Spring has Sprung in Terlingua and the Big Bend!

People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad

    with joy the whole time to have such things about us.

                                                                                 - Iris Murdoch

Another Terlingua Sunset Thursday evening.

Spring has Sprung here in the Big Bend area and Terlingua! I am so excited. Like the Pointers Sisters said, I'm so excited and I just can't hide it. I'm about to lose control and I think I like it. Oh yeah!

This afternoon after Raoul arrived home from work we went for a little hike on the back of the property at Big Bend Resort to hunt for wildflowers. I have been waiting for this Spring for two years now. The past couple of years the drought has been so severe that there almost were no wildflowers or cactus blooming anywhere in the area. Now that we have experienced some rain and one snow the moisture has been enough to germinate the wildflowers and cactus.

At this moment there is an explosion of color, there's no other way to put it folks, in the Big Bend and Terlingua. Bluebonnets are carpeting the side of the roads and hills around us here in Terlingua. There are so many varieties of wildflowers blooming that some of them are new to me. The photos that follow are all of wildflowers spotted late this afternoon between Big Bend Resort & Adventures and Maverick Mountain. Enjoy.

This is some sort of ground cover with beautiful violet blooms.

I have no idea what this is but it is everywhere on my property
at Terlingua Ranch. I have been here five years and today I finally
get to see what the blooms look like. This blooms even earlier than
the blue bonnets since many of the blooms are already spent and seed pods have
dispersed their seeds.

A variety of Feather Dalea

Ocotillo preparing to bloom now

A variety of hedgehog cactus with double blooms now blooming

A variety of yucca in bloom

Blue bonnets covering the hills around Maverick Mountain.
Maverick Mountain straddles the boundary to BB National Park.

An arroyo and remnants of a mercury mine.
Notice the small white cross at the side of the road
at the bottom of the photo.

Bi-color mustard blooming

More Bi-color mustard blooms.

I have no idea what this is yet but I love this color!

I hope you enjoyed the floral show. You should make plans to visit the Big Bend National Park or Terlingua soon in order to enjoy this wonderful fiesta of color. March - May are the main blooming season for cactus, however, there is always something blooming here at some point even if it is very small, the wildflowers continue blooming when the main event of large showy cactus flowers have already performed their main event.

See you in the Big Bend!

Charlton

Spring has sprung here in the Big Bend!

Following the 1183 eruption of Indonesia's Krakatoa, brilliant sunsets appeared around the world, one of which is said to have inspired Norwegian artist Edvard Munch's painting, The Scream.

-Coco Ballantyne

Terlingua Sunset 022813 as seen from the lobby of BBRA

This past Thursday my friend Mary and I went into Big Bend National Park to look for blooming wildflowers and signs of Spring. We didn't have far to look since the Park Ranger at the entrance told us of wildflower sightings about four miles down Maverick Road just inside the park entrance. Well, we were elated when we spotted not just a few but hills decorated with the intense blue color of Big Bend Bluebonnets. There are several varieties of bluebonnets in Texas but the variety inside Big Bend is known for it's tall shoots loaded with that blue color. We also found in the same spot, blooms of Bicolor Mustard, Bristly Nama, Desert Evening Primrose, Resurrection Plant, Blue Bonnets of course, stalks of yucca loaded with red tinged yellow blooms. It is rumoured and local folklore that mesquite does not begin to green out until threat of a frost has passed. Today we encountered mesquite with green leaf buds sprouting from their limbs.

Big Bend Bluebonnets 022613

It was an exciting day for both of us. We had lunch at the restaurant at the Chisos Mountains Lodge. Afterwards we drove to the visitors center at Persimmon Gap and went on a small hike up to some interesting examples of geology of rock formations typical of this region.

Today marks the end of yet another month in 2013 and today's last sunset of February.  This evening marks the 19th recorded sunset for February. As I have noted before, I am attempting to record every sunset within a year beginning with January 2013. For me, a remarkable sunset is one which stands out as colorful, contains clouds to reflect the sun, or in some way is more remarkable than simply a glow on the horizon. This is my definition only. Stormclouds blocking the sun and horizon altogether will not be recorded unless they are significant in some way or remarkable just prior to when sunset should have taken place. Now enough wordiness. Let's get on with the obligatory photos, shall we?

 

Desert Evening Primrose, Maverick Rd, BBNP 022613

Bi-Color Mustard, Maverick Rd, BBNP 022613

Big Bend Bluebonnets with Mary for scale, Maverick Rd, BBNP 022613

Blue Curls, Persimmon Gap, BBNP 022613

Yucca with Blooms, Persimmon Gap, BBNP

I think this is Cowpen Daisy, BBNP 022613

Bristly Nama, Maverick Rd, BBNP 022613

New growth on a Prickly Pear, Maverick Rd,BBNP 022613

At the end of our day as we made our tired but satisfied exit out of Big Bend National Park, we encountered the ultimate beautiful ending and we just had to stop and admire the magnificent sunset

Sunset, BBNP 022613

Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful day.

Charlton

" What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset."

