This is one of my favorite times of year. Yes, the bluebonnets are blooming! Our bluebonnet "field" (it is pretty small, more of a bluebonnet patch) is slowly becoming a fragrant sea of blue and green. I used my Butterscotch Vintage action on this photo taken today (I added a white Solid Color layer on top set to color blending mode, 30% opacity, to reduce the bright colors) and cropped for the web and added rounded corners using my Web Rounded Corners action. Oh, basic editing done in LightRoom 2, then I used the actions in Photoshop CS4. And I used my Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
lens.Once the field is in full bloom I will force my unwilling boys out there, risking fire ants stings and snake attacks for a few traditional Texas Bluebonnet photos.
If you live in Texas you know what I am talking about. Every good Texan parent forces their children out on the sides of busy highways to capture those amazing images of their children frowning and squinting in bright sun surrounded by a cloud of bluebonnets with semi-trucks whizzing by in the background.
We are lucky and have our own field of bluebonnet right next to our house. My mother-in-law started this field from a few seeds over 30 years ago and I am proud to keep the tradition going. However, my husband does not see a field of lovely flowers, but rather a field of weeds, snakes, fire ants, and a world of hassle.
Yes, I enjoy the flowers but he does not think the two weeks of beauty is worth the two months of weeds, waiting for the bluebonnets to seed. After I feel the bluebonnets have successfully reproduced for the next year, he has to bring out the huge farm tractor and brush hog to mow the two foot high weeds, and then our lawnmower to finish it up. It is a horrible project, and our field is an eyesore for some time...
And there is an additional issue. We are the only people out in our area who go through this mess to have two weeks of beauty. Our road is quite busy at times, especially when the area middleschools and highschools have games at the local ballpark. And the parents who bring their children to the park to play don't live in our neighborhood (our neighbors are great) and don't hesitate to speed by our house while throwing beer cans and Frito bags out on our front lawn.
But it doesn't end with the speeding, drinking and littering. They also can't resist a bluebonnet field (you know, they have to capture photos of their kids in the bluebonnets). So they park in the ditch by our house, run out in our field pulling their reluctant child along, take a few photos with their cell phone, throw a Jack in the Box bag in our yard, and squeal off.
So last year our field of bluebonnets literally looked like it had a herd of elephants eating fast food and drinking lite beer galloping around for hours in it. These lovely uninvited visitors wouldn't find an already trampled area to use to photograph their kids. No, they would find a nice untouched area to smoosh. And in these once trampled areas the bluebonnets die and do not reseed. At least 75% of the bluebonnets were destroyed last year and this year I have huge empty spaces full of other weeds that aren't lovely wildflowers.
And did I mention the fire ants and snakes? Yes, they place their unsuspecting adorable children (who are learning it is OK to litter, drink beer while driving, and trespass) in fire ant mounds and risk a snakebite to get these prized photos.
So this year I had to do something, and that something resulted in me placing this sad little sign in front of our field... I feel like the Grinch that stole the Bluebonnet Photo! I am just going to assume that even though the field is right next to our house and has lawn furniture and kid toys on it half the time, people might think it is an empty lot and just need a gentle reminder. Notice I added the "Please" to try to soften the blow. :-)
So far so good and now everyone can enjoy the bluebonnets. Well, everyone but my husband. ;-) BTW, friends and neighbors are of course invited for photo-ops. They respect the Texas State flower and private property. And hopefully next year I can fill in all of those "bald" spots in our tiny bluebonnet field.
