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.

Blackbrush and Huisache on Tularosa Road

The orange is the huisache and the yellow is the blackbrush. I love when these two shrubs bloom, they are very fragrant. To me, they smell sweet. It was a nice, overcast day--my favorite kind of day to shoot so out I went to 277 south of town hoping to walk along Pinto or Val Verde creek (or whatever it's called) but, alas, they were fenced off and I couldn't. I've GOT to find out who own properties along creeks here and get permission to shoot out on their ranches! I turned back towards town and went north instead feeling confident that there would at least be something blooming on Tularosa.

A few more are here.