorkmateGuy

Every spring the meadows in Texas blossom with bluebonnets painting the landscapes with waving oceans of blue and filling the air with their fragrance. People travel from all over to see this spring time wonder that appears every year for several weeks. I'm fortunate because I have only to walk a short distance from my home to experience several fields of these beautiful blossoms hidden back from the main roads. It takes a few days for all of the bluebonnets to blossom and fill in completely. In this video I was able to capture them at their peak with a slight breeze coming from the south and the sun illuminating them from directly overhead. I laid down on the side of a gentle slope so that you might see them up close as well as have the full effect of the area covered with them. Texas does everything in a big way and our state flower is no exception. Texas has not just one, but five state flowers and all of them are species of bluebonnets or Lupines; Lupinus subcarnosus, Lupinus texensis, Lupinus Havardii, Lupinus concinnus, and Lupinus plattensis. Also, what I thought was very interesting is that according to the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M System the two predominant species of bluebonnets are found growing naturally only in Texas and at no other location in the world. Historian Jack Maguire once wrote, "It's not only the state flower but also a kind of floral trademark almost as well known to outsiders as cowboy boots and the Stetson hat." He goes on to say that "The bluebonnet is to Texas what the shamrock is to Ireland, the cherry blossom to Japan, the lily to France, the rose to England and the tulip to Holland." For more information on the Texas state flower you the Texas A&M System website: https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/flowers/bluebonnet/bluebonnetstory.html