Eight years
On June 4, 2011, the first post in Portraits of Wildflowers went up. In commemoration, here’s one picture from each June in the first eight calendar years this series has been running. Clicking a photograph will take you back to the original post it appeared in so you can learn about or be reminded of the subject if you wish.
To inaugurate the June that began three days ago, after the eight pictures from yesteryear I’ve appended a picture of prairie verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida) from June 1st of this year at the intersection of RM 2222 and Mount Bonnell Rd. The dreaminess of the portrait belies the noise and heat I experienced.
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
© 2019 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
Absolutely stunning post!!
Isabel F. Bernaldo de Quirós
June 4, 2019 at 3:06 AM
Gracias, Isabel. ¡Qué rápidamente han pasado los ocho años!
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 8:33 AM
What a lovely retrospective and appendage. June is blooming beautiful.
Gallivanta
June 4, 2019 at 4:10 AM
And in fact the dense wildflower meadows have made it across the border into the new month. How much longer till the summer makes them retro?
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 8:44 AM
congratulations, and each is beautiful in its own way
ksbeth
June 4, 2019 at 4:14 AM
Each is. I could’ve chosen completely differently with equal effect, so much does the natural world offer up.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 8:45 AM
Congratulations, Steve, and thanks for bringing us so much pleasure over the years.
Jenny Meadows
June 4, 2019 at 4:31 AM
You’re welcome, Jenny. And for some people the Texas connection is especially important.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 8:46 AM
It sure is. I don’t miss living there, but I do miss the flowers I spent 60+ years admiring and being an activist for. To see them daily through your lenses lessens that yearning, especially when your spring comes as we’re heading into fall and winter in New Zealand. Inks Lake State Park was a place I discovered only a couple of years before I left Austin — I enjoyed those pics too.
Jenny Meadows
June 4, 2019 at 11:06 AM
It’s good to hear you were a promoter of Texas wildflowers for so long.
I don’t often go to Inks Lake State Park, but the last few times I have it’s been excellent. Almost all other land near it is fenced and private, limiting me to photographing from outside. By contrast, in the park I can roam at will and compose pictures as I want to.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 1:39 PM
Gorgeous as ever. Congratulations on your 8th anniversary.
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
June 4, 2019 at 4:52 AM
Thenk ye. Whit’s fur ye’ll no go past ye.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 9:02 AM
Och aye!
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
June 4, 2019 at 9:27 AM
That I knew five of the eight plants on sight is in part due to your blog, which has both educated and entertained me for many of those eight years. Some of these photos I remembered: especially the white mountain pinks.
I couldn’t help laughing at the text in the first post you linked to. Susan uses that Eliot line (“let us go and make our visit”) as the tagline for her blog, Prufrock’s Dilemma, and my next post, a poetic response to one of J. Alfred’s dilemmas, references another line from that poem: coincidences all around.
shoreacres
June 4, 2019 at 5:29 AM
Coincidences all around: may they never run aground. (See the seaside saw you’ve summoned.)
That you recognized five of eight shows how much you’ve learned about our native plants in the past few years. I wish everyone were as attuned.
I knew you’d appreciate the white flowers, given your favorite floral color. In fact different white flowers will make their debut here in a few days.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 9:15 AM
I would have thought you’d run out of wildflowers to photograph by now. Congrats on reaching such a milestone. It’s been a pleasure following along.
WanderingCanadians
June 4, 2019 at 7:38 AM
Thanks you, O Canadians. Twenty years ago I could identify maybe half a dozen native plant species. When I found out that we have over a thousand here, I set out to learn more of them. Of course some wildflowers are common and appear here several times each year, but even after eight years there’s the occasional debut of a species.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 9:19 AM
Congratulations on a fantastic botanical octo-oeuvre!
Robert Parker
June 4, 2019 at 7:42 AM
The question is whether we’ll make it to a nono-oeuvre (which reminds me of “No, no, Nanette“). Or to go further into French and play up its homonymy: will there still be a post that’s neuf after neuf years?
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 9:30 AM
That is quite a while to be posting picture of wildflowers, and that is a lot of wildflowers to get pictures of. You could build your own meadow of wildflowers by making a collage of them.
tonytomeo
June 4, 2019 at 8:59 AM
Now there’s a thought, especially if the time ever comes when I can’t get out into a real wildflower meadow.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 9:34 AM
I like all your photos especially the macro shots, Steve.
Peter Klopp
June 4, 2019 at 10:53 AM
Year after year I’ve found I use my 100mm macro lens more than my other lenses combined. A close look reveals a different world.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 11:00 AM
Congrats! 🙂
Pit
June 4, 2019 at 10:57 AM
Thank you. It’s been fun.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 11:01 AM
Wonderful retrospective. Congratulations on 8 years of Wildflowers–thanks for sharing your beautiful photography with us.
