♥
Every year here in Texas, families flock to the hill country — or wherever is nearest to fields of bluebonnets — to take advantage of the colorful natural background for household photo frames. Early April is the time when Indian Paintbrush, Texas Bluebonnet, and Evening Primrose are in full bloom, and we in the Houston area head a few miles west and a little north of high pressure to enjoy the beauty, fly kites, and watch babies taste flower petals for the first time.
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Digging back into the digital archives, I am reminded of those “maintenance” days, and actually miss when my life was just wake, feed, clean, feed again, clean, clean some more, feed one last time, and lastly, crash when head meets pillow, repeat.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t not-enjoy the busy-ness that is today’s appointments, school assignments, enrollments, and other commitments (squeezed in with feed-clean-feed-clean cycle). I do, I really do. But the Days of Babies in many ways was just purer…simpler.
God Bless the babies who make us enjoy the more important things in life and for wildflowers that slow us down just a bit.
♥
What are your favorite wildflowers?
Are you slowing down for spring? Or speeding up?
DirtNKids Blog 
I love all of the wildflowers around here, but love see the violets and trillium the best!
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Trillium! To be able to grow them here in Texas. Not only would they hate our soil (black gumbo clay) but the brutal summers and the white-tailed deer would ruin them in no time. I should see if the nursery ever has sold any…
Happy Spring, Wendy. 😀
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Thank you for sharing your memories. Spring definitely has an energizing effect on me. I love bluebonnets (or lupines) as well, but Blue Columbine, Colorado’s state flower is probably my favorite.
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Yes, I forgot that our bluebonnet and your columbine are related! What I didn’t know (until after I read a little about Lupines) is that they are nitrogen-fixers. Great plants to have for sure, and not just for their beauty. You’ll have to post some of your columbines when they spring forth, Tanja!
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I found this post to be so lovely…the pictures and the prose. I loved those early days with my sons. I try still to slow down and enjoy life but it is often a challenge. So happy to have found your blog!
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Well, welcome to my dirt party! Unfortunately, we are up to our eyeballs in ‘life’ which means the blog takes a back burner. There will be some upcycled content coming though, so you can see what we’re about. Thanks for the lovely comment. See you again soon.
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We did our spring picture in the field of Indian paintbrush again this year. Red/pink suits her fiery spirit more 🙂
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Yay! Indian paintbrush (and ‘Indian blankets’) are among my favorite wildflowers. Enjoy the bloom while it lasts.
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I’ll be enjoying it slowly. Kiddo came early 🙂 all is well
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Then…yippee instead!!! Congrats to you and your family; will be looking forward to that post, A. Spring babies are just the greatest.
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I know those bluebonnets as lupins. Are they the same thing with regionally different names, or different flowers?
Lovely pictures. We get fields of orange from the poppies, and yellow from mustard, but not much purple!
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You are right! They are lupines as well, and are really more purple in color than blue. They are our state flower.
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Those days are fast approaching in our little family! 🙂 We’re slowing down over here. I’ve cut work from its usual 80 hour weeks to about 50-60. We’ve decided to move, so the garden is on pause. That, and the waddling has arrived which means I just physically move more slowly (and amusingly 😉 )
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Yes! We are counting down over here and can’t wait for the news of a little Plumdirt Jr. I do hope that you will consider us in your announcement.
Sorry to hear of your gardening slowdown, but for moving (to a bigger place?) is a good reason. Here, the garden is getting quite a bit more love this year as it sat vacant for a full one last year. Grasses took over, bags of leaves and grass/shrub clipping are are piling up (you should see how many by now!!), and the weather is PERFECT for outdoor work. It must be killing you to be indoors waddling around. Now, if I can just pull myself free from the classroom for several hours today and get some dirt between my toes.
Cheers, Allison! Our best to you and DH with your impending parenthood.
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Yes, bigger! An extra room, AND a bigger yard to dig in 🙂 I manage to sit and pull weeds ok still, so at least there’s outside time to be had. I was sorely tempted to mow the lawn a bit ago but realized there was no way to hide that I’d done so and DH would NOT be pleased if I had 😉
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Yea on the house. As for mowing, push-mowing, I’m assuming? Perfectly allowed, DH! Just don’t overdo it, Mama. I did this with all my pregnancies (except for the last one when I tractor-mowed) right up until delivery, and within days again afterward (except for the last who was my only surgery — breech).
As for weeding, get yourself a firm inflated toddler ball (min 1.5 ft diameter) and SQUAT ON IT while you weed. Will save your back and stretch out those hip ligaments at the same time. And you’ll have a play ball for later. Two-fer. 🙂
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I twist a lot in my lower back when I mow. I think from being short 🙂 I’ll have to keep my eye out for a ball. I’ve got a seat/kneeler thing that helps a lot so far.
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Such great pics we all love blue bonnets.I have missed out on the bluebonnets this year. Where did you go close to Houston? Two years ago I found a beautiful field in Cypress.
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Hi Sonya, glad to have you here. Those photos were all taken (at different time periods) at a field north of Belleville off Hwy 36. There is a property owner who removed his fencing to a couple hundred acres and keeps it wild — supposedly just for people to enjoy. Can’t say specifically where, but we know we’re there when arrive at the OCEAN OF BLUE. One of the most spectacular flower shows I’ve seen, rivaled only by the crimson red of clover fields to the north and east of us. Hope you get the grandbabies out for some shooting!
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