Columbines

Being from Texas, my favorite flower was the Bluebonnet for a very long time. Bluebonnets cover fields across Central Texas in the Spring. Not every Spring, though. Those special Springs when there was just enough rain and cold fronts that came through, that's when the Bluebonnets are truly special. Taking a drive through the countryside proved to be a relaxing show of blue and red waves out the car window. The obligatory stop on the side of the road with pictures in the fields was always a highlight, too.

Texas has changed a lot, as have I. Now living in Northern Colorado and Wyoming, I have been leaning into our own traditions as a family, which means going up into the mountains in the Spring and looking at the wildflowers along the trails. Instead of driving, though, we often hike or mountain bike. You can't get to some of these places by car, and truly, it is a treat.

There's a little place in Colorado where the wildflowers are magnificent. This may just be my opinion, I realize this. It is the place that I truly fell in love with Columbines. These elusive little flowers that hide in the shadows of trees grow in magnificent clumps along the trails in this place. They stand tall and face their crowns toward the sun and the warmth.

Colorado Columbines

The Colorado Blue Columbine or Aquilegia is a symbol of the wild beauty of Colorado and established as the state flower in 1899. The colors in the Columbine are supposed to represent the sky (blue), snow-capped mountains (white), and gold rush history (yellow). It is named from the Latin, columba or dove and aquila or eagle, which perfectly describes the complex shape and beauty of this unique flower. The petals could resemble a dove or an eagle's talons depending on your perspective and view.

The Colorado wild Columbine doesn't grow across fields over a landscape. You have to go in search of them in the high mountains on a hike or under a tree in the early Spring down lower. I've tried growing them, but I haven't been very successful. I actually enjoy seeing them more in the wild than in my own yard.

While there are freezing temperatures outside right now and snow on the ground, I dream of hiking up in the mountains at some of my favorite places and seeing huge clumps of columbines in fields near mountain lakes and under the canopy of pine forests. As all seasons do, the winter will end, and we will be out there tromping around again. As I take advantage of the cold weather and hunker down to write and create, I continue to dream of warmer weather and the wild beautiful columbines.