Red and green at Inks Lake State Park
One reason I headed out to Inks Lake State Park on May 6th was that some of the prickly pear cactus flowers there in other springtimes have displayed more red than I see in their Austin counterparts. The top picture shows that was true this year, too. In contrast to that red, look at all the placid green around one inlet.
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Did you hear about how the imaging technique of photogrammetry has revealed details of cave art in Alabama from about 2000 years ago? “The motifs, which depict human forms and animals, are some of the largest known cave images found in North America and may represent spirits of the underworld.” Check it out.
© 2022 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
I love the closeup of the cactus flower
beth
May 15, 2022 at 5:53 AM
Me too. That rich red~yellow combination’s a winner.
Steve Schwartzman
May 15, 2022 at 7:16 AM
I love the reflections.
circadianreflections
May 15, 2022 at 8:38 AM
I’ll reflect on what you’ve said.
Steve Schwartzman
May 15, 2022 at 8:41 AM
Nice post
Rehoboth
May 15, 2022 at 8:42 AM
Thanks. I enjoy taking these pictures.
Steve Schwartzman
May 15, 2022 at 8:45 AM
A touch of red in a sea of green! I like reflections in the pond, Steve.
Peter Klopp
May 15, 2022 at 9:05 AM
That second picture hardly reflects the drought the region is in. The prickly pear doesn’t mind; many other species do.
Steve Schwartzman
May 15, 2022 at 11:22 AM
Gorgeous cactus flower! I love the feathery edges on the red markings against the yellow.
Ann Mackay
May 15, 2022 at 9:13 AM
I’m with you about those feathery edges. I wish I had a lens that could get in a lot closer to them.
Steve Schwartzman
May 15, 2022 at 11:24 AM
That would be good!
Ann Mackay
May 15, 2022 at 11:46 AM
Look but don’t touch. Amazing how something so beautiful can be perched upon something so threatening.
Steve Gingold
May 15, 2022 at 6:06 PM
I can tell you from many contacts over the years that getting good pictures of prickly pear cactus sometimes entails getting poked with spines. Even worse is ending up with one or more glochids in my skin. One has worked its way out of a finger on my right hand from last week but another still seems embedded in a finger on my left hand. Occupational hazards.
Steve Schwartzman
May 15, 2022 at 6:14 PM
I have a small pair of pointed tweezers that coupled with a magnifying glass helps with such small skin stickers. The link is for a pair similar but not exactly what I use.
Steve Gingold
May 15, 2022 at 6:28 PM
Thanks for the link. I’ve added that item to my Amazon shopping cart.
Steve Schwartzman
May 15, 2022 at 9:07 PM
I was astonished by the variety among the prickly pear blooms I found in the hill country. As you know, some differences are due to species, but even on the same plant there can be delightful differences. The red and yellow combination is one of my favorites — at least, on a plant if not on a snake.
I have a blog friend who often goes to Inks Lake to camp with her family. It certainly looks like a pleasant place. I wonder if the water in ponds and lakes helps to develop their own microclimates: places of green refuge even during drought.
shoreacres
May 16, 2022 at 6:59 AM
Variety indeed, and I’m glad you got to experience it. Most of the prickly pear flowers I find in Austin are all-yellow (other than the green stigma), or yellow with a little orange. It was worth driving an hour west to see some with their rich red. These flowers attract many insects along with nature photographers, as I’ll be showing next week.
Inks Lake State Park remains a good destination even in years like this one, when drought has kept down many of the wildflowers. Pink granite, of which there’s plenty, and the lichens that grow on the rock, of which there are also plenty, don’t care about a drought. And yes, the park has a zillion campsites.
Steve Schwartzman
May 16, 2022 at 7:29 AM
The prickly pear is beautiful, the pond scene serene, and the information about the cave carvings fascinating. I also learned a new word–photogrammetry.
tanjabrittonwriter
May 16, 2022 at 4:17 PM
You could say I went from photography and grammar (well, usually etymology) to photogrammetry.
Steve Schwartzman
May 16, 2022 at 4:52 PM
I missed that sequence but, yes, you absolutely did. Well done!
tanjabrittonwriter
May 16, 2022 at 8:01 PM