Flowers – Natural Musings

Good Ground

The first time my husband proposed to me I was stopped at a red light while driving him to the airport to fly off to a work conference. I said “Yes!” and managed to drive the rest of the way to the airport (we were only about a mile away when he proposed) and drop him off.

The second time my husband proposed a bit differently. We were out on a drive through the Hill Country outside of Austin. He was doing the driving this time and after we had been driving for awhile, he pulled over at a State Historical marker near Pack Saddle Mountain. The marker says that at said mountain in 1873, the last “Indian battle in this region” was fought when a group of 8 white men (I am assuming they were white) “routed a band of Indians thrice their number.”

I had been here before with my brother and Dad on one of my Dad’s long Hill Country drives, where he would point out various Texas landmarks and tell about the history.

Here is the historical marker:

Here is Pack Saddle Mountain:

On this occasion, my husband got out of the car, walked around and opened the passenger door, rummaged around in a brown paper bag, got on one knee, and asked me to marry him while holding out a toy ring. At least this is how we have remembered it all these years later. I again said “Yes” and we did eventually get married after I got a proper engagement ring.

Recently, on our way to San Angelo, we again stopped at this marker and took a few photos and reminisced.

Here are some flowers near the marker:

I wrote about our trip in my May and June blog posts, but didn’t tell about something that happened on this trip. On the way back to Austin, we stopped again at the pullout for this roadside marker and view of the mountain. We stretched our legs and I got back in the car. My husband comes up to my window and presents me with a pretty little flower! How sweet.

Here is the flower:

I thanked him and we did a little kiss. Then, while I was proceeding to put the flower in the center console area to take back home, I noticed some webbing. And then a little spider was dropping down out of the flower on it’s spinneret thread. I didn’t want a spider in the car with us and I didn’t want to hurt the spider. So, I scooped the spider up in the flower and put the flower at the base of a nearby tree to protect it and the spider from the wind.

Below is a photo of the replaced flower (circled in blue):

Talking about this recently…about the second proposal…he mentioned that it seemed like “good ground” when describing the place by the mountain. He said that was an old army term when they were looking at topographical maps. It meant a good place to be in terms of a being able to have the advantage in a battle. I don’t know who had the advantage in the 1873 battle…maybe the white guys since they won. The marker was defaced a few years back with grafitti reading “White history celebrates genocide.” It did get cleaned up and no trace of those words remain as of the last time I saw it this spring.

My husband and I will celebrate our 28th anniversary next month. Our marriage is on good ground and we have both worked at defending it over the years. Many small battles after which we both emerge with a stronger marriage bond. Happy Anniversary Honey!

Photos by B. McCreary

Check out a web page about the marker at The Historical Marker Database:

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=20643

Searching For Beauty

On either side of the stone walkway

flowers bloom, rooted and swaying,

Blue bonnets and yellow Texas Star

Purple verbena,

Scarlet clematis,

the five petaled amongst the four,

and I think to myself What a Wonderful World.

The people come into the garden, some pushing strollers,

older tourist couples, mixed race families,

a young trans woman giving her family a tour,

three women in saris, royal blue, green, maroon,

and I think to myself What a Wonderful World.

A child wanders past the blooming pond iris, looking for the turtle,

while another runs into the limestone courtyard,

a paper scavenger hunt clutched in one hand,

his father lingering to admire the stone archway,

and I think to myself What a Wonderful World.

There is a Celebration of Life in the Great Hall,

and a baby shower in the Library.

A mocking bird sings nearby,

while laughter echoes from both buildings as a woman with a walker smiles at pink primroses,

and I think to myself What a Wonderful World.

The people come searching for beauty in the blooms and my wish is that they also find it in the faces of others.

(from What a Wonderful World by George David Weise and Bob Thiele)

Link to the song sung by Louis Armstrong:

Flower Photos by B. McCreary

Embracing Joy And Grief

As March progressed, I anticipated and looked for signs of Spring. I saw many and knew more would be coming…more flowers blooming…birds singing and nesting. But, there was also a gnawing at my soul in the background of the beauty. My mother’s death date approached, March 25th. It has been 15 years since her death and the pain of grief has lessened. But, I want to hug her and share my life with her and I want her to see the physical beauty she left the world. The tears are coming as I write this even though I have been thinking about writing about it for quite a while.

On the other hand, I am glad my mother is not here to see the destruction of our country. She who supported civil rights with her body and soul…she who always rooted for the underdog. She was a proud American and she voted. I’m sure that if she saw the video of the woman being taken away by unidentified men to be locked up and silenced, she would have felt that woman’s fear in empathy.

