Ennis Bluebonnets 2023

The universe seemed to be conspiring to keep me away from shooting pictures of the bluebonnets around Ennis this year.  Overcast skies and even a bout with COVID had forced me to postpone three planned trips.  This past Saturday I was bound and determined, so much so that after seven previous sunrise visits I instead went in the afternoon with aspirations to stay for my first bluebonnet sunset.

The first shot is always the toughest, and this pond along FM 660 was my icebreaker.

A short walk from the pond was a more expansive bluebonnet vista.  The grasses had begun to overtake them, but the flowers themselves were still in beautiful bloom.

I loved the flags flanking this structure near Sugar Ridge Winery, but couldn't get very close and had to shoot from quite a distance away.

A spot near Sugar Ridge Ranch was where I had intended to make my initial stop, and it was quite a challenge to get a view that didn't also include the literally hundreds of other people who were also there enjoying the day.  But I did file the location away as a potential sunset spot.

I wandered around to the east side of the road and became really intrigued with the flowers at the base of this pair of trees.  Bonus -- the spot was set down below the ridge a bit and therefore out of the persistent breeze, so the flowers were fairly motionless

Nobody else seemed to care about this spot, so I stayed and kept recomposing.

2024 calendar cover, perhaps?

I envisioned this composition as a great option for an opening spread of a magazine article, with the headline and lead printing in the expanse of blue sky.  I have no idea exactly what magazine, or what the article would be about, but I am now prepared should such an opportunity arise.

Eventually I exhausted what seemed like all the interesting options for shooting essentially the same scene.  But I definitely feel like I got the most out of my time there.

There's a fairly small field along Andrew's Road that typically has a dense bloom.  This year was no exception, with Indian Paintbrush dominating.

I switched lenses and took my only close-up shot here, taking advantage of the backlighting from the late afternoon sun.

I had to see Sylvester Holy's field in Telico, but the clock was ticking with only a little more than an hour left until sunset.  Still I had to stop to shoot this tattered American flag along Union Hill Road.

And of course an adorable pair of donkeys demanded another stop.

Sylvester's field, unfortunately, was pretty sparse this year.  I didn't bother to take a single picture there.  Having to choose between the unknown quantity of the Meadow View Nature Area and the earlier scouted spot along Sugar Ridge Road for sunset, I went with the known.

My instincts were solid.  Even without any clouds to speak of, there was a pleasant amount of color in the evening sky.

Once the sun dipped below the horizon I packed up and started to my car, only to reconsider and set my tripod up one more time to just get the hint of a glow off in the distance.  Then it was a satisfied drive home in defiance of the universe's best efforts to deny me my bluebonnets!