Lightening in a Bottle

On a lark on a Saturday in late March in 2012, my friend Gail and I decided to get in the car and drive to Ennis and follow the Bluebonnet Trail in search of bluebonnet photos. Neither of us were Texas natives, but both of us had been living in Dallas for a few years. With me driving and Gail navigating the Bluebonnet Trail map on her phone, we progressed through the Ennis Bluebonnet Trail, with each mile unveiling an even more spectacular rolling pasture thick with bluebonnets. That day, we experienced “lightening in a bottle,” with possibly the best bluebonnet season in Texas in years. I took some of my favorite bluebonnet photos that day.

Every year since then, I have driven back to Ennis around the same time of year, following the same path, and I have yet to see the same lush bluebonnet fields or capture similar photos. When we are lucky enough to experience “lightening in a bottle,” we often spend our time with tunnel vision chasing the perfection of the same dream. In doing so, we may miss new opportunities and new experiences.

During bluebonnet season this year, I’ve made three trips to Ennis – partly because I’m still feeling claustrophobic from 2020 and 2021. Two of those trips, I followed the same route as I had in the past. However, on the third trip, I ventured off the trail. While I didn’t see the lushness of 2012, I was able to capture new sites that brought “moments of awe.”