Poppy season in the Franklin Mountains of West Texas, Dada, March 2005
Oooh, it's coming up that time of year again when the poppies on the mountain bloom. One never knows exactly what kind of poppy year to expect. Last year was a bust. But 2005 was quite nice. It just depends on the right climatic conditions.The poppy seeds on the local mountains were dropped from an airplane many, many years ago. They were sewn by a man in the memory of his late wife. They seem to found the perfect environment, having flourished and spread over the years until some springs they explode in riotous color on the hillsides.
In the next day or two, I want to post here a blog showing the influence of man around the desert southwest where we live. I'll call it something like "Man's Brush Strokes" and it will contain images of all things manifested in the desert as a result of man's interventions -- some, like the poppies, incredibly beautiful, some not.
There is some urgency in that upcoming blog. That's because one of the more incredible manifestations begins to vanish this year just as the poppies begain to appear. Stay tuned.
5 comments:
wow -- sounds like it's worth waiting for...i know in my small portion of the desert..i can't wait for the poppies and wild flowers to appear...
and i think it will be a banner year!! we've had so much rain
beautiful pics -- btw!
Poppies are a beautiful tribute! I was very touched that man found something to honor his wife AND for future generations to enjoy.
I loved the annual springtime calif poppy explosion when any natural hillside would explode with color. Unfortunately, every year you would have to drive further & further out into the countryside to find any natural undeveloped hillside peopled with poppies. Also, I think poppies are the flower they sell in Europe as lapel pins on "rememberance day" ... in honor of the WWI war dead?
wait (screeching halt) ... these aren't those special Afghani poppies are they? (if so, expect the bombing to begin soon)
Your upcoming "Man's Brush Stokes" images sound very enticing. I can't wait to see! ~~ D.K.
I'm looking forward to it, Dada. Your photos never fail to impress.
az: Seems--if I remember correctly--that I was expecting a banner poppy year on the mountain. The rain had been decent, in fact, better than normal.
But I guess the other vegetation also benefitted. It too flourished. I'm not sure that it's thriving overgrew the poppies or not, but it turned out to be a disappointing year.
This year, with rainfall 3X normal since Jan. 1, I'm again hopeful. But Nature has a way of deciding things that don't always meet my expectations. We'll see.
reid and PT: I confess...the "Man's Brush Strokes" (still in the works) has become a labor of love, i.e., more love than labor. I've gotten sidetracked numerous times reading about some of the places I want to picture. Learning more of these places has been a real pleasure.
Instead of one blog, I think it will eventually be a couple of blogs encompassing the trip I'd hoped to recount. We'll see.
For the moment though, I'm having way too much fun with it.
Post a Comment