In this wider view of the dried Flag Pond basin, the landscape reveals a different growth pattern of the cursed buttercup (Ranunculus sceleratus). Rather than forming a low, continuous carpet, the plants here have grown into distinct, robust clumps separated by wide veins of pale, heavily caked mud. The deep fissures running through the sun-baked earth create a striking geometric web, framing the bright green bushes of buttercup. In the background, a band of dry brown reeds marks the pond's original edge, giving way to a dense tree line under the same overcast, gray sky. Near Nails Creek Unit of Somerville Lake State Park. Texas, March 14, 2026