Monday, April 21, 2008

Yesterday was a lot of fun. I went up to Antelope Valley to view the poppies with my mom, Kayla, and Kristopher. Mom drove her car and we arrived around lunch time to find that it was too cold for the poppies, as they were all closed. It also wasn't a very good year. We've been there when all the hills were solid orange and this time there were just patches of duller orange. I'm sure it would have been more spectacular if the poppies were open. We didn't stay long, as the cold wind drove us back into the car. We opted instead to drive back to Ventura by way of Gorman and Ojai. On the way we took a side-trip to Mt Pinos and found some snow to play in. None of us were really prepared for the snow, but it didn't seem any colder than at the poppies. Gerry spent the day driving down to Salton City and spending the day jeeping with his son, Joshua. Josh drove up from Yuma where he is on temporary duty with the Marines. Gerry took my jeep and tested out the new transfer case. He said it did great once he figured out the shifting.

Honey had fun running through the fields, chasing little critters.

There were many beautiful flowers along the sides of the road.

The flowers were very vibrant and a pleasure to seek out.

From my experience, lupine now grows all over the country, including Alaska. I remember being amazed when I saw it lining the roads in Maine. I can't remember a state that doesn't have lupine growing.

The contrast between the yellows and purples was particularly photo-worthy.

The seal pup was back on the beach this morning and cast a glance my way as I meandered by with my big zoom lens.