19 March 2011

Our Wild...flower Adventure

Gabriel and I decided that spring is springing and that means it is high time that we head over to the nearby Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center www.wildflower.org.


I loved (what seemed to me to be) the focus of the designers to highlight the harvest of water.  This was an aqueduct to a large stone cistern that greets you as you walk in.  The flow of water theme continues through all of the buildings and in shining metal holding tanks which hint at the desire to conserve every drop as the hill country steps off into desert not far west of Austin.



The Redbuds are in bloom which the bees and I think they are somewhere in the region of GLORIOUS!!  This tree had approximately 287 bees on it of various sizes getting their pollen on.  
The little cactus was to show C the name of one that he brought home and planted in our garden from a trip he took to El Paso.  It's special and that's all I'll say.


Speaking of special... Look at the little rascal who joined me on this nature adventure.  He is quite fascinated by water and this particular pool under the aforementioned Redbud had two other things he loves.  Bees and fish.  It was a real hit.  The hardest part (as always) was impressing upon him the importance of not splashing in the water.  It may also be noted that his reading comprehension of the signs requesting that you stay on the paths left something to be desired.


Here we are attempting to take a picture together.  Was this the best one?  Why yes, I think it was.  He is actually looking at the camera, not adamantly telling me, 'G'dooown!' nor wiggling nor slipping out of the frame unexpectedly at the last moment.  I get the feeling we won't be needing to foster a sense of independence and inquisitiveness in this little First Born.  ;)


Then we finished up at what might have been Mommy's goal in visiting the Wildflower Center on a mid March afternoon... the Bluebonnet field.  :)  That just makes me smile to think of the bluebonnets.  I remember how much I enjoyed my drive to school every spring day of vet school because Loop 2818 in College Station gives as incredible a show of bluebonnets as you will ever find.  A blanket.  A sea of blue.  A friggin' Halleluiah Chorus spread out in bluebonnets!  Can you tell I loved it?  It was one of the things I believe I thought of most when I reminisced about Texas while I lived elsewhere.  Good stuff.


And, yes, through diligence, creativity, nonsensical words/gestures/sounds, and a moment of Divine Benevolence, I did get what we might call the money shot.  ;)  A fantastic picture of my little fellow with the bluebonnets.  And not picking the head off of one of them.  That was not captured on film and only one part of maybe two flowers lost their lives in this Tejo-centered pursuit of the perfect spring bluebonnet picture.  

In case you've stuck with me this long, here's the really good stuff.  Gabriel has now said 2 different sentences (which as his unbiased mother, I think is fantastic and brilliant for a 17mo old).  Here is his second one caught on tape. (Or what would have been tape just a few years ago but is now some gobbledeygook combo of 0s and 1s but that doesn't make much of a cliche).