I love small towns. It is so nice to share little garden successes. I have been anxiously waiting for these poppies to bloom in the mailbox garden. Rich created this little garden around the mailbox just for me. I was starving for my poppies. My eyes lighted up when I saw the poppy seedlings at the Ojai Farmers Market. They are nestled against a series of large rocks. Rocks from our many travels. We were off in the truck this morning. I sat down in the passenger seat and looked up to see the poppies had pushed open the pod. I was so excited that I yelled to Rich "The poppies bloomed!" Of course he didn't quite hear me and he was wondering why I was running to the mailbox.
The leaves look like delicate, intricate crepe paper. If you peer inside the bloom you can see a series of stamens lined up in an orderly row. I made two sketches of the poppies standing out in the street in front of the mailbox. Chuck, the mailman came by and I had to quickly move out of the way. Chuck admired my poppies and then snapped a picture of them for his wife. Mr. Bonner teased me just last week that someone may just come over and pick my poppies. I looked at him in disbelief! I could not imagine that anyone would pick my poppies but me! They give me such joy. I am glad my poppies and I are reunited in Oak View. I cannot wait to grow more.
