ENNIS, Texas — North Texas' April 8 total solar eclipse is approaching fast -- meaning visitors from around the nation and the world will be here before you know it.
At the same time, bluebonnets across the metroplex will be peaking, and some visitors might be unfamiliar with good old-fashioned Texas bluebonnet etiquette.
Protecting our state flower so it and more can return the following spring is a no-brainer for any Texan (hopefully). However, the ladies of the Ennis Garden Club are working to ensure that visitors unfamiliar with that mission understand it, too. In Ennis, the annual Bluebonnet Trails will occur before and after the big day.
With 4 minutes and 23 seconds of totality, seeing fields of our state flower will be the second best thing tourists can do aside from staring into the sun. Becky McCarty, a garden club member and Ennis' Tourism and Downtown Development Director, said the city can expect anywhere from 50,000 to 200,000 people.
However, Ellis County Judge Todd Little said all of his county is likelier to see about 200,000 people.
"People are always blown away at how beautiful they are," McCarty said. "We never hear any complaints!"
The town typically sees people from all over for the Bluebonnets trails. So, setting a few ground rules isn't new to Nancy Thomas, another garden club member, who asks visitors not to pick or trample the bluebonnets.
"If you can, step around them, and if you're going to lay out a blanket--put it in an open area away from the bluebonnets," Thomas said. "We want people to protect their eyes and the bluebonnets, so look up and down, too!"
Thomas mentioned that a bluebonnet's seed pods have to endure the coming weeks and that if anyone tramples them, there's a chance fewer will return next year.
"By June, their seed pods will get around two inches long, brown, and open up. Then, their seeds will fall into the ground and germinate in the fall. That doesn't happen if the stems break or get trampled," Thomas said.
It's an easy ask -- and no, there are no laws against picking bluebonnets or trampling them as some may think. So, getting this message across is essential.
Ennis would love to share their bluebonnets with everyone coming for the eclipse -- and for years to come.
"They do have a spirit," said Ennis Garden Club President Annie Wartsbaugh. "They're a beautiful portrait, and we can't wait to share them."
The Bluebonnet Trails have been around since 1951.