Easter Empty Field Explorations

We drove up to DFW for Easter this year. It’s been quite a few years since we’ve done that, instead opting for camping during Easter. But a variety of reasons had us without a reservation for a campsite and we opted to spend some time up there this year. I snuck away on Saturday afternoon to go check out an empty field down the street from my parent’s house. Well, truthfully, I had steps to get in for my FitBit challenge so that was a major reason, but I had driven by earlier that morning on the way to the grocery store and decided it needed to be walked through for some iNaturalist botanizing. The field has been a field since I was a kid, tucked between a bank and houses. As I’ve seen the other empty fields turn into houses in the last decade, I figured this one was living on borrowed time. Surprisingly there were some lovely prairie remnants left and of course a few invaders, too, but otherwise it was a nice way to get some steps in and take in some pollen-filled fresh air.

Dakota Mock Vervain, Glandularia bipinnatifida

Sword-leaf Blue-eyed Grass, Sisyrinchium ensigerum — I think. I really loved the deep purple of this particular species and it grows different than some of the species down my direction.

llinois Bundleflower, Desmanthus illinoensis

Tenpetal Anemone, Anemone berlandieri
While our anemones have mostly started disappearing after going to seed, I managed to catch a few still in bloom in this field.

Zizotes Milkweed, Asclepias oenotheroides – I knew there was milkweed in this field because I’ve seen it blooming during the summertime but I always thought it was likely to have been antelope horns, A. asperula but I was wrong!

Beaked Cornsalad, Valerianella radiata

Drummond’s Onion, Allium drummondii
There were several lovely mounds of this allium, very gorgeous!

They come in pink, too!

A palette of wildflowers!

Can’t go wrong with some pink ladies (buttercups as we called them growing up), Oenothera speciosa

Slender Vetch, Vicia ludoviciana

Texas Vervain, Verbena halei

Harmostes reflexulus, a little scentless plant blug.

Seven-spotted Lady Beetle, Coccinella septempunctata

And the trio of goobers post-egg hunt on Saturday evening. Zoe is heading to high school next year and Grayson is going to middle school, while Forest will be in second grade! Time flies!