First House Guest

Eryngium leavenworthii - Leavenworth's Eryngo

House hunting in between Austin and North Texas led us to look around  Hamilton, hence the same named county. After some dead leads we stumbled upon a property on top of a ridge, outside of Carlton, Texas.
Exploring the 17 acres that are for sale, mostly populated by cedar trees and shrubs we found tons of this wildflower, that closely resembles thistles. But some research actually showed that this false thistle is in the parsley family and is called Eryngium leavenworthii, after its discoverer, Melines Conklin Leavenworth (1796-1862), a US army surgeon and botanist.

To our surprise a bumblebee paid a first visit and we welcomed this gnarly insect as our first house guest. I'm sure we will see tons of creatures crawling, flying, stomping, running and slithering around.

As soon as the contract comes through and we move in, I will put some of these delicate yet thorny flowers that can grow up to more than three feet in a huge vase as a dry flower arrangement.