From Birds to Wild Fruits and Flowers

It was a slow morning of birding in the Dallas City Park and the next door Delbert Hunter Arboretum yesterday. The bright colors of the fruit and blossom of native plants distracted me and I ended up returning to a former love of photography of wild flowers. 

The deep coloring of the ripe Indian Plum (Oemleria cerasiformis) stopped me in my tracks to take a second look, and I caved in to take some non-bird photos. The white blossoms of the Indian Plum are always one of the first of spring to catch my attention. However, I rarely get to see the fruit this ripe, a favorite of birds, it is normally striped while still in the earlier yellow colors. 

Larkspur, also popularly know by it's genus name of Delphiniam, was a favorite of my mom's.  Fitting that I should photograph and remember her on this Memorial Day Weekend.

This is something in the Mallow Family, perhaps of the Sidalcea Genius.

 

Red Columbine (Aquilegia formosa) As a youngster, I enjoyed chewing the ends for the nectar. 

Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus). From this common looking white blossom develops a "thimble" shaped red berry.  The soft leaves have been refereed to as a backpackers toilet paper.  I've never had to test that concept.

I recognize this as a member of the Iris Family, but to the exact genus and species I am unsure.  As my dear readers can probably tell by now, the project turned out to be a little more than my age muddled brain can handle.  In the end, I'm still just a kid with a camera that likes to take pictures of colorful birds and flowers.