Tres Palacios Bay, Texas
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour…
“Auguries of Innocence” ~ William Blake
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Lagniappe 
Context, context: land-locked me wouldn’t have associated greenthread with a coast.
The title of Blake’s poem has me wondering this morning whether he was auguring innocence or whether innocence was doing the auguring.
At the head of bays like Palacios, Matagorda, and Lavaca, the plant communities often contain plants found more inland. In this general area I’ve found basket-flowers, American germander, white prickly poppy, and Maurandella antirrhiniflora, which has the amusing name of Roving Sailor. I knew you’d posted images of it, and sure enough, I found several images using the common name snapdragon vine.
As for Blake: at least he was auguring rather than arguing.
I’ve never heard anyone refer to the snapdragon vine as roving sailor. The ones I’ve seen in Austin have certainly roved far from the coast.
All this talk of roving brings to mind a shanty that’s still sung in the occasional waterfront establishment.
An oft quoted, and much loved poem. Deservedly so. Oh to be able to string words together in this way.
So much of Blake’s poetry still resonates today. These lines are among my favorites; they’re well worth a reminder from time to time.
Wonderful composition, Linda. As usual my eyes are drawn to the loner. Says something about me.
Perhaps that’s the floral equivalent of the lone baby duckling that always heads off in a direction different from the group’s. One of the predictable sounds of summer around here is the frantic quacking of mamas and babies as they try to find one another; that ‘loner’ flower may have the same adventurous spirit.
Blake was a great mystic, as well as a great poet. Beautiful blooms, and dare I say a sharp image during what appears to be windy conditions. Love the contrast.
Sometimes, things work out. I’d hoped to manage the breaking waves as a background, while keeping the flowers sharp. A bank of gravel and sand behind the flowers offered just enough of a windbreak for it to work.
Even I am familiar with these words. Nicely done by a shore with somewhat tumultuous conditions.
It was windy, for sure — but it’s almost always windy there. Finding a sheltered group of flowers made it easier to get a decent image. They don’t look especially sheltered in the photo, but there was a bank of gravel and sand behind them that served as a small windbreak.
What a beautiful combination!
Isn’t it, though? The Gulf-facing beaches have their delights, but the land around the bays is just as interesting. The birds differ somewhat, and of course many of the sea creatures are absent here.
Linda, I enjoyed this dynamic photo with William Blake’s beautiful words.
I’m pleased you described it as ‘dynamic,’ Jet. It certainly was a day filled with movement, thanks to the wind, and I think it was just the sort of day Blake would have enjoyed.
The combination of Blake’s much-loved lines along with this gorgeous photo makes my morning, Linda — thank you! Such a splendid capture you have here.
Not all ‘seaside’ interest is at the beaches of the Gulf. The bays have a lot to offer, especially when views like this are available. When I saw the flowers and the sand, Blake’s lines naturally came to mind; it was fun to find them together, ready to pose for their photo.
Exquisite, Linda. Both the photo and the words!
Thanks, Jeanie. Blake provided the words and nature provided the flowers; my part of the fun was combining them!
Lovely.
It takes intelligence and awareness to notice.
Perfect verse for a long weekend where there’s time.
Now, if only we could get a little break in this heat — there’d be a whole lot more noticing going on, but intelligence says, “Wait a bit longer…” Maybe tomorrow morning!
I’m a big fan of Blake’s poetry, more of it deserves to be well known.
You’re right about that. The ‘little Lamb’ and ‘Tyger’ are pretty well known, as are these lines, but there’s more to Blake than pretty (and easily memorized) verses. The complete text of “Auguries of Innocence” proves that.
Brilliant pairing!
It was a natural pairing, for certain. Grains of sand and wildflowers don’t always appear together, and often aren’t this attractive.
So pretty against the blue and breeze. I’d have guessed some kind of coreopsis.
It would be a natural assumption, and even more so if you’d found a patch of these with the maroon centers that sometimes appear. They’re a lovely flower.
Lovely pairing of text and photo, Linda. I can see the waves roll in and the buds atop the stems wave.
There’s nothing like a bay breeze to set everything moving — including summer-weary spirits!
Lovely lovely lovely! Mike & I have a trip planned to the coast next month. There probably won’t be flowers (but maybe?), but there will definitely be brown mice and crabs and maybe foxes & that will be fabulous.
As soon as it cools a bit, I’m eager to visit the beaches myself — once the holiday crowds are gone, of course. I always enjoy your photos from your trips; I hope the foxes make another appearance. Of course the crabs will be there, but I suspect there will be some surprises, too: maybe even flowers!
Beautiful
I’m glad you enjoyed the scene, Sarah.
I love the flowers against the background of the sea. They remind me of a small coreopsis I had years ago – and should probably try growing again.
It’s easy to confuse these with coreopsis; I always have to take a second (or third, or fourth) look to be certain which I’m seeing. One of the signs of greenthread is the tendency of the buds to droop; you can see that in the photo.
Ducklings here in the South are early this year. Two weeks ago there were 8 of them with mamma and pappa duck. Yesterday there were five ducklings!
Lovely photo of those sunny flowers with the sea as background
Ah, yes. Duckling: it’s what’s for dinner, at least for the gar fish, alligators, and gulls that enjoy reducing their population. It does make it easier for the mothers to keep track of their broods, and of course if every mallard survived, we’d be up to our hips in ducks. Nature knows what she’s doing.
I’m eager to get back to my favorite coastal areas. It’s been so hot I haven’t been inclined, but every now and then Masefield’s poem comes to mind: “I must go down to the seas again…”
A lovely combination of land, sea, and sky.
Land, Sea & Sky is the name of a business here that specializes in optical devices like binoculars and telescopes. They have a wonderful reputation, and price tags to match. I’ll stick with this sort of land, sea, and sky, and be happy.
I would say that is a fair call.
Linda, that is a fantastic photo of one of my favorite wildflowers. I have not seen one blooming since about July since the mowers came through.
Oh, those mowers! They certainly can wreak havoc. But, since they showed up in your neighborhood, I’m glad to have been able to show you one more view of these beauties for the season.
Wind, sand, salt air, green and yellow life thriving in harsh conditions.
The poet provides a word picture for the taste buds of our brain to savor.
The artist provides a technological image which transports us to the scene of the rhyme.
And we are grateful.
“The scene of the rhyme” is apropos, and so clever! I think Blake would have liked it, if we could have shaken him out of his gloomy view of the world long enough to appreciate it.
Words and images; art and science; nature and humanity. They’ll all good combinations, and they always shine when they’re combined with a little verve!
So pretty, Linda!
Thanks, Sheila. One of these days the weather’s going to improve, the tourist traffic will lessen, and I’ll get back to the shore to see what else has popped up. I hope your holiday was a good one. Tomorrow, we’re back to work!
Oh, just beautiful! Loved that combination.xxx
Blake’s words seem to fit so often, and they certainly did here. I was pleased to find this sea and shore combination, and some flowers still in season.