A couple of days ago, March 29th, I attended a Birthday party for my friend Joan who was turning 80 that very day. This was also my Mother’s birthday. As we sang Happy Birthday to Joan, I was also singing to my mother. My mother’s death was just 4 days before her birthday and as she lay comatose on life support, we had sung Happy Birthday to her.

Okay! Enough grief for now! Here comes the Joy. In my blog posts of April 2019 and March 2021 I shared photos and a few words on one of my mother’s legacies, the lovely purple spiderworts she transplanted from her yard to mine over 20 years ago. From a literal handful of plants to the current abundance of them is one of nature’s miracles. What started as one purple clump in the backyard has now spread all over the yard and into the front yard. And both my brother and my friend Laura have transplanted some from my yard into their yards, where they are now flourishing.

As you look at these photos, remember that a small, positive action can take hold and grow. This is something to remember as we navigate our way through the coming months.

Beauty Among The Rocks

At The Trunk Of The Bur Oak

Near The Rotting Hackberry Stump

Near Philosopher’s Rock

Growing Low To The Ground

Pink Colored With Bee Gathering Pollen

With A Tiny Bee

With A Big Bee

So Pretty!

And there are many more photos of the flowers that I will not publish here…the flowers next to yellow dandelions …some next to orange crossvine blooms…the ones I can see in the front yard outside my office window…the view of them through my kitchen window…

May the natural world give you peace and strength each day. And remember that each positive act you take may grow and spread

Photos by B. McCreary taken in 2025

Some Things Old, Some Things New III

(Musings on our trip to the Bay State- Part III)

By Betty McCreary

We just came out of an insane election time and I hope this did not put a damper on your sharing a Thanksgiving table with family and/or friends. And if you were alone, I hope you treated yourself well and found some things to smile about.

My husband and I listened to the music from Hamilton while we prepared our big meal. Just us this year, but we made our homemade mashed potatoes and I made my special spicy cranberry sauce. While I am nostalgic for the Thanksgivings of years past at my grandma’s table and later my mother’s table, those days can not be recreated. Our holiday celebrations morph a bit each year. I am thankful for getting to spend the holiday with my husband. I am also thankful for calls and texts from family and friends we could not be with.

As I get older I am working on a daily gratitude practice, which simply calls me to find small joys each day and share them with others. This practice has really helped me get past the anger and sadness I felt at the election.

And I am so thankful for the big trip to Massachusetts that we took in July to visit our family members there.

Because of a resurgence of Covid, we tried to find things we could all do together outdoors. The whole group of 7 of us met at the New England Botanical Gardens at Tower Hill, west of Boston, at Boylston, Mass. We ate lunch at the little cafe there. It has an outdoor seating option. Then we hiked around the grounds. It was hot and humid trekking, but was fun being together and sharing the joys of this beautiful outdoor space. First we walked down a hill to a pond. There was a pavilion for sitting and looking for birds and pond critters. Then we continued on through tall trees until we came to several interesting structures and statues. Here is one of them:

Temple In The Woods

Then we headed up hill to the more landscaped part of the gardens.

Saw some plants I was familiar with like this milkweed:

Monarch On Milkweed

And some others that were new to me:

Anyone Know What These Are?

There were a couple more ponds:

Frog On Lily Pad

And some interesting landscape choices:

Plants Planted In A Pattern On A Vertical Wall

The next day we headed to another outdoor spot, minus one of our party. Mirror Lake is on the old grounds of Ft. Devens, north west of Boston. Ft. Devens was an old army base from 1917-1996. Part of it now serves as a training center for the Army reserve and National Guard. A small township has evolved there.

Mirror Lake

We parked and walked down a hill to the entrance station and paid our fee. After staking out a spot for our chairs, we all went swimming. The water was perfect for a hot day. My husband was experiencing a bit of nostalgia at being here. When he was in the Army, he did his Individual Advanced Training (AIT) at Ft. Devens. The 4 months he spent here training was in the winter and so he had not been swimming here before. This is a family friendly area with life guards and boat rentals. One of our group was a regular there this summer, getting his exercise after work. We splashed around and laughed and looked at fish in the clear water.

And then this happened:

On Our Youngest Member’s Finger

A little dragonfly took turns perching on our fingers. Dragonflies can be symbols of change and transformation. I think our family bonds changed a bit and got stronger on this trip. I am thankful for that.

I hope you enjoyed this little personal trip report and maybe will visit some of the places I did. And I hope you find some small joys each day.

