Oakland Lake Park's Mutant Texas Lulu Bird & Wildflowers

We're having another warm pre-spring day in Texas. Even though spring hasn't sprung yet Spring Break has, with Alma, the Songbird of the Texas Gulf Coast reporting her home port of Port Aransas is currently flooded with inebriated college kids.

Meanwhile, I went on a sober walk at Oakland Lake Park around noon. Previously I've mentioned seeing an odd mutant bird in this location that appears to be the result of an unnatural mating between a turkey and a duck, resulting in one very homely, chubby bird that seems to be shunned by the other birds. I've decided it is a Texas Lulu Bird.

I'd not seen the Lulu Bird for a long time. I figured it'd either died of loneliness or had been run off by the other ducks. But, today I saw the Lulu Bird again. It is still alone. While the ducks frolicked on the water, the Lulu Bird sat on the ground in the hollowed out part of the tree you see in the picture above.

The Lulu Bird did not move as I got closer and closer taking its picture. Maybe it was sitting on eggs. But what bird would have mated with the Lulu Bird?

I've yet to see an appearance this year of the Sacred State Flower of Texas, that being the bluebonnet. I must be remembering wrong, I thought they popped out by now, previous years.

Today at Oakland Lake Park I did see a couple new wildflowers had popped out. One was round, fuzzy and white. The other was a 5 petaled purple thing.

I don't recollect ever seeing so many people at Oakland Lake Park as I did today. It wasn't just kids out of school due to that Spring Break thing, it was a large number of walking grown-ups, others playing tennis, others soccer. And a lot of picnickers. I tell you, when the conditions are absolutely perfect Texans will enjoy their outdoors. There seems to be about a 15 degree window when this occurs.

I've learned that if you persist you can enjoy Texas outdoors all year long. You can even swim all year, which I did this morning for a half hour.