On the 10th of May I posted something about an unusual variety of very common flowers in these parts: Yellow Poppy. I said “poppy” because there was exactly one at that time. The poppies here, of course, are golden poppies. California is the Golden State. The yellow one was near the back entrance of the library. What I never showed was how it grew into a mass of yellow poppies that were clearly visible a block away.

Last month, on the 23rd and 24th, I posted Before… and After about a strip of poppies growing in a six inch space between the sidewalk and a fence. The two posts showed them new and then almost gone. Poppies grow with determination and then die. But they return year after year with equal vengeance, and have done so, I imagine, almost forever.

Today’s picture shows what’s left of the yellow poppies. It shows how wildly they grew and how completely they died, except for the spate of seed pods strewn at their wouldbe feet. The pods are full of life. After the first rains next fall we should expect many more yellow poppies.