The bluest bonnets in Texas: Steve Tulcus s photo judged best in Reporter-News contest
Almost 14 inches of rain March to May will do that.
While the record cold did its share of damage to trees and shrubs, the flowers bloomed, and photographers busied themselves with photographing their favorites.
The annual Reporter-News wildflower contest honors late photographer Doug Hodel, who died in 2017 and often entered. This year s contest particularly showed off bluebonnets and detail shots. Between the two categories, eight honorable mentions awards were given - six in detail, which seemed to be the favorite category this year.
Bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis), 120 years ago named the state flower of Texas, almost took a back seat.