Since we’re hanging out in the hill country, let’s head down to Fredricksburg.
Fredericksburg is a city in and the seat of Gillespie County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 Census, this city had a population of 10,530.
Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 and named after Prince Frederick of Prussia. Old-time German residents often referred to Fredericksburg as Fritztown, a nickname that is still used in some businesses. It is located 70 miles northwest of San Antonio, and approximately 80 miles west of Austin. This city is also notable as the home of Texas German, a dialect spoken by the first generations of German settlers who initially refused to learn English. Fredericksburg shares many cultural characteristics with New Braunfels, which had been established by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels the previous year. Fredericksburg is the birthplace of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. It is the sister city of Montabaur, Germany.
There’s even a 12 second video on Yelp of the slicing of the egg. Put it on repeat!
Wildseed Farm
Just east of Fredricksburg is a farm that grows wildflowers. Wildseed Farm also has a visitor center and cafe.
Wildseed Farms is a wildflower farm near Fredericksburg, Texas, United States. It is the largest working wildflower farm in the country.
The farm opened in 1983 in Eagle Lake as a seed producer and initially only allowed the public to visit in April of every year. These visit days proved to be extremely popular, so much so that the owners, John and Marilyn Thomas, decided to relocate to a more accessible location. In 1995, they purchased the plot on Texas State Highway 290. Development for a retail facility and visitor center was completed in 1997. Because the farm is located near Fredericksburg, a town that has a 19th-century feel to it, the main buildings of the farm were also constructed to match the decor of the town.
Wildseed Farms does about $4 million in sales each year, with approximately $1.5 million coming from the retail facility, which can see roughly 100,000 visitors between March and May of each year. Besides plant sales, the farm also has a butterfly area and hosts live concerts and other attractions.
1 April 2014 saw the online publishing of an article about the putative discovery of new species of snake known as the Texas Bonnet Rattlesnake, a serpent that had supposedly evolved to sport a blue coloration which allowed it to blend in unnoticed amidst fields of the ubiquitous Texas state flower, the bluebonnet:
On Saturday morning, the Texas Identification and Taxonomy Association tweeted that several members were en route to Bend, Texas after local game wardens were unable to identify an “unusual organism.” On Monday morning, TITA confirmed that the animal was “a previously unknown species of snake” and released several images and a description of the animal: Crotalus Lupinus (Texas Bonnet Rattlesnake).
Dr. William Nye, founder of TITA and Professor of Biological Sciences at The University of Texas, released this statement after visiting Bend, Texas to inspect the snake over the weekend:
“This weekend, we had the opportunity to observe a previously unknown specimen in Bend, Texas. The Governing Committee at TITA has designated the snake’s scientific name as ‘Crotalus Lupinus,’ and the discoverer, Robert McCrae, has assigned the common name of ‘Texas Bonnet Rattlesnake.’ While a lot of research is still needed, this find reestablishes everything we teach about natural selection and adaptation. The snake has obvious similarities to the Lupinis Texensis, or Bluebonnet. It is safe to say, with certainty, that this rattlesnake has reached an evolutionary point where it is interacting with our Texas State Flower. This is the first Texas Bonnet Rattlesnake that we have documented but maybe that’s the whole point … this species has evolved so they will NOT be seen. Evolution is Nature’s smartest tool and I remain hopeful that future data reveals a thriving new species.”
