This spring was very hot and dry. We had a lot of fires and very little rain. Because of this the old saying “April showers bring May flowers” didnt really apply. It was more like “May showers bring the flowers”. So the wildflowers bloomed a little later than usual. However, when they did bloom, i noticed they were not the familiar flowers i remembered. The regulars came up about a week later but the first on scene were flowers i had never seen on the property before. At first i studied the specimens with great interest, wondering how unobservant i would have to be to miss these beauties growing in the grass. I really felt like i had dropped the ball in the observing nature arena. However, when i thought about it, i knew for certain those little things that look like maroon snap dragons had not existed on my land in prior years. I would have noticed those! Something like that was right up my alley and definitely my new favorite. I got to thinking and then a thought crept onto scene. What if, the new flowers were a result of icepocalypse in Texas? It was 4 degrees here. It was in the negative temperatures (below zero) up north. The robins, overwhelmed by the icy and bitter cold conditions, flew further south than usual and i had to call my great uncle (made a career producing footage and audio recordings of birds all over the world) to figure out what kind of fat little birds were convening in my yard at a number of forty or fifty and crapping red berry and seed laden poop everywhere. I wondered if the robins had somehow ingested wildflower seeds from somewhere else and deposited them on my land in their memorable pinkish red poop. It looked like a war zone after they left. There was just red everywhere, all over the yard near the house and laundry line. These new flowers were mostly located near the house and the laundry line. I was going to mow the grass but decided to let it grow in the interest of allowing these transplant flowers to seed. They’re so beautiful! I’d like to see them every year.