Tina
June 4, 2019 at 11:26 AM
You’re most welcome. How quickly the time has flown. I take many more pictures than I can show here.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 3:12 PM
Congratulations! These are all really beautiful, you’ve done your subjects great justice. 2011, 2012, & 2017 I’d say are my favorites, 2012 being the top. I appreciate that you celebrate in this joy of wildflowers. Cheers, may you have many more years doing what you clearly love. 😀
eLPy
June 4, 2019 at 12:38 PM
Thanks for your appreciation. It’s hard to believe I’ve put out more than 2800 posts in 8 years. As many as that is, there are always enough pictures for more.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 3:17 PM
I have no doubt about that. It’s hard not to take loads of pictures, harder still not to keep them.
Well done, that’s a lot of sharing! How generous of your time and experience you’ve been. 😀
eLPy
June 5, 2019 at 6:16 AM
Thanks again for your appreciation. You’re right that I’ve done my share of sharing.
Steve Schwartzman
June 5, 2019 at 6:23 AM
And yes, it’s hard not to love that metallic bee.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 3:24 PM
It’s a super milestone, so joyous in colour and form! Love your blog!
Nature on the Edge
June 4, 2019 at 2:39 PM
Thanks, Liz. I’m pleased that you find all these forms colorful and joyous.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 3:23 PM
A very nice round up of photos there! Happy 8 years!
M.B. Henry
June 4, 2019 at 4:25 PM
Thanks. I’ve been going on here for twice as long as World War II.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 4:30 PM
Great sampling of your work, Steve. A nice memorable representation. That made me go back to see when my first post happened and I missed that anniversary by a little over a week. We had not been acquainted quite yet.
Steve Gingold
June 4, 2019 at 6:32 PM
So you’ve been at it about a year longer than I have. (You could still do a somewhat belated ninth-anniversary post.) What work we’ve both put in on our projects!
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 7:43 PM
I’ll try to remember for the tenth anniversary.
Steve Gingold
June 5, 2019 at 2:45 AM
If you have a calendar on your computer or phone, you can set a reminder now.
Steve Schwartzman
June 5, 2019 at 5:19 AM
Congratulations and many thanks for sharing these wonderful joys of nature, not least because your excellent photographic skills and techniques teach me so much and are always informative. I am so glad that I found your blog!
Heyjude
June 4, 2019 at 6:42 PM
Thanks for your kind words, Jude. My expounding of photo techniques is a continuation of many years spent teaching (even if a different subject). Once a teacher, always a teacher, right?
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 7:45 PM
It’s fascinating to view your selections that summarize your blogging years.
lensandpensbysally
June 4, 2019 at 6:52 PM
I decided to restrict myself to pictures posted in June, just to stay seasonal with my first post.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 7:46 PM
Thanks, that explains your methodology.
lensandpensbysally
June 5, 2019 at 8:22 AM
You’re welcome. On the practical side, it also meant having to look through a lot fewer posts.
Steve Schwartzman
June 5, 2019 at 8:34 AM
Congrats on your blog-versary!!
norasphotos4u
June 4, 2019 at 8:30 PM
Thanks, Nora. Time keeps on a-flying.
Steve Schwartzman
June 4, 2019 at 9:49 PM
Congratulations on 8 beautiful years!
montucky
June 5, 2019 at 8:22 PM
Thanks, Terry. Good things keep coming my way, fortunately.
Steve Schwartzman
June 5, 2019 at 9:02 PM
Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum achten Geburtstag Deines Blogs, Steve. May you never run out of wildflowers to photograph.
Best wishes,
Tanja
tanjabrittonwriter
June 6, 2019 at 1:59 PM
Amen to never running out of wildflowers to photograph! I understood your German first sentence just fine. Danke.
Steve Schwartzman
June 6, 2019 at 7:45 PM
I am glad to hear that your language neurons are still firing, Steve. 😊
tanjabrittonwriter
June 6, 2019 at 8:35 PM
Me too!
Steve Schwartzman
June 6, 2019 at 8:39 PM
Happy blogversary. So happy to see the world through your lens.
Ogee
June 7, 2019 at 1:25 AM
Thank you, and I’m happy to keep showing the world that I see through my lens.
Steve Schwartzman
June 7, 2019 at 6:51 AM
Congratulations, Steve! I love seeing all your beautiful images and learning about what grows in your part of the world!
Sheila Creighton
June 9, 2019 at 8:20 AM
And I’m happy to show it to you, Sheila. Of course Canada has its wonders, too, and is on the whole more scenic than Texas.
Steve Schwartzman
June 9, 2019 at 8:09 PM
An amazing collection Steve … beautiful images 🙂👏
Julie@frogpondfarm
June 11, 2019 at 2:49 PM
I can’t believe I’ve published more than 2800 posts in 8 years.
Steve Schwartzman
June 11, 2019 at 4:09 PM
Well done! 👏
Julie@frogpondfarm
June 11, 2019 at 7:46 PM
Congratulations! Now, eight more years!!
bluebrightly
June 11, 2019 at 7:48 PM
Oy vey: I intended to slow down, but there’s so much to show!
Steve Schwartzman
June 11, 2019 at 9:44 PM
Congrats on such beautiful work.
Maria
June 13, 2019 at 7:20 AM
Thanks, Maria. We both put in a lot of work.
Steve Schwartzman
June 13, 2019 at 10:59 AM