For More On The New England Botanical Garden:

http://www.nebg.org

(Photos by Betty McCreary)

Embracing Spring

Last month I was expecting Spring and actively looking for signs of the early anemones. I looked for them everyday in my front yard. On February 18th I saw the first ones!

A Host of Anemones At The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (February 2024)

The first day of Spring is celebrated in North America on the Spring Equinox, I am celebrating Spring now because so much fresh life is emerging all around. Green shoots are coming up from the ground and sprouting from tree branches. And there is the blooming of flowers…from the pinky purple buds on my redbud tree to the purple spiderwort blossoms popping out every day. The days are getting longer and warmer. Birds are becoming more vocal and active. Some will soon leave to breed farther North (white throated sparrow seen below), while we welcome other species home from their wintering grounds in the South. I am guessing some of you have already seen some purple martins (early Spring arrivals). Other critters are emerging on sunny days (lizards, snakes, insects)

White Throated Sparrow At Wildflower Center (ready to fly North to spend the warmer months)

Carolina Wren Wondering What Their Significant Other Is Up To

Significant Other Taking A Dust Bath In Potting Soil In Our Raised Garden Bed

I am embracing them all in my heart and soul, these little joys of Spring.

And, No, I didn’t forget! The Blue bonnets are starting to bloom!

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (February 2024)

(all photos taken by B. McCreary)

Expecting Spring

I am getting old. I have seen many Springs, but these days I often wonder how many more I will see before I pass from this life and dissolve into the great mystery. I push these thoughts away before I move into despair and fear. I am determined to concentrate on the joy to be found every day…especially the abundant little joys found in the Spring. Some of these little joys are the early flowers. Specifically, I am talking about the little anemone flowers that bloom before most other flowers. I have looked in my front yard and in the nearby greenbelt, but no luck so far.

Here is what I am searching for:

They can be white, pink, purple, or blue. The flower heads are on a tall, slender stalk up to a foot high. Anemones are perennials and are in the family Ranunculaceae (Buttercup). They occur in prairies and woodlands from January through April.

Flower Fly On Anemone

We have at least 4 species in Texas and I don’t know if the ones I have seen in past years are the Carolina Anemone (Anemone caroliniana) or the Ten-Petal Anemone (Anemone berlandieri).

Fun Facts:

What look like the petals are actually sepals…don’t ask…I need to learn more.
The “petals” close up at night or during low light days.
Although Indigenous peoples used parts of the plant as medicine in healing wounds and others made a tea from it, the plant is considered toxic (neurotoxin).
The word anemone is from a Greek word meaning wind. Some say the spring breezes cause the flowers to open. Others noticed them swaying in the wind.
There are about 150 species of related anemones in the world in both the southern and northern hemispheres.
Folklore associated with the plants range from those who say anemones are the “lilies of the field” in the New Testament to them representing blood in Greek mythology. In China there is an anemone that is associated with death. My favorite story is that when it rains, fairies sleep in the closed up petals.

I will keep looking every day and when I see my first anemone, I will smile and welcome another Spring.

Sources-

Wildflowers of Texas by Geyata Ajilvsgi

Legends of Texas Wildflowers by Elizabeth Silverthorne

Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country by Marshall Enquist

Heralds of Spring in Texas by Roland H. Wauer

Wildflower.org

Photos by B. McCreary

Slow Walking At The Botanical Gardens

I missed my slow walk this morning. I missed my slow walking friends, but right now it is too hot for me to be outside.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is visited by thousands of people each year. Young and old, locals and tourists, the people come to view the flowers and other native Texas plants. Trails wind around the 284 acres and people can move at their own pace. There are fast walkers that get their steps in and medium walkers moving from one patch of spectacular floral colors to the next. There are parents pushing strollers and kids running around the lawns in the children’s garden. And then there are the groups of very slow walkers. They can be seen in groups of 6 or more, huddled around a flowering bush, taking turns to get the best angle to get a good shot with their close-up camera lenses. Some carry binoculars that they point at the trees and grassy fields. These women and men are participating in the weekly Fauna Survey, finding, identifying and documenting all the non-plant life that call the Wildflower Center home.

The Fauna Project is a weekly survey event led by Val Bugh (check out her website: http://www.austinbug.com). She has been at this since 2010 and has amassed quite a record of the bio diversity contained within this site. Her special area of expertise is entomology. The walking is slow because there is so much to see. At least every other plant will have a little insect on it doing something: eating another insect, mating, hunting, etc. Each survey is different. Here are some of my photos taken on the surveys so far this year.

So, get out and do a slow walk. You never know what you might find.

According to their website, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is home to at least 1,800 insect species (93 of these are butterfly species), 148 bird species, and 15 mammal species.

