Motley colors
On April 6th south of Somerville in Washington County we found this great mix of Nueces coreopsis (Coreopsis nuecensis), Indian paintbrushes (Castilleja indivisa), bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis), and phlox (Phlox sp.). As you’ve heard me say many times: Texas knows how to do wildflowers.
© 202 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
Stunning!
Eliza Waters
April 12, 2022 at 4:25 PM
It sure was. It was among our top finds that day.
Steve Schwartzman
April 12, 2022 at 4:31 PM
Such a beautiful meadow. It’s interesting that the phlox decided to mingle only to a point. They didn’t want to lose sight of one another.
tanjabrittonwriter
April 12, 2022 at 6:06 PM
Some biologist should do—or maybe has done—a study of the ways in which colonies of various species intermingle or tend to stay together.
Steve Schwartzman
April 12, 2022 at 6:26 PM
I assume the study has been done.
tanjabrittonwriter
April 12, 2022 at 6:48 PM
Finding that study (or those studies) is another story.
Steve Schwartzman
April 12, 2022 at 6:51 PM
They make for quite a “crue”. One could spend hours studying and photographing that meadow.
Steve Gingold
April 12, 2022 at 6:56 PM
The density of the flowers does make this seem like a meadow. In reality, it was a smallish plot surrounded by roads and a dirt driveway. I aimed downward enough and framed tightly enough to keep those unwanted things out of my pictures.
Steve Schwartzman
April 12, 2022 at 8:29 PM
It’s so like an impressionist painting, and the Minnesota fields are doing similar things. That’s one of the conundrums of the hemispherical seasonal reversals. At least we should be able to savor the northern summer again, while it’s cold, wet, and windy down here. But oh, yeah, we need to get flight insurance…
krikitarts
April 13, 2022 at 12:21 AM
I may be showing another wildflower picture that’s even more like an Impressionist painting in that the shapes of the flowers are less distinct than the ones here.
I take it the flight insurance would be to cover flight delays and cancellations rather than crashes.
Steve Schwartzman
April 13, 2022 at 7:03 AM
Marvellous.
Gallivanta
April 13, 2022 at 3:19 AM
We’ve been seeing some great expanses of wildflowers on our jaunts the past two weeks.
Steve Schwartzman
April 13, 2022 at 7:04 AM
I had to look up the definition of ‘motley.’ When I was growing up, ‘motley crew’ was a familiar phrase, but it carried a slightly negative connotation. It was one of those phrases I sort of understood, but never explored. Imagine my surprise when I found Merriam-Webster including this definition: “a woolen fabric of mixed colors made in England between the 14th and 17th centuries.” For this field of flowers, ‘motley’ in that sense is the perfect descriptor!
shoreacres
April 14, 2022 at 9:22 PM
I’d hesitated to use motley because of the pejorative connotation the word usually has. Like you, I checked some dictionaries and after finding some positive senses I decided to go with the word and say nothing about it.
Steve Schwartzman
April 14, 2022 at 10:55 PM
That is beautiful! We need to focus on the beauty of nature more than ever these days.
Cathy
April 15, 2022 at 6:00 AM
It was quite a display. I wish I could devote all my attention to beautiful things like this, yet so much has been going wrong in my country that I’ve felt compelled to focus on those problems, too.
Steve Schwartzman
April 15, 2022 at 6:05 AM
Texas certainly puts on the best displays of wildflowers – more amazing than any garden. 🙂
Ann Mackay
April 16, 2022 at 5:51 PM
And all people have to do is let the land do its thing.
Steve Schwartzman
April 16, 2022 at 6:02 PM