Legend of the Bluebonnet

My new Facebook friend Stephanie from Austin reports that she has seen bluebonnets in Austin.  She declared it to be officially Spring after the sighting.

That’s always good news.

It means it’s time for a trip down the bluebonnet trail.  It’s a Texas Tradition!  It’s part of the Texas lifestyle.

There are bluebonnet festivals around the state about this time and according to most reports, it’s gonna be a good season for bluebonnet watching.  We’ve had rain this year.  Since I’m most familiar with the Kerrville, Fredericksburg, Burnet areas along the Bluebonnet trails, that is probably where I’ll go, but there are others that are spectacular.

The Texas legislature has officially declared the Burnet area the Bluebonnet Capital of Texas.  Burnet’s festivities are held the second Tuesday in April every year.  Ennis, Texas has their own Bluebonnet Trails Festival during the month of April with a special festival April 17-18.

And there are several websites out there that log official bluebonnet sightings for visitors.  When it’s a very good bluebonnet year, as you drive down the bluebonnet roads you will very often see families out in a pasture with the official photographer of the family doing their duty and taking photos of the children and the group.

We even have our own scatterings of bluebonnets out here in Real Texas.

It’s a sacred passage of being a Texan.  You just have to spend a weekend at least one time in your life and get your photos of the beautiful state flower.  Some folks make an annual pilgrimage to the bluebonnet areas just for that purpose.  I have the bluebonnet pilgrimage as a major chapter in “How to Be Texan – Wherever You Are”  eBook that will be released soon.

But why the Texas fascination with the bluebonnet?  Could it be because of the legend of the bluebonnet?

Legend of the Bluebonnet

There was once a Comanche girl named She Who Is Alone.  It was a time when only native Texans lived here.  She was alone because her parents had died.  It was a time of drought in Texas and when it does not rain, the buffalo have no grass, the deer and antelope have no food and the Comanche as a people suffer along with all the animals the Great Spirit has provided for them.  The Comanche people prayed for rain.  It was finally decided to offer a sacrifice to the Great Spirit.

Everyone would give up their greatest possession.  She Who is Alone had nothing to offer but a doll made by her grandmother.  The doll had its face painted with berry juice and it was adorned with bright blue bird feathers.  It was the only thing she had left from her family.  She cried herself to sleep and awakened after it was dark.  She had made a decision.

She crept out to the fire.  She said to the Great Spirit:  “Oh Great Spirit please accept my meager sacrifice.  It is not much, but it is all I treasure and it is all I have.  Please send the rain.”  She thought of all the people and animals who would die without the life giving rain.

She Who Is Alone watched the fire until it died and cooled.  She then gathered the ashes and threw them up into the hot winds where they were scatted on the land.  When she awakened in the morning, there were beautiful blue flowers, the same color as her doll’s blue feathers.

As the tribe woke up, they saw the flowers and everyone knew it was a sign from the Great Spirit.  They sang and danced in joy.  It started to rain soon and the buffalo returned and the grass grew high.  “She Who Is Alone” changed her name to “One Who Dearly Loves Her People.”

Since that great sacrifice of all she had, the Great  Spirit has blessed the Texas lands with the beautiful blue flowers called bluebonnets.

I’m David out in Real Texas

Ready to hop down the Bluebonnet trail

Tagged as: david werst, legend of the bluebonnet, Real Texas Blog, Texas Lifestyle