Just Jen

Bret Michaels at Wildflower

Last night we went to the Wildflower Festival in Richardson to see Bret Michaels play with his band. Being a fan of Rock of Love (anybody else hoping it doesn't work out with Ambre so we get a 3rd season?), I was really excited to see him play in person. Bret and I went along with my sister, Sarah who said it was her first concert ever! Well, this was probably a good one to start her out on. It was more of a family atmosphere since it was part of the festival - how cute are the little kids playing in the fountain? We found a pretty good spot on the grass, but ended up moving up closer towards the end when the crowd started dwindling. I made an "I Love Bret" t-shirt to wear - thought it would be funny since my hubby's name is Bret too. :) They played all the Poison favorites along with some of his new stuff. We thought it was funny that he was wearing a shirt with his own picture on it - really?!
We hung around for a while after it was over to try to meet him and hopefully get a good pic. The rest of the band came out, but nobody really cared about them - I kind of felt sorry for them! He even had them selling his t-shirts at the merch booth before and after. They auctioned off Bret's cowboy hat - I think it went for $380 or something like that - and also his shirt and bandana that he wore during the concert. Big John did come out for a while and Sarah and I got a really good pic with him. But no Bret. He never made it out - so we headed home. It was a good time, but we agreed next time we'd rather see him play with Poison. Guess this is what I get for marrying an 80's boy! :)
By the time he played his last song, I realized I could record video on my camera - duh. I got a little of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn." Enjoy!
Double click on the image to play.

Wildflower Walk

Yesterday I was invited by my next door neighbor, Claudia, to go on a guided wildflower tour through the Connemara Conservancy. It's a 72 acre area here in Allen that is a natural meadow preserve. I live just down the road from it, and before yesterday, I really didn't even realize it was there. I had no idea there was that much undeveloped space in this area! I was amazed because it is in the middle of the city, and yet there are many areas where you can't see a telephone pole, much less a building or any other sign of commercialization. It is really beautiful! My pictures don't do it justice - my husband hijacked my camera, so all I had left to use was my phone. The walk was about a mile long, and was led by Jim Varnum, a Texas Master Naturalist - translation: he knew everything about every plant we encountered on the walk. Right now, the spring wildflowers are at their peak before the summer flowers start to come out. I thought I knew a little about plants, but there were many I'd never seen before!

I'd have to say my favorites were the Milkweed - a plant that the Monarch Butterfly lays its eggs on, Queen Anne's Lace - did you know it has one tiny single black flower in the middle of all the white ones?

Also the Prairie Mimosa - this plant has leaves that close up when you touch them! Supposedly it does this so it can catch the rain - very cool.
Finally, there were the more common favorites like Indian Paintbrushes and Buttercups. We came across some plants that had this weird foam on them. I asked what it was, and apparently there are insects that spit on the plant and lay their eggs in it. Mr. Varnum removed some of the foam to show us, and sure enough there was a larvae growing inside. Isn't God's creation just amazing?
Besides being pretty hot, and getting attacked by ants, and having to dodge a TON of poison ivy (which I'm getting very good at spotting, by the way), it was a very relaxing and enjoyable walk. Speaking of Poison Ivy, I learned yesterday that it actually blooms and can grow up a tree like a vine. Ahh! All this time I've had my eyes fixed on the ground and had no idea that it could attack from above. That's all I'd need - to run into it face first...
There's more guided walks coming up if you're interested. It the only way to see the area right now - it's currently closed to the public. Check out their website for more info:
http://www.connemaraconservancy.org/