Wild Flowers and Hiking Trails

Whenever I go hiking the only things in abundance that are noticeable are wild flowers. Like any tourist and wanna be photographer I shoot pictures of these creations of nature and post them on my blog. Here are some examples:

Milky white inflorescence - a visual delight

Here are two snapshots of a shrub in full bloom. I captured the images around White Rock Lake area in Dallas. Even in the early morning that I was there the weather was quite muggy and hot. During the day it becomes searing hot but even in this hostile conditions these wild flowers thrive. Once again nature proves that there can be beauty and lively glory amidst hostility.

More Pictures of Mineral Wells

I haven't shared all the pictures of our recent trip to Mineral Wells State Park, TX. This park is one of the closest locations where one can see some kind of hilly terrain, and rocks that can be climbed. The park is beautiful right now and with weather not having heated up too much the colorful flowers, insects, and other flora and fauna make it a great place to visit.

At home in India-Homa

Continuing my saga on the trip to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. For starters it was a pretty long (3.5 hours) drive through the prairie lands of North Texas and Southern Oklahoma. The drive was pretty boring except for the colorful spring blossoms that line the highways. There were blue, yellow, pink, and other colored flowers moving in the wind.

After what seemed like an eternity we finally pulled into the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and were greeted by a large American Bison grazing beside the road. We stopped to take a closer look and get some pictures of the giant beast that was grazing away oblivious of the attention it was getting.

Wild Bison grazing in Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

After spending some time at that site, we moved to the swank, and sprawling visitors center-cum-nature museum. Every wildlife sanctuary, national park I have visited be it in India, Nepal, Bhutan or US has an information center/ museum/ history center meant to provide information about the park's history, geography, wildlife, etc.

A giant mural at the visitor's center

The only difference is that in India the information centers are built with earthy materials like stucco, concrete, and brick and are mostly not air-conditioned. Here the building was built of wood, metal and drywall and of course it is centrally air-conditioned and heated. The natural history museum/ visitors center was one great documentation of the park's history, flora, and fauna. There were two huge stuffed wild bison's welcoming the visitors into the display area. There are numerous other stuffed creatures displayed in almost their natural settings. The museum is pretty interactive and simulated, the small theater showcases films on the night creatures of the park.

Stuffed animals on display

Stuffed animals on display

After spending about 45 minutes (short, we need at least 2.5 hours to see the museum thoroughly) we moved to do a short hike at the Lost Lake area. More tomorrow.

Panoramic Summer Views

Summer in Texas is the season I dislike, the heat is searing and pierces into one's being. I would fall sick if I am out in the sun the whole day, probably because during the past year and half of being here I have been primarily indoors. Not like in Bangalore when I would be out in the open exposed to the elements more than one day a week. Anyway, one thing I like about summer in Texas is the opportunity to capture some great pictures in natural light. Beautiful cloud formations, colorful flowers, vast open spaces, large fresh water reservoirs, etc. I think the presence of over 100 large (really large) lakes in and around Dallas area makes it a tad cooler otherwise I am sure this place would have bee hot as hell.

Colorful Texas Summer

Summer has started and heat is back with vengeance. But this is also the time when we get to see color in nature. A welcome change of scene from the boring grey and brown, leafless trees. This is the season when wild flowers blossom everywhere, in the parks, along side walks, creek sides, beside highways etc. I took this opportunity to shoot some of these wild flowers and here they are for you all to see.

Revisiting the Blue Bonnet Trail

On couple of occasions I had blogged about Blue Bonnet Trail in Plano. What is so great that it needs to be blogged about again? Plain and simple, I love cycling on this trail, it is great exercise and a wonderful way to get fitterr and slimmer. Apart from the exercise it provides, the trail offers a variety of scenes for the discerning/ observing eye. First off there is the soul soothing greenery.. though manicured.. occasional clumps of trees. The creeks that wind their way across the trail. Whenever I ride above the creeks the bridge feels different... yes I may be sounding ridiculous but the bicycle seems to glide smoother on the bridges than the rest of the trail.

Yesterday I took the racing bicycle for a spin on the Blue Bonnet trail and was surprised to see the number of people riding road bikes on the trail. It has been the opposite experience for me when I ride on the Univega road bicycle on this same trail. And yesterday I saw a couple laboring on a bright yellow tandem bike, riding really fast. And surprisingly there were lots of walkers all over the trail. There was one solitary rollerblader who was trudging along. His expertise didn't seem as good as the others I had come across on other trails, but he nevertheless was doing the full ten miles of the trail. I am waiting for the day when I will be able to do that.

Texas Sculpture Garden - II

Like I had mentioned in my previous post I have shot loads of pictures of the art installations, the walking trails and the landscaping around the Texas Sculpture Garden, Frisco. Here are some more pictures for you all to admire and of course do let me know what you feel about this super-rich man's hobby... art collection...

And of course I urge you all to consider donating for the cause of Multiple Sclerosis. I have registered to participate in the 160-mile bicycle ride from Frisco, Tx to Fort Worth, Tx to raise funds for the same.

Enjoy the pictures now!!!

Water Monster installation

Water Monster installation - Another picture

A landscaped "Waterfall"

"Waterfall" - Another view

Sculpture installation by the water

One of the many lakes that have been created in the Texas Sculpture Garden!

Wild Flowers of Arizona

One of nature's creations and human modifications that have astounded me, captured my imagination and caught my attention always is the Plant Kingdom. My interest in plants took me towards Botany in my teen and college years. Though I didn't make it my profession, the study of plants has continued to interest me. So whenever I travel I try to capture these subtle life forms and their beautiful inflorescences which are often the subject of poetic verses and descriptions of writers. Anyway I would not like to bore you with eloquent prose too much.

These pictures were shot in the Fort Bowie vicinity in Arizona which I visited couple of weeks ago when we drove to Los Angeles from Dallas.

A caterpillar which is the middle phase of the lifecycle of a butterfly

A flower yet to open up and soak in the light from the sun rays

Ready and receiving light from sun and waiting to germinate and give rise to offsprings

A bunch of bright yellow flowers succeeds in cheering you

The bud is slowly but surely blooming

Slowly and steadily, wider and wider the flower blooms

Bright yellow flowers are seen everywhere in the US during summer months

Enroute we stopped by a pista plantation. I had never seen a pista tree or the how the fruit looks like when raw

And here I am photographing the same for others who have not seen a pista tree laden with fruits or should I say 'nuts'