{My pictures were taken with a Kodak EasyShare DX4530. Dan’s pictures were taken with a Cannon Rebel EOS with a 70-200 2.8L lens. All pictures within this blog have been resized which sometimes doesn’t do the pictures justice.}

I had a good time at the Poteet Strawberry Festival. This festival has been around for years – since 1948. Dan loves going to these types of events for the photographic opportunities. I love going for the “entertainment”, people watching, and the vendors/booths – in other words, the stuff for sale! As a result, I didn’t take very many pictures.

One of the first things I saw upon entering the gates was this silly thing:


“Rowdy Rooster’s Roadster”

Do you see it? Do you see the critter inside the car? Here’s a close up shot:


This… This thing, or critter, if you will, Is LOUD. The car would stop and he’d put on the loudspeaker and just yak away at people. It made me smile and I just had to snap a picture.

We first explored the booths and vendors that had tons of stuff you don’t need in life on sale. And then, I got hungry. So, we went to see what they had for eats. You pay for food (and rides) with coupons. A coupon is fifty cents.


We went with these guys for two reasons. One, it was sponsored by the Boy Scouts. I have nephews that are Eagle Scouts and I’m mighty proud of them. The second reason is because they were cheap, or rather, the cheapest. A hot dog was four coupons, which equals two dollars. We each got a hot dog and split a bottle of coke, which was also four coupons (or two dollars).

We took our food to the fiddler contest stage and waited for it to start. It was scheduled to start at Noon; but, they were delayed. That was alright. I enjoyed people watching. There was this guy who was an “official” photographer that just made me laugh inside. He was wearing a fisherman’s hat and vest. He just didn’t strike me as a professional; but, whatever. The contest eventually got started...




The contest started out with the youngest kids and worked the way up to the older kids. Let me tell you, some of those kids are pretty darn good!

We took off in the middle of the contest (during a break between age brackets) and decided to go somewhere else. We went to the strawberry eating contest.

Actually, I wandered nearby exploring while Dan watched and took pictures. It was just too many people and crowded. But, Dan got a good spot on one of the top bleachers. He was standing (because everyone else was standing). I didn’t feel safe doing that. I visualize myself stepping right off backwards breaking my crown or something, which is why I went exploring nearby. Whenever I do this, I always keep close where Dan could keep an eye on me and vice versa.


I’m so glad Dan took pictures because isn’t this priceless? Take a look at the kid second from the left. And,…


Oh my goodness! Precious!

Dan got frustrated with some people up front who were also taking pictures. They were standing blocking the view of the participants. So, he decided to leave before he got too frustrated.

We ended up going to "The Raptor Project" area as we both love birds. I love all kinds of birds; but, Dan seems to be fascinated with the raptors – the hawks, falcons, and eagles. It was rather an unusual and awesome set up. These birds were set on pedestals underneath an awning off an 18-wheeler trailer. The people were only about 4 feet away from the birds and separated by a booth full of displays and items for sale. I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to a bird of prey without any cage wire. They were tied to their pedestals; so, they couldn’t get away nor attack observers.

Dan took quite a few pictures and I had a hard time deciding which ones to use here. I decided to just go with my favorites…


Gold Eagle


American Kestrel (female)


Great Horned Owl


Aplomado Falcon


Prairie (or Peregrine) Falcon


Everyone should know this one -- Bald Eagle


And, this is… Wait a minute! This is no Raptor! Dan is taking pictures of girls again? – A wannabe flower child biker chick? And, an old one at that? Hmmppfffhhh!

I was standing in the stands located in front of the Raptor area looking over at the Carnival – at all the rides and the people when Dan snapped this picture of me glancing over at him. Here are a couple of pictures I snapped:




We then left Raptor Project area and went to the pig races.


(picture snapped by me)

We arrived early to get a good spot for Dan to take pictures. It was HOT by this time around. Dan actually got a little sunburned from waiting for the event to start. But of course, it turned brown within a day or two. Fortunately, I remembered to put on some very strong suntan lotion on my face that morning. So, I didn’t get burned. Well, I mostly didn’t get burned. My nose turned slightly pink.



Let me tell you, the pig races were so darn cute! They started out with small pigs and gradually got bigger. The last race, they kept saying they were bringing out the “Big Boys”. And, out comes the cutest baby pigs. I thought it was hilarious. And those babies – too cute!

After the pig races, we wandered around for a bit and I spied some belly dancers. I have always admired their ability to do what they can do. Let me tell you, I tried learning how and it isn’t easy! We stopped to watch some of their dancing for a bit.


There was one lady that looked liked she could be someone’s Grandma. I wanted to shout and cheer out “Go Grandma! Go!” But, I restrained myself. She had a lot of self confidence and she definitely could dance.


