Wandering along the Bluebonnet Trail

Bluebonnet Carpet

Bluebonnet Pond

One of a Kind

Don't Fence Me In

Springtime Palette

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Enjoy more floral fun at TODAY'S FLOWERS

This was a small slice of MY WORLD

This weekend I had the great pleasure of visiting the town of Ennis, Texas. Enis is the home of the Ennis Bluebonnet Festival and the Bluebonnet Trail. This celebration of the blooming of the State Flower of Texas lasts for the entire month of April and they have been lucky to have a great crop of flowers on hand to start off the month. According to all predictions, the drought we've seen here in north and central Texas was supposed to really put a downer on this year's crop of bluebonnets, but if this weekend is any indication, the season looks to be pretty healthy! On this first weekend of the festival, the crowds were small and the roads that make up the "trail" were well marked. I strongly recommend visiting the website for the festival and getting an up to date map with current conditions and specific areas with the best blooms as these will change throughout the month.  Enjoy my sampling of this weekend's Texas Color. I may well return there nest weekend!

Signs of Spring!

Ahhh.... Spring is truly arriving here in North Texas. I'll allow Mother Nature to share her show with you  - She speaks far more eloquently than I ever can!

White Throated Sparrow

Purple Wing Violas

Dark Eyed Junco

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More Feathered friends? Try WORLD BIRD WEDNESDAY

Fabulous Floral Fun? TODAY'S FLOWERS

Spring has Sprung! (Finally!)

Yesterday we took my daughter back to college after her spring break and spent almost 8 hours on I-35 between Dallas and Austin, Texas. We were sitting  in the car at 4:22 pm local time when the moment of the Vernal Equinox passed. While the scenery along the interstate was less than inspiring, we did pass by a patch of our beloved state flower, the Texas Bluebonnet which reminded me that there is indeed a lot to look forward to here in Texas come springtime. The expectation for this year's crop of wild bluebonnets is not good as we had a relatively dry autumn, a ridiculously cold winter, and a drought stricken last two months.

In hope that there are good bluebonnet images to be had this spring I am posting these from last year in the hopes that those of you not fortunate enough to bein Texas during the early spring can enjoy a bit of Texas in far away lands!

Bluebonnet Hill

Bluebonnet Sky

Beebonnet

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This is a post to the MY WORLD Meme

Pretend you did not read my words above and this qualifies for WORDLESS WEDNESDAY ;-)

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Urquhart Castle - Loch Ness

Today's post in honor of Scenic Sunday & My World is from a trip I took to Scotland. Urquhart Castle dates from the 13th century and it's ruins are one of the most visited sites in all of Scotland. This is probably due (in part) to the fact that it is located on the shore of Loch Ness and most of the "Nessie" sightings have been within a mile or so of this  castle. The local folks we chatted with were of the opinion that "Nessie" was most likely a large Sturgeon. That theory does not get much press as it would not be good for tourism! I hope you enjoy  your short visit to medieval Scotland!

Click in the image to see it in the original gallery.

Photo of the Year 2010 (Part 3 - The Winner!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Greetings to all of you This New Year's Day! Here on 1/1/11 I am announcing the Photo of the Year for 2010 at Bluelionphotos.com. This year's Photo of the Year took me by surprise as it received a lot of attention early in the year before my blog and Facebook fan page were up and running. As such, most of you may not have seen this image though the channels I have developed over the course of 2010.

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This photograph is titled "Morning in Middle Earth". I took this photograph when I was visiting Milford Sound, New Zealand on July 17, 2009. We had a lousy morning for shooting as it was lightly raining (look for raindrops on the surface of the water). The whole scene had a very grey look in the predawn and we thought it was going to be a total bust. Unfortunately, we only had this one morning to "get the shot" as we were headed back out to Queenstown later that day. As is often the case in photography, our patience paid off with a momentary breaking up of the clouds and the "pinking up" of the cloud that has settled over the top of Mitre Peak.


While I missed out getting the iconic shot of this New Zealand landmark, I have an image that I like much more than a simple "postcard" shot that a thousand others have captured. As for the title, the more I looked at this image, I could not help but feel like Frodo, Sam and the Lord of the Rings gang could have been traveling along these shores during their extended adventures in Middle Earth.


Thanks to all of you who have followed Blue Lion Photos through this past year and offered your thoughts, ideas, and support. I am looking forward to an exciting 2011 as we continue this photographic odyssey together!

Cheers & wishes for a great 2011!

John

The Moulton Barn - A personal favorite!

For many photographers, saying one of your images is your "favorite" feels a lot like publicly admitting that one of your children is your favorite. Lucky for me photographs do not have feelings! This week's Photo of the Week is indeed one of my personal favorites as I am looking at it hanging on my office wall as I write this blog entry.

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This image is of the Moulton Barn in a section of Grand Teton National Park known as "Mormon Row". The image appeals to me on several levels. First, the Tetons are one of my favorite spots on Earth. Every time I have been there, I have felt a deep sense of well being and awe. Second, the image evokes a great combination of nature and history. If you know nothing of the history of the Moulton barn, you can still get a great feel of the "Wild West". Indeed, I half expect to see a group of cowboys ride up to the barn when I look at the photo for any length of time. While the photo suggests the history of the barn, the mountains looming above also serve as a reminder of the force and power of nature – especially in this part of the country.



The actually history of the barn dates from the "late 1800s" according to descendants of the barn's builder, Thomas Alma Moulton. It sits in a region of the park known either as "Antelope Flats" or as "Mormon Row". The latter name comes from the Mormon homestead community that existed along the road of the same name. According to "Country Magazine", this is the most photographed barn in the United States. If you have been here and have stories of the area, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to comment at the end of this entry.

Cheers!

John

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