Texas Bluebonnets

Spring in Texas... ah, what can I say! It. Is. Beautiful. The weather is sunny and warm, the cadence of birds in the trees is music to everyone's ears and it is green everywhere! Now if this weren't pretty enough, all of the wildflowers are in bloom. Beautiful patches of pink, purple, orange, yellow and white flowers popping up everywhere, and then to top it all off are the Texas Bluebonnets.

Fields and fields, in some cases as far as the eye can see, cover the Texas country side. And we down here in Houston are lucky enough to be right in the middle of it all.

It has become somewhat of a tradition down here 'deep in the heart of Texas' to make a yearly trip to the Bluebonnet fields dressed up and with a camera in tow to take a photo.

It seems to me the enigma of these blue beauties is that they disappear about as quickly as they pop up. Their bloom span is about 3 weeks and then...gone! Now some people may say, "what's the big deal with a bunch of flowers", but until you've stood in a field of them, you will never know.

And once you have, you'll be hooked forever!

All of us here at Huckleberry Love have made the Texas Bluebonnets a part of our yearly tradition and we'd love to share with you our Bluebonnet adventures this year! Enjoy. :)

Jamie:

Because I have not lived in Houston, Texas, or even the US for most of my life, when I moved down here, I had obviously never heard of the Texas Bluebonnets. The first March/April that we were here, I heard some people talking about these amazing fields and I just had to find out what the fuss was all about.

Well, I found out soon enough. At the time Miss J was only 6 months old but I packed her and my hubby up anyway and we drove around until we found them. They were so beautiful, and ever since then we have made the excursion to take a family pic every year.

I think it is very important when you are not from a place to immerse yourself in the culture and traditions of that particular place, and in this case, we have made these beautiful lovelies a part of our tradition.

We had a very good experience with the Bluebonnets this year. A couple of years ago we drove around for hours (much to my husbands joy....) to find a good field of them, but this year it was easy to find them and they were beautiful. The girls loved running through and dancing in the thick flowers. Last year when we took Little B she was only 2 months old with no clue of what was going on, but this year she was entranced. It actually took a while to get a good picture of her because she wouldn't stop staring down at the little blooms.

I love the Bluebonnets and am looking forward to many more years of beautiful pics in them! :)



 Emily:

This was the first year that we were able to take Bluebonnet Pictures with my youngest son. Due to the drought last year, we were unable to find any large fields and drove home very disappointed. But this year was a whole new story! Jamie told us about a wonderful field that she had come across with her family, so the following weekend we set out on a little drive into Bluebonnet Country.

My youngest had a blast running through the fields, getting dirty and just being a little boy. My older son has a few fears, one of which is wind. It's a long story, but to keep things simple, just know that it terrifies him. There were quite a few tears shed by him at the beginning of our photo shoot due to it being a bit windy that day, but towards the end he cheered up and had a great time! Towards the end of our picture taking frenzy, my little guy started crying because he wants a snack.. and then another.. and then another. That boy can EAT! ;)

The flowers were simply gorgeous this year. But, to be honest, it's definitely not easy taking pictures of toddlers in the flowers. Especially two little boy toddlers who don't cooperate well and would rather run away than smile or look at a camera. *sigh* We did the best we could and ended up with a few lovely pictures. I can't wait to print them off to display on our new gallery wall. :) {You can see additional pictures and read a bit more about our 2013 Bluebonnet outing here.}

Karla:

I was so nervous we were going to miss the Bluebonnets this year, because we went on vacation at the end of March - prime time for these beauties! Alas, I was super happy to come home and they were in full bloom!

I remember making trips to Brenham as a kid to see the bluebonnets, but we never got out to take pictures, at least not that I recall. I don't think it was a big event way back in the stone ages as it is now. Now that we have kids of our own, I make it a purpose to go and take pictures every year. My husband is always so willing and ridiculously happy to drive for a few hours... to find flowers... and take a few pictures hoping a few turn out. Happy he is. Not really.

We packed up the kids and drove out to Chappel Hill and came across a very large field of Bluebonnets. I passed it at first because the crowds were swarming. I drove a few more miles then decided to head back and do what we could.

My daughter is less than interested in taking pictures, or at least looking at the camera. She is in the 'cheesy-smile stage'! My boy, well, he really had no idea what was going on! We captured a few pretty awesome moments, like the one where my daughter is putting her arm around her brother. I spared you the after picture as it quickly turned in to a choke hold of sorts. We frolicked among the sea of blue and had a great time! I even captured a tiny smile on my husband ;) Maybe next year I can bribe him with a picnic. I should start working on that now...

Lydia:




My first bluebonnet experience at 9 months old. Don't you just love that awesome bonnet?

 Growing up in Texas, it was only spring when the bluebonnets started poking their little blue faces up all along the highways. Within a week or two, the whole side of the road and all the fields would be an unreal, beautiful blue color. And the smell...divine! You could smell it in your car, even with the windows up. It is a family tradition to take photos in the bluebonnets and they started me young. So once I had kids of my own it was no question that every spring we would be cruising the country roads looking for that perfect field. 

 

Last year was rough one for our little bluebonnet crop. The drought really affected our state flower and even after hours of searching we ended up empty handed and with no bluebonnet pictures. However, they made up for missing last year by blooming extra sweet this time around! This year, we stopped on way back from Round Top, a small Texas town that holds a bi-annual antique show. We ended up stopping along the side of a road with a large hill covered with the sweet-smelling flowers. Since we were close to a road, we didn't let the kids run around like they wanted to and Daddy had to play interference (much like wrangling cats). We did manage to get a few good shots and honestly, the outtakes make me laugh even more than the pictures that turned out. Since this was Corbin's first year to see bluebonnets, he couldn't stop touching them, smelling them and pointing them out to me. I think he even ate a few of them. After we left, he talked about the "blue flowers" for days. I LOVE our Texas bluebonnets and am so so happy that we were able to get some pictures with the kids this year. Here's hoping that next year's crop is just as breathtaking!



Almost half of our pictures have Daddy in them, as he tried to coax/manhandle our kiddos into picture perfect poses. Looking at these, I can't help but laugh.

Jill:

I absolutely love Texas Bluebonnet season! Ever since we moved down to Houston, we have gone each year. It's one of those family traditions that I'd like to keep up, just to sit down and get some pictures together in a field of gorgeous flowers. My husband actually enjoys going. It's our little family adventure, to drive aimlessly and find the best field that we can.

We have a few reliable areas, now that we've been going for three years. I think the best field that we found was down a dirt road, through a canopy of trees, fenced in by a farmer. In true Texas style, we hopped the fence and took pictures there last year. This year, the bluebonnets were gorgeous, but there were quite a few signs posted to keep out. We weren't going to chance it, so we drove around until we found more. And more we found!

I was all prepared, candy for smiles (hey, don't judge), an extra shirt per child (see naked baby above), and lots of drinks & snacks to keep us going. The only thing I didn't think of was to charge my camera battery... pretty important for taking pictures. Unfortunately, we only got a few on my good camera. Our iPhones saved the day, but no luck on a family shot.  All in all, it turned out pretty perfect and we were able to capture those sweet little smiles. And to wrap up a long drive, we always finish off with some good Texas barbecue. What a fun Sunday drive :-)

I am way excited for next year. I already have props in mind...Crossing my fingers for an amazing field and that perfect family photo!

Well there you have it, a look into 'our' Texas Bluebonnets! Don't you love them too?

 

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