Wildflower.org/facts

Where Flowers Bloom…

My part of Texas is awash in wildflowers right now. In the past month I have taken numerous trips to Austin’s Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to walk and to marvel at the bounty of Spring. So much beauty to ooh and aah over, especially our Texas Blue Bonnets.

On some of the outer trails my eyes are drawn to the large patches of blue. I am reminded of our ubiquitous Blue Bonnet paintings.

Go to an art gallery showcasing Texas landscape art and you will find paintings of Blue Bonnets…Longhorn cattle in Blue Bonnets…barbed wire fences and Blue Bonnets…old trucks and Blue Bonnets. These have been popular for years and they sell well. People ooh and aah over them. Somewhere there is probably a painting of a T-Rex in a field of Blue Bonnets.

And then there are the photos. People trample swaths of these flowers to pose their children and dogs next to them. The Wildflower Center does have a couple of designated areas where visitors can pose with the Blue Bonnets without destroying them. I have done this myself with family and friends. They are pretty, but this kind of gets boring after a while. I seek out the other flowers sprinkled among and near the blue ones. The real Texas landscape has many kinds and colors of flowers. Every color you can imagine.

Chocolate Daisy (leaves smell like chocolate)

Variety is the spice of life. Each living creature adds to the beauty of the world. I like to think of each human as an individual flower with a unique beauty. What if, in our urban and suburban landscapes, we celebrated the diversity of the people we see as we walk through our towns and shop in our stores? What if we oohed and aahed at the beauty of each person? It might be a bit weird if we did this out loud, but we can do this inside ourselves. And maybe we would greet them with a smile and the world would be a better, more loving place…at least for that one day for those people…the admired and the one admiring.

(I was going to subtitle this month’s blog “Pollyanna on her soapbox with pretty pictures”…I do believe each of us who model this sort of love for our fellow creatures can influence others. )

*(All photos taken by the author at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center except for the last photo which was taken at McKinney Falls State Park)

Check out the website: wildflower.org

Natural Saviors

According to The Austin American-Statesman newspaper, we had 21 days of at least 100 degree highs in June, including 12 days in a row of this nastiness. We got a break late Monday the 27th with some much prayed for rain. Yay! I can now sit comfortably on my shaded porch and enjoy my coffee and read. It is still hot, but bearable.

As I get older I do not handle the heat as well as the younger me could. And our summers are getting hotter. June was not all bad. The beauty of nature carries on and helps me carry on. It sustains me. Here are some photos from my yard taken this month:

I want to express my gratitude to Mother Nature for sharing this beauty.

(photos by B. McCreary)

April Bathing

Have you ever bathed with family or a dear friend? I had the privilege of bathing with both recently. No, I am not talking about bathing in a tub or a shower. I am talking about Nature bathing, taking long, slow walks outside. Some call it forest bathing. I say it can also be called prairie bathing, riparian bathing, or desert bathing.

In early April I enjoyed such an outing at McKinney Falls State Park, which is on the outskirts of Austin. My husband and our daughter and I had a great time meandering along the creek looking at wildflowers (which are at their peak in early April here), bird watching, and even fish watching. Here are some photos:

Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera speciosa)

Towards the end of April a dear friend invited me to go bird watching with her in the same park. Some different plants were now blooming. We saw snowy egrets, great blue herons, and more cormorants flying up and down the creek. Other than birdwatching, we had no agenda. We just walked and enjoyed the fresh Spring air on our skin. The sounds of many different birds teased our ears, from the screeching of red tailed hawks to the sweet songs of cardinals. There was also the recurrent chirping of frogs. We stopped to admire and smell flowers. I enjoyed touching leaves to feel their texture. Here are a few photos from that walk:

Prairie Larkspur (Delphinium carolinianum ssp. penardii)

Scarlet Leatherflower (Clematis texensis)

We did not talk about world affairs or gossip about people or our troubles. We talked about nature, that before us, and old encounters. And we met others enjoying the natural wonders of this park. There were the girls from a nature school laughing and having fun while processing yucca leaves into cordage. And a couple visiting from Israel led us to a view of a barred owl up in a cypress tree.

These times nature bathing with others both relaxed and renewed me. Get out there, somewhere green, and just be. Oh, and don’t forget friends and family. Invite someone outside to bathe with you.

Here is a link to more info on McKinney Falls State Park: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/mckinney-falls

Plant information from A Field Guide to Wildflowers Trees and Shrubs of Texas (Texas Monthly Field Guide Series) and Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country by Marshall Enquist

Photos by B. McCreary (who is also responsible for any misidentification of plants)