Flowers on the Lake

A couple of weekends ago, I went kayaking on Town Lake. This is one of the small pleasures that I find in Austin. It is easy to take part in outdoor activities since the weather is mainly mild and because Austin is filled with many active people. Months ago, I bought a voucher. Since it was about to expire in 5 days, I had to make use of it quickly.

During this ride, I ran into the usual things in the downtown area. There was a little shallow part that made ducks look like they were walking on water.  Turtles were popping their heads up through the water as well as sunning themselves on the rocks. There was the familiar musky odor and distinctive screechy noise coming out from the Congress Bridge where thousands of bats live! 

Then, as I glided through the water, I noticed that right under the surface, there were tiny white flowers blooming. I looked harder and saw that these flowers were growing everywhere and in some parts, they also broke through to the surface! It was pretty magical seeing this impromptu garden of delicate flowers right in the middle of the lake.

pretty flower growing in the lake!

When I got home, I googled it (of course!) and discovered that they are called fanwort.  They look like the picture above. Isn't that adorable?

The Austin Statesman even had an article written about them earlier this month: http://www.statesman.com/news/local/beneficial-plant-takes-hold-in-lady-bird-lake-2426364.html.

It seems that the appearance of these plants is pretty unique! So, considering the high probability that I would not make it out to the lake again for a while, I'm glad I got the chance to enjoy these flowers before they disappear.