Portraits of Wildflowers

Perspectives on Nature Photography

More densely mixed wildflowers

with 16 comments

 

Southeast of New Berlin on March 25th, shortly before we reached Christ Lutheran Church of Elm Creek, we stopped for a big field of wildflowers at the intersection of Church Rd. and Lone Oak Rd. The predominant yellow flowers are some kind of evening primrose (Oenothera sp.). Also present are Indian paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa) and phlox (Phlox drummondii). A spot along the fence not far from where I took the top photograph revealed a different mix, with sandyland bluebonnets (Lupinus subcarnosus) replacing the evening primroses. A bit of Nueces coreopsis (Coreopsis nuecensis) is present in both views.

 

 

 

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For questioning Covid restrictions, Georgetown Law suspended me from campus, forced me to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, required me to waive my right to medical confidentiality, and threatened to report me to state bar associations.

 

That opening paragraph from William Spruance’s February 19th article on the website of the Brownstone Institute reminds me of how the dictators in the Soviet Union used to have political dissidents locked up in mental institutions. Georgetown Law School hasn’t become that extreme yet, but the belief that someone who questions a health policy needs a psychiatric evaluation is essentially the same as the belief that someone who questions a political ideology is mentally ill.

William Spruance’s experience is further evidence—sad evidence—of how repressive some American law schools have become. You can read the full article.

 

© 2023 Steven Schwartzman

 

 

 

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Written by Steve Schwartzman

April 2, 2023 at 4:29 AM

Posted in nature photography

Tagged with , ,

16 Responses

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  1. You have an enviable amount of wildflowers around you! 🙂

    Ann Mackay

    April 2, 2023 at 6:15 AM

  2. Beautiful meadows! The irony in the article that it was a ‘law’ school is not lost on me.

    Eliza Waters

    April 2, 2023 at 12:27 PM

    • Beautiful meadows—and unbeautiful law schools. It’s an irony indeed that the people in charge of law schools should behave in such authoritarian ways.

      Steve Schwartzman

      April 2, 2023 at 1:23 PM

  3. As soon as I read Church Road, I knew approximately where you’d stopped. I have a few photos from that area, taken when I was on my way to LaVernia and Floresville in 2019.

    I also have a bit of information for you. Serendipitously, I ran into this article about the Attwater Pocket Gopher. It’s a Texas endemic, and when I looked at its range, it almost perfectly coincides with the counties where I’ve run into those sand piles that we’ve talked about. The critter may not be the sole answer to those piles, but I’d bet anything that it’s part of the answer.

    shoreacres

    April 2, 2023 at 8:13 PM

    • Good of you to go f’r more info about the maker of those sand mounds. I see from the range map in the article that that gopher inhabits Travis County, too. Critters occasionally dig in our yard; the only animals we’ve ever seen doing it have been armadillos.

      A man working in the yard in front of the Christ Lutheran Church of Elm Creek told us he was born in nearby La Vernia and directed us to a road on the way there where we could see white thistles. Once we drove down that country road it became obvious that what he called “thistles” were white prickly poppies. So much for common names.

      Steve Schwartzman

      April 2, 2023 at 8:43 PM

  4. Densely mixed, not shaken nor stirred.
    Incredible riot of color and form.

    Wally Jones

    April 3, 2023 at 2:53 PM

  5. Love the mix and colors. You picked out nice sections to make great compositions!

    denisebushphoto

    April 10, 2023 at 2:05 PM

    • It can be hard at times to figure out how to frame the dense expanses of our spring wildflowers. Usually I try out a bunch of zooms and compositions so I’ll have plenty to choose from at editing time.

      Steve Schwartzman

      April 10, 2023 at 2:24 PM

      • I know it is not easy picking out the right section … same here but different terrain.

        denisebushphoto

        April 10, 2023 at 2:29 PM

        • Framing is always and everywhere a photographer’s chore—or more optimistically a photographer’s choice.

          Steve Schwartzman

          April 10, 2023 at 2:55 PM


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