Awaiting Spring at Tandy Hills

Chris and I ventured to Tandy Hills on Friday to check on the trout lilies for the season. While we did find a lot of the plants up and growing, we didn’t find a single bloom. We couldn’t decide if we were too late or a bit early, even though last year we saw blooms at about two weeks prior to this time. So, who knows? It has been dry this year so perhaps a rain event would trigger some blooms? If not, I guess I will have to wait until next year.

I didn’t leave empty handed photograph wise, though. We did find a few flowers poking out and I want to go back within the next week and explore some more. I love that there is this great big natural area in the middle of the suburbs!

The trout lilies not blooming—bummer. We wayyyy underestimated how many there were in the area last year. Last year we went in one area, found them pretty quickly and just kinda assumed there weren’t more. Boy, were we wrong! I bet they are beautiful when they are all blooming.

A few butterflies were out and this sulphur managed to let me get a few decent shots before I startled it into leaving.

A trout lily seed pod. See, I figured if more had bloomed there would have been more seed pods and we didn’t see but that one.

A redbud tree, Cercis canadensis, flower.

Purple paintbrush, Castilleja purpurea var. purpurea, I have to go back and get these when they are fully open. I’m guessing by the end of the week!

I think this is lotus milkvetch, Astragalus lotiflorus, another common bloom right now.

Same flower as above!

Chris checking out something on the overgrown side trail we took.

Have yet to id this one.

Most of the agave have dried seedpods on all of the leftover stalks from last year.

We came across this bamboo ‘teepee’; it appeared that perhaps there had been a small thicket of bamboo and some kids were having fun in the woods. Looks like a fun little place to play to me!

A fruiting shrub that I need to identify still.

I came across two bulbs sitting in the middle of the eroded trail and nudged them to the side with my foot before deciding they deserved to be photographed. I’m loving how this one turned out.

We followed a creek bed for awhile before deciding we weren’t in the mood for bushwhacking. Another day perhaps.

These resemble a daffodil of miniature proportions but my sleuthing on the ‘net led me to find out it is crow poison/false garlic, Nothoscordum bivalve, a member of the lily family. While visiting my brother’s house I noticed that this plant was growing everywhere in the neighborhood yards and was coming up as a weed in his yard, too.

There were many patches of grape hyacinth blooming as well.

Finally we spotted some bearded iris in what was once perhaps a homestead.

We’re looking forward to Prairie Fest in April! Maybe next year we will be photo exhibitors!