Friday, March 6, 2009

Brackettville in March

Nope, I haven't been around much. Not on your blogs nor mine. I forced myself out today, though, because it's MARCH! And, in Kinney County, Texas, March means that our landscape is turning gold and yellow as the Huisache and Blackbrush all break out in bloom.

The air smells sweet, almost like candy. That's the Blackbrush. I love it. It's gorgeous. I shot the Huisache and Blackbrush blossoms last year too (take a peek at those HERE) but it was different this year. The day I went out last year it was COLD and gray! Today it was 80 degrees with clear skies. I prefer the cold and gray. Our winters are too short for my liking. And this one has been far too dry!

I made the mistake of going out to Tularosa Road (one of my favorite spots) to shoot the blossoms. I knew they'd be blooming out there and assumed they'd be blooming out there as well as they are in other areas of the county. I was mistaken. Should have gone to where I KNEW they were going mad. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow if I feel like it.

It's something to see, I tell you. The Huisache trees are just solid gold along Hwy. 90 between Brackettville and the next town to the west. That's where I should have gone. On Tularosa Road the Huisache wasn't doing much at all.


Above: a first quarter moon(+) above Tularosa Road. That's Blackbrush in the foreground.



Above: Blackbrush is so very beautiful to me. It actually seems out of place in our landscape. It's something I'd expect to see in a park in Japan.



Above: The yellow and green on this Blackbrush was such a pretty contrast.



Above: This one is for Jean. She introduced me to Tularosa Road several years ago, but I never knew about this spot until our last trip out there together. I wish she'd been there today to see the colors--she's a painter and probably would have pointed out even more eye candy to me. She's got a nose for it. The water was almost turquoise right at this bend in the creek. The yellow grass, the blues of the water, the red, brown and green of the trees! Oh my! It's not the photo that I love, it's the contrasts and colors.


Above: The lichen (or whatever it is) growing on this tree was neon yellow. I swear it looked phosphorescent. And this tree was absolutely covered with lichen, plant parasites, and I don't know what all. The following three photos were all taken on this tree.


Above: This would have been my favorite shot of the day but it was just a tiny bit out of focus. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was under water. I don't know if this is a fungus or a parasite (mistletoe is an example of parasites that grow on trees) or what.






On a whim I did a panoramic shot out on Tularosa. I didn't pick the best view, I just needed the practice. So far, my panoramics have been pretty pathetic. This one wasn't too bad--but now I wish I'd taken the time to pick a slightly better view! Tularosa Panoramic. If you decide to click the link, be sure to click the photo to enlarge it.


Above: Huisache blossoms. They look like tiny little gold pom poms growing all over the crown of the tree.


Above: A Huisache tree. Just imagine this COATED with those little gold pom poms. That's what you'd see driving into Brackettville from the west.


Below: Just Because.

These were my two entries into this week's Facebook Amateur Photography Contest. The theme is common nouns that begin with the letter "a." I really wanted to enter something original but after nearly two weeks of looking, I couldn't find any good "a's." So, before I wound up my afternoon of shooting, I stuck the apple I was eating on the fence at the cemetery and spent 20 minutes trying to get the moon in the shot.


14 comments:

Victoria Williams said...

The blackbrush is way cool. Panorama great. Absolutely LOVE the bitten apple and moon shot!

Jean Levert Hood said...

I just love the moon shots, Genie! All of these are very good. It makes me sorry I couldn't go! The shot at the Nueces with the cows is great. The orange/blue color scheme never fails, and works so good with landscape.

You know, the blackbrush does look very Oriental in those photos! I need to get some shots here, it's pretty thick.

The Mountain Laurel here at the house has no blooms at all this year. Simply too dry.

The panoramic view is great! Can I reference that in my blog??

Genie said...

Thanks Victoria! I'm really looking forward to seeing what's blooming in your garden in the coming months.

Thank you Jean! I was wondering when mountain laurel blooms. I always miss it. There were so few seeds to be collected in August, the drought really put the kibosh on them last season. The creek on the farm is lined with mountain laurel, I was thinking you and I should go out and shoot there when it blooms--the smell will probably knock us over. But now you've got me worried they won't bloom at all! You can reference anything on my blog anytime. Thanks for asking though!

Jean Levert Hood said...

If the mountain laurel isn't blooming yet, then I'm sure it won't. It's pretty sparse, just too dry for too long.

Oh, and it's normally the very first thing to bloom in spring. Then the agarita and Spanish daggers generally follow.

RW said...

Wow those all rock! I especially like the daytime moonshots with added foreground very nice! :D

Genie said...

Thanks Roger! Actually, I took those apple shots with the moon right where you see it in the photos. I just couldn't get the moon AND the apple in focus at the same time. So I took multiple shots, keeping everything you see in the apple/moon photos above in frame--just changing the focus from the apple for some shots and the moon on the other shots. Then I blended them together.

Bob Johnson said...

Excellent shots Genie!! love all of them but the Moon and apple is too too cool. Get a new current shot of the sky, get a meteorite if you are first, re: my latest post.

Genie said...

Thanks Bob! I saw your name in my inbox and had an instant twinge of guilt. I haven't been visiting blogs lately, I know I'm missing out on all kinds of good stuff.

I can't understand why your daughter wasn't excited about getting a 4.6 billion year old piece of rock for her birthday, I'd have been delighted!

Unknown said...

LOVE the blackbrush/quarter moon shot! Can I download it and use it as a screen saver on my computer?

Genie said...

Shucks, Laura, be my guest, and thank you. Although don't look at it too closely, my editing wasn't very good on that shot. The moon really was there when I shot the photo, but I couldn't get it and the Blackbrush in focus at the same time so I framed the photo just as you see it, but took one shot with the camera focused on the Blackbrush and a second with it focused on the moon. Then I put them together. I wasn't entirely pleased with the result but that's really how the moon looked through the Blackbrush that day.

Michelle said...

I love the yellow blossom photos, Genie. I can almost smell them and hear bees humming. :-) lovely!

Genie said...

Hi Michelle, you Beauty you, thank you! Bees, yeah, no doubt. They were everywhere.

Pat said...

Darn, you are sooo creative !
The apple and the moon is unbelievable.
That would be a really different header...a combo of your interest in one picture.
The blackbush and huisache are so stunning...so vivid.
Sorry I haven't been by to visit. Stress with job uncertainty etc...just tired.
Happy Spring Genie.

Genie said...

Hi Patsi! Thank you.

No apologies necessary. I don't think to look at other people's blogs unless I'm blogging. That's why I always fall behind.

Job uncertainty has us rather nervous too. Life is stressful all around these days.

Maybe spring will bring better things! Happy Spring to you as well.