I went hiking for some poppies,
Looking for the perfect shot.
I trekked and trekked and trekked some more,
And this is what I got.
The marigolds were perky.
The lupines were sublime.
But as for scrumptious poppy shots
It was a waste of time.
Was I looking far too early?
Did I get there much too late?
On my calendar from last year,
Should I go again tomorrow?
Was it the wrong time of day?
They bloom in March and April
Did javelinas eat them?
Did coyotes dig them out?
Did tarantulas eat all the seeds?
All of them? Surely not.
A few poppies danced in the wind
And gave some kicks and flicks
But disappointment brought me home
To look at last year’s pics.
Yellow is one of my fave color…but have not seen blooming poppies while I lived in CA. I just turned mellow with all the yellow!
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When you EVER get back this way, take Rt. 58 (Bakersfield to Morro Bay) at poppy time. It would be a bit torturous for Betsy but the hillsides are covered in poppies! 🙂
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How disappointing! I adore the poppies this time of year in AZ. Did you check out by the Desert Botanical Gardens?
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We were there not long ago for the Chihuly glass exhibit and the wildflower garden wasn’t up to much. Good suggestion but afraid I don’t want to go back and pay $20 (or $40 for two of us) to find they haven’t got them either! Last year’s pictures will have to do. There have been a few comments on the poor poppy show this year, perhaps as a result of the winter drought.
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Actually I seem to remember the desert on the road running past the Desert Botanical Gardens was always full of poppies, to include the median in the road. Perhaps this year not so much given the lack of rain.
I am with you about paying $40 to go into the garden for pictures of poppies. It would have to be pretty special for us to shell out $40.
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Oh yes! Much prefer the freebies on the side of the road.
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😀
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And you’re a poet, too? How delightful! I’m wondering where in Arizona you’ve found such lush fields of California poppies. Never knowing exactly when or how abundant the blooms will be each year keeps it interesting. 😉
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The California poppies seem to be in isolated pockets in AZ and rain or weather dependent as well. These photos were taken northeast of Phoenix just off Highway 87 – the crummy ones this year 😦 and the good ones last year! 🙂
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Gorgeous yellow poppies! Love your poem 🙂
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Thank you and thanks for stopping by!
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Fun poem to go with the mystery of the missing poppies. What gorgeous shots from last year – I can see why you’re disappointed!
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But then as himself said to me, “You need more pictures of flowers?”
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How delightful 🙂 Clever and fun poem, and the photos are lovely.
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Thank you Ann! 😀
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I had some volunteer Cali poppies take over a stretch along my driveway last year. They bloomed like crazy through the summer, then went scraggly. Sadly there’s only a few sprouts of them showing so far. It looks like the weeds may be crowding them out. 😥
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Not a good year for poppies then.
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Perhaps it was the drought. We set some records this past year for dry. I do have a few poppies that have sprouted, but nothing like last year. No flowers yet, but you have to remember I’m pretty far north.
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Did you know that there’s actually a hybrid Cali poppy that’s red (BEAUTIFUL!), I planted some one year and they were simply gorgeous, but not as hardy as the natives and didn’t reseed at all.
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I wonder if the native red poppies of Europe would grow in your area. I will be posting some pics tomorrow.
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Judging by the weather I’ve seen from Cornwall, it’s very similar to ours, so that’s certainly worth pursuing. I’ll have to look around for a source. I bet they’d be stunning, too. I wonder if they’d be as hardy and self-seeding as the native Cali version.
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Very hardy and very self-seeding!!!
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Lovely poem, but sorry you didn’t find your poppies. The California poppies are so colourful, but we won’t see any here for a couple of months and obviously not in the wild. Poppies found in Europe are oriental poppies that come in all sorts of colours. but usually have a blotch in the centre and the corn poppy or field poppy (Papaver rhoeas) a native flower which is the red one we use for Remembrance Day.That is the one we see in fields here, and yes it is red 🙂 And then there are the cultivated varieties of course…
Jude xx
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Thanks for the backup. I know they’re red. I’ve seen fields and fields of them in the UK and France. I’ve grown them in my UK garden as well – all colours! You’ve reminded me. I’ve got photos from France. I’ll go and have a look now!
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If you find them then please share!! The one flower thing I really want to photograph is a field of red poppies, but I never see one unless I am driving and there is no where to stop!! Most annoying.
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I’m way ahead of you. I’ve already selected the photos and written a little ditty to go with them. The poppies were in a field beside a road and I had to walk some way away from the car and clamber through a ditch to get to them. Unfortunately for you and your camera, they are in southern France! Will post tomorrow.
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I know there is a field not too far from me, I must try and find out exactly where and keep my eye on it!
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I’ll watch for your photos!
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Don’t hold your breath!
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Love your little creative poem….this is one of my faves. I drove out to Wickenburg and nothing. I think the poor showing of blooms is due to the low moisture received this past winter 😦 You’ll need to focus on the Saguaros which are getting close!
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They’re in bud!
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Ah, late bloomers this year!
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Well perhaps it’s just that the poppies are late as well. I took those colorful pics last year on 31st March and 1st April.
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Where are the poppies of 2014? Great photos!!
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Maybe they’ve come and gone. Maybe they haven’t come yet. Maybe those pesky tarantulas ate all the seeds!
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You could have found them in my front yard. Every year, our golden California poppies appear from last year’s seeds. I don’t know if you are aware that it is against the law to pick them in California. We just let ours seed, grow, mature, die, and re-seed. No one else in our neighborhood grows them, so they are kind of a novelty in our area.
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Your front yard must look fantastic! I only shot my poppies with a camera. No picking!
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Great poem & shots. Sorry to hear about this year’s missing poppies.
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Thank you. I may have got the timing wrong. But I’ve always got last year’s photos!
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I had no idea poppies came in yellow. How delightful! [this from the girl who only realized poppies are more orange than red, like, 3 years ago. DOH!]
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This may be too much information but California poppies are Eschscholzia californica where the red poppies which you may be familiar with are Papaver something-or-other. So I guess they are not really poppies – just look like them! Your horticulture lesson for the day. Your welcome. 🙂
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The ones I saw in fields in various parts of Europe have all been a bright orange. Haven’t seen a single red one “in the wild” ever. 🙂
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Now look what you’ve made me do! I’ve googled poppy images and they look red to me. Red? Orange? Maybe I’m color blind. The poppies worn on Remembrance Day in the UK are regarded as red. But they can be orange if you like! 😀
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The ones we wear here for Remembrance Day are also red. But the ones I’ve seen growing are orange. Bizarre.
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😕
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the mystery of the poppy.
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Definitely something different this year. I am going with tarantulas as the culprit!
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That’s a little creepy! Can you imagine that whole field crawling with tarantulas? Still. It’s my fault. I put the idea in your head!
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I think they are pretty harmless unless you stomp on them but yes a whole field is a bit much.
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I’m kind of sorry I mentioned them in the first place. I have that image stuck in my head now.
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Beautiful! Was this California or Arizona?
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California poppies but in Arizona. I’d like to call them Arizona poppies! 🙂
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