Arboretum in the Rain

Today, once again, I woke up to the sound of rain hitting against my bedroom window. Very disappointing, because I'd planned to drive down to Mason, which supposedly has the best bluebonnets this year. Instead, I rolled over and went back to sleep...

Finally, about 2 pm, I decided to check out the Arboretum. Its"Dallas Blooms" event had left their parking lots full, and I'd yet to get in. The rain turned into a gentle drizzle, and when I arrived, the parking attendant wasn't even at his post. He was under cover near the entrance, and motioned me in for free. Feeling guilty, I held up my membership card, and he gave me a thumb's up. The parking lot was pretty much deserted. Once inside the Arboretum, I practically had the entire place to myself. It was gloriously quiet and peaceful. I didn't realize I had such a big smile on my face, until a stranger passed me, and commented, "Somebody's sure happy!" I was, and I took advantage of this little slice of bliss for several hours. It never rained hard, only continued to drizzle. I got some lacy closeups of pale lilac iris, took a whiff of a heavenly peony, and made friends with strangers. Here are some of my favorite photographs.

Hope you enjoyed the trip!

Bluebonnets

I've been trying to get down to the Texas Hill Country for the last few weekends, but to no avail. I finally planned to go early this morning, only to find out that the area was experiencing a 70% chance of thunderstorms and steady rain throughout the day.

Instead, Rose (my assistant and Rat Terrier Extraordinaire) and I opted to drive down to Ennis. Ennis is a small Texas town, only about thirty miles south of Dallas.

This town is well known for typically having a bumper crop of bluebonnets dotting its surrounding countryside. Today was also the Bluebonnet Festival. Rose was happy to scarf down two sausage kolaches, and to ignore the other dogs who were enjoying the sights and sounds.




Afterwards, we followed the "Bluebonnet Trails" for an hour or so, stopping when we felt like it to snap a few photos.


I got a chance to also try out my micro lens, which although relatively new, hasn't been used all that much since I purchased it a few months back.


These are taken along the Bristol Trail, where the views from Sugar Ridge Road were spectacular.


I'm always intrigued by the other people who are out and about, enjoying the scenery, as well. Three caught my eye on this trip. First, a hugely pregnant Indian woman, whose brightly-colored sari was fluttering in the breeze. She looked very peaceful among the blooms.

Next, a little girl named Holly, who was adorable beyond words. I'm thinking it would be next to impossible to get a bad photograph of this child!



Finally, a girl caught running through the fields of flowers. Her mother was trying to take her picture, but she wouldn't keep still. Can't say as I blame her!

I may still try to get to the Hill Country in the morning, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy these photographs. Spring has most definitely come to Texas!

Farmers Market

On Sunday, I made a trip to downtown Dallas to visit the Farmers Market. It's a bit early in the season, but the locals had a good variety of fruits and vegetables.

I was disappointed to see that the first building, which previously housed furniture, art, garden items, all sorts of things, has changed. After speaking with one of the few vendors there, I found out that the City wanted those vendors out, and kept only a few who were "grandfathered in," as well as food vendors. Too bad, because the original vendors had a lot of charm. Oh well, nothing stays the same.

The nurseries surrounding the market had some great flowers and plants, and the weather was perfect for walking around and looking.

Some lucky person even had a surprise left on their windshield!

I'll hopefully have some bluebonnet photographs on here in the next week , so stay tuned!

An Afternoon at the Park

Today I had the pleasure of photographing two very stylish sisters: Kennedy and Kendall. They even brought along their Mom, who acted as their stylist!







The weather was perfect, and we shot at the Prairie Creek Park in Richardson, Texas.



This was the first time I'd been to this park, and it was gorgeous. Lots of greenery, a great waterfall area, and a good trail. I'll definitely be going back here for more photo shoots

The girls were excellent subjects, and we wandered throughout the park. Before I knew it, almost two hours had gone by.





Thanks, girls, for making this shoot so much fun!