Crowfoot Quote













Yesterday evening's sunset was magnificent as usual. Terlingua and the Big Bend area must be the land of the setting sun. This past weekend was such a busy one with alot of guest arriving to take advantage of the three day weekend that was President's Day. A friend that I met on Facebook through my longtime friend, James, arrived two days ago with a friend of his from San Antonio. Stu saw my numerous photographs of sunsets and was intrigued by the area. I gave him some information about the area and he decided to come down and explore the Big Bend National Park. Unfortunately though, I could not just take off from the front desk and go with so I had a few moments, as I do with  most of the guests that arrive, and relayed some interesting points of the National Park, restaurant in the area etc. It seems they did have a great time. They left this morning to return to San Antonio. Stu is from Panama and was visiting the U.S. It was a pleasure meeting them. I so enjoy sharing the Big Bend with friends. I just think it's one of the most beautiful places on earth. The desert has a special beauty all of it's own. Not to mention that the sunsets are simply amazing.

When I see such vivid colors emerge after the sun sets behind Sawmill Mountain, it leaves me speechless. I just want to reach up and touch the colors.

From behind the front desk I have the opportunity to see almost every sunset of every night. Below is the view from the front porch of the Big Bend Resort & Adventures lobby.



Have a great day.

Charlton

Cotton Candy Sunset

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.” 
― Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds

January sunsets: 13
February sunsets: 7 as of today

Yes, it is 2:52am and yes, I am still up. As usual. The sunset this evening was unique. Just three puffy clouds, like cotton candy, floating in the sky above Sawmill Mtn. and the Ghostown.

Working where I do I get to see a wonderful sunset every evening. Clouds accessorize the sky with added color most of the time. The sun setting below the horizon is usually when the color and drama begin to take shape. Sometimes it is only five minutes after the sun dips below and other times it can even be 20 minutes after. Patience is your friend when viewing a sunset. When there are no clouds present, a glow develops on the horizon and remains until there is no more light.

Patience is also something I'm having to practice lately. My truck is in the shop awaiting an engine block transplant. Yes, a couple of months ago, that thing happened on the road that of all the vehicle repairs one dreads the most to hear took place. The Blow Head Gasket. Yep. So while I am waiting to save up the dough to purchase the block I am doing what I can locally within this small sphere where I reside, in regards to photos. Sunsets, Bluebonnets and Clouds.

Practicing the fiddle also keeps me occupied.

So, until next sunset, hasta luego.

Charlton

Sunrise, Sunset.

“A large drop of sun lingered on the horizon and then dripped over and was gone, and the sky was brilliant over the spot where it had gone, and a torn cloud, like a bloody rag, hung over the spot of its going. And dusk crept over the sky from the eastern horizon, and darkness crept over the land from the east.” 

― John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

I have seen some beautiful sunsets just in these few beginning days of February.

Sunset on 2nd Feb 2013

Sunrise on 3rd Feb 2013

Anyone who knows me will tell you that normally I am not a morning person. However, I got a phone call from Raoul on the morning of this photo to tell me to look out the window. When I did, I immediately jumped out of bed, throwing a cat and a chihuahua into chaos with the rest of the bed covers and flew to my camera bag. I stuck my head out of the side door and this was the photo. I love it. It appears as if the sky is a roiling mass of lit gasoline or propane.

Charlton

Another beautiful sunset in Terlingua. I have been able to photograph twelve Terlingua Sunsets for the month of January. That means that Terlingua had almost half a months days worth of sunsets. I figured that if the weather department can calculate the amount of rain fall, cloudy days versus sunny days for any given locale for any given month, why not a percentage of beautiful sunset days per month? That is my goal for this year. To catalog as many sunsets as possible for Terlingua, TX. After all, alot of tourists and visitors to our small town are here for the sunsets and the star filled night sky. I have yet to capture a photo of the milky way since in order to do so a cloudless sky also needs to coincide with a moonless sky. The odds so far are not in my favor. But one of these nights I will get it!

This was taken atop the small hill behind the Big Bend Resort & Adventures motel, Rm#33 on the resort property. This was about ten minutes after sunset. Sunset was at 6:30pm.

Charlton

“If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for a moment.”

- Georgia O'Keefe

This year I have decided to begin a private, on my own, in other words, a private project. The project is to photo document and identify the various flora and fauna that exist just within my property of 20 acres. I'm doing this to promote an awareness of the vast diversity that is the Chihuahuan Desert. But also to promote an appreciation and respect for nature as well as other environments around us. There are a number of people who have the idea that a desert is a wasteland of nothing but sand, dirt and rocks.

I recall growing up on ten acres of Virginia Appalachian countryside. The word, "weed" usually was thrown around a lot to describe anything that you didn't want in your yard or garden. Out here in the desert, I have yet to come across a "weed". Everything has a purpose and a use. So, in the coming months I will be establishing a blog, website, etc and sharing with you what I find. I hope that you will enjoy the journey as much as I will enjoy the discovery.

This yellow blossom can be seen just about everywhere here in the Chihuahuan desert. I wanted to get a closer look. The bloom is about the size of a dime.

Charlton Vaughan