There were several ladies covered up. I whispered to Dan that if I could dress modestly like they did, I might, just might learn how to belly dance and do it in public. Ha! Like, I would ever do that. Unlike that Grandma I mentioned, I don’t think I have that kind of self confidence in myself.



There were times when the belly dancers danced in the audiences and even pulled audience members in to dance with them. I love this picture! Take a look at that little girl’s face. Priceless! She’s looking at the belly dancer thinking “What the heck are you doing?” or something like that.

We then decided we had our fill and seen all that we wanted to see at the festival. So, we purchased a small basket of strawberries and headed home. We were at the Festival for approximately five hours.


Poteet’s Water Tower is a Strawberry!

{My pictures were taken with a Kodak EasyShare DX4530. Dan’s pictures were taken with a Cannon Rebel EOS with a 70-200 2.8L lens. All pictures within this blog are resized, which sometimes doesn’t do the pictures justice.}

Wildseed Farms is a nice place to go for taking pictures during the height of Wildflower season.


They have all kinds of little places like this scattered about the grounds along with stuff for sale that a gardener might want.


This is the first field we encountered. There are tons of wildflowers in the foreground with paths to walk about on. All that red in the background is another field that is primarily composed of Red Corn Poppies.

I think Dan thought he was in photographer’s heaven when we walked into the wildflower field. Why? Because…


Here he is sitting or kneeling down. I walked further along the path and…


caught him lying down. I walked even further along the path and…


caught him standing up.

My camera takes decent pictures. I took these close-up shots while we were in the Wildflower field.



Paintbrushes


Bluebonnets and Prairie Verbena


Alamo Fire aka Maroon Bluebonnets

However, Dan’s pictures... Oh my! They are wonderful!



Paintbrushes


Bluebonnets with a lone Red Corn Poppy



Alamo Fire and Bluebonnets


Clueless as to what these are! :-)

Before we left the wildflower field, an old lady asked Dan to take her picture in front of some wildflowers – shamelessly flirted with him. Hmmppffhh!!!


Oh wait, that old lady is me! I don’t think I look like that. I still picture myself as 25 years old. Where in the heck did time go?

Anyway, we moved on and explored the rest of the farm. There were fields in sort of a U-shape and most of the fields were roped off. In the middle of that U-shape, they were growing various flowers in rows. As I mentioned before, a field of Poppies followed the wildflower field.

(picture by me)

This field, to me, is so beautiful. And, it never fails to remind me of a poem called In Flanders Fields. It always seems to bring on a reflective mood.

Anyway, I gazed upon flowers being grown in rows while we wandered. We came upon some that just brought memories of Maine, my Gram, and my Mother. I was thrilled and begged Dan to take some pictures because my camera would not be able to do justice.


We know them as Johnny Jump-ups. And, they’re called the same at the farms. Supposedly, they can be grown in our zone. But, we’ve never had any success. According to the sign they had in front of the rows of plants, I found out that the soil needs to be “rich and well-drained”, grown in “partial shade to full sun” and that they’re “drought tolerant”. I need to try growing them again someday. At least, I know where I can get seeds when I’m ready to try.

Something caught Dan’s attention along the inside of roped off fields. Or, is that outside? It’s where we can walk anyway.


I think this is the best shot I took so far, don’t you? :-)

Anyway, I believe that it was this that caught his attention.


It’s a very interesting white strain of the bluebonnet.

And then, I think the tables turned on me. Dan wanted me to lie down in the sandy dry dirt so that he could take pictures of me.

I actually didn’t mind. I am a very willing model most of the time. However, this picture of me… Ugh! How can he think I’m beautiful? I don’t get it. This is not me. Where is the 25 year woman I once knew?

Anyway, We came across another field of poppies -- a variety of them.


I shot some pictures from different angles and I really liked how this one turned out.

We were soon finished with the place and took a drive north of Fredricksburg – along Willow City Loop. This particular drive is absolutely spectacular. If any of you happen to be in this area in the peak of wildflower season, it’s a must see thing to do.

Dan let me have his camera while he drove. He gave me a few pointers and then let me loose. It wasn’t easy because we were moving constantly and technically, we’re not supposed to stop or pull over. Many people did this anyway against the owners of the private properties wishes.

The last few pictures here are the ones I shot using his camera through an open window. The bottoms of most tended to be blurry. That is because we were moving. And, it was a bumpy road! It was NOT easy. I quit after awhile, hoped I got a few good shots, and just enjoyed the scenery.





Whoa! How did this last one get into the group of pictures? A strange lady having fun taking pictures of herself in a truck’s side mirror. How weird can she be? Oh wait. That is me again. Sheesh. :-)