Almost every summer during my childhood our family traveled down to Southern California to visit my maternal grandparents and cousins. I have so many fond memories of those summers. But I have one memory in particular. The Poppy is the state flower of California and it is illegal to pick them. They grew wild all along the side of the roads and highways. One year in my early youth there was an explosion of these orange poppies. So my grampa took us to a field to admire them. We were allowed to walk into this field but could not pick them. There were thousands of these poppies that just sprang up everywhere. And you can see in the old pictures that it was a very windy day. I can imagine that a year earlier the Santa Ana winds had blown all the poppy seeds far and wide and that was why they grew so profusely the next year. Then again, the Santa Ana winds are ALWAYS blowing down in Southern California.
I've always remembered that day as one of the last days I spent with my grampa before he suddenly passed away . I really loved that man. He was big and strong and good humored and absolutely ADORED all his granddaughters. He would always say, "don't chew and smack your gum, it makes you look like a cow". He would know, he grew up on a farm. LOL! But as I grew up and started to raise a family of my own I have tried keep close to my heart some of the wonderful memories I have of this great man. So I planted a humble field of orange poppies. I love to look out my window and admire their beauty and remember a wonderful man who greatly influence my life.
Almost every summer during my childhood our family traveled down to Southern California to visit my maternal grandparents and cousins. I have so many fond memories of those summers. But I have one memory in particular. The Poppy is the state flower of California and it is illegal to pick them. They grew wild all along the side of the roads and highways. One year in my early youth there was an explosion of these orange poppies. So my grampa took us to a field to admire them. We were allowed to walk into this field but could not pick them. There were thousands of these poppies that just sprang up everywhere. And you can see in the old pictures that it was a very windy day. I can imagine that a year earlier the Santa Ana winds had blown all the poppy seeds far and wide and that was why they grew so profusely the next year. Then again, the Santa Ana winds are ALWAYS blowing down in Southern California.
I've always remembered that day as one of the last days I spent with my grampa before he suddenly passed away . I really loved that man. He was big and strong and good humored and absolutely ADORED all his granddaughters. He would always say, "don't chew and smack your gum, it makes you look like a cow". He would know, he grew up on a farm. LOL! But as I grew up and started to raise a family of my own I have tried keep close to my heart some of the wonderful memories I have of this great man. So I planted a humble field of orange poppies. I love to look out my window and admire their beauty and remember a wonderful man who greatly influence my life.
1 comment:
Man Shaney looks a lot like you. I had to read the story to realize it wasn't Shaney. Nice flowers!
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