maryb119

I have forgotten how pretty they are this time of year. Thanks for sharing them with us.

omak

Are they good for cattle grazing? <wave>

sewingsuz

Wow, that is what I miss!

earthwalker

What stunning photos. Thanks for sharing...they look a little bit like Lupins...maybe they are related. Anyway, whatever they are they are beautiful.

CarrieAnne

How beautiful!

quiltykitty

Your granddaughters are precious.

omak

They are beautiful, but if they are related to lupin, could be poisonous to cattle? (I don't remember, which L flower it is - - my, how the vocabulary disappears when you don't have to really mess with it, eh? LOL ) <wave>

earthwalker

You got me thinking...which is good - don't do it often enough! I found this very interesting article:
http://www.wildflower.org/expert/show.php?id=1386

wolfkitty

What gorgeous flowers! Thanks for the pictures! Reminds me of the Moda Wildflowers 4 pattern that I have!

omak

Cool! So while I read the article, I remembered the other L word is Larkspur (my computer is slowing with age??? LOL) anyway, another thing I have learned while working with the cattle is: most cattle will not walk into that field and eat those lupine/bluebonnet unless there is absolutely nothing else to eat.
If I have a lupine plant out in my pasture, they will eat all around it - - if they eat it at all, it will be one bite and move on - - while the plant is poisonous, it probably isn't poisonous unless the cow eats 1% of its body weight - - that would be one very hungry cow ... hmmm ... do you suppose the bluebonnets are "loco weed"? but, I noticed in the article that pregnant cows are most susceptible - - and the crooked calf disease would imply that the cow was eating a steady diet of the stuff .... not a one bite event. very interesting.
STILL! The bluebonnets are very pretty - - on your place, NOT mine! LOL ... the other thing that the flowers tell you (or whatever weeds around your place that you are fighting) is the soil content. On my place, I use the cattle for the fertilizing, and to a certain extent weed control ... as the cattle move along, doing what cattle do and generally moving the soil around, the soil starts growing different microbes and stuff - - the weeds change every year, depending on what we are doing, how we are moving the cattle as they graze, and the amount of moisture a certain area receives. It is all very fun to study the ecosystem and watch how it can be manipulated to be anything I want. <wave>