Ennis Bluebonnet Trails Festival: Poppies & Paintbrush

Bluebonnets were the main attraction on my trip to Ennis last Saturday. But they weren't the only photogenic flowers in the area. A patch of poppies had also grown up on the side of Union Hill Road. Poppies aren't a native species in Texas. So speculation was that the owner of the property had thrown out a few seeds some time in the past, and the flowers had found the growing conditions favorable.

I almost drove right by them. Technically, I did drive by them. But I caught them out of the corner of my eye and turned the car around for another look. Thanks to heavy rains the previous night, the blossoms were covered with water droplets and glistening in the morning sun.

Five minutes was probably all I spent. But in that time, three other cars had also stopped. I heard that later in the day parking anywhere near the poppies had gotten pretty difficult due to all the interest. So I guess I'm pretty fortunate that I had the access I did.

The poppies weren't marked on the map provided by the Ennis Convention & Visitors Bureau.  But they were right next to a beautiful field of Indian Paintbrush that was.

Going to a bluebonnet festival and getting great shots of poppies and paintbrush is a little like going to a steakhouse and enjoying a delicious seafood dish -- an unexpected bonus!