Blue Bonnets and Indian Paintbrushes

One of the reasons I came to Balcones Canyonlands NWR last year (besides the two endangered bird species) was to see the famous Blue Bonnets that bloom in spring.  Well, last year I was here after 18 months of a more than severe drought; hence not many blooms.  That's not the case this year!  There have been record rains this winter and early spring, so the wildflowers are prospering.

Today, I needed to do some errands, so I headed for Marble Falls this time so I could view the flowers on the way. 

I was not disappointed.  This is what an individual Blue Bonnet looks like.

But this is what the roadsides look like right now.  There is an astounding array of these flowers bordering FM 1431 to Marble Falls.

I'm glad I came back for a second year so I could experience this!

The Blue Bonnets are not the only blooms erupting.  There are also Indian Paintbrushes.

Such vibrant colors....truly eye candy!

After I got back to camp, Adrian, my neighbor in the tiny A-framed camper, helped me replenish the coolant/antifreeze in the motorhome.  The last time I exercised the engine last week, the engine gauge showed very high temps, and I discovered that the coolant was very low.  We put in over two gallons.  I'll have to pick up some more the next chance I get.  There's always something that has to be taken care of.  It was a learning experience for me, so I'm glad for the help.

My next bird tour is tomorrow, and it looks like there won't be high winds.  That's a good thing!  I sure hope we'll be successful in finding both endangered species.  :)

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,   Judy

Earning a Girl Scout Badge

About forty Girl Scouts and Brownies descended on Doeskin Ranch this morning to earn badges for participating in our Bridges to Birding Program.  The banding birds station wasn't included in today's agenda, so I was the greeter and time keeper today rather than teaching.  I must say that that's a heck of a lot easier job than doing the teaching! 

You can probably guess that this is the station on how to use binoculars.  With all of these girls were actually two fathers.  I was happy to see that.  They were a little uncomfortable upon arrival, and admitted that their wives usually took care of these kind of outings.  :)  They may have been forced to come, but by the end of the day it appeared that they and their daughters had a good time.

There are eight stations in all that the girls visit and learn different things about birds.  This one happens to be about bird songs.  Isn't this a fantastic location with gorgeous scenery to be teaching in? 

The girls were there about five hours, had a picnic lunch, and earned their badges.  Biggest challenge of the day was getting them all through the one bathroom several times.  Since there were only four men total, we told them they could use the men's side as well, but that didn't work.  I guess they were afraid of all those boy cooties or something.  :)

When I finally got back to the rig about 3:30 to take Emma out, I noticed that the fire crew was doing a prescribed burn just below our RV sites.  They need a good wind to do these burns, and today surely provided them with that ! (just a reminder, that you can double click on any picture to enlarge it)

The blue bonnets and Indian paint brushes are starting to bloom along the roadsides, so I'm planning on taking a driving trip early next week to enjoy them.  What a difference from the drought conditions of last spring.  I'm hoping to get some nice pictures as well.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy