Poppies

Yup. Moses clickbait! I do hope you like this poppy post, though. 

The 'birth' of a poppy is a wondrous event. All those crinkly petals squished inside a fