we had been in northern california only a couple of hours when i saw this gorgeous yellow flower on the UC Berkeley campus and had to take a photo. i held up my opened journal as a white background, and snapped a few quick shots. by the time we were installed in carmel for a few nights, i had seen these flowers blooming everywhere. as ubiquitous as dandelions in june. my daughter finally asked, “what are these, they’re everywhere?”. i answered casually “they look like poppies and must be the state flower”. one of those throw away mom answers, that really means, i have no idea. well, i’ll be damned, i was right.
california poppy
university of california, berkeley, ca
Here is what my daughter says is going on my head stone “mothers are always right”
In the poppy fields outside of Palmdale (north of LA) every year, if the weather cooperates, the hillsides are carpeted with orange poppies and blue lupine. The contrast between bold orange and electric blue can give one a headache, but you can’t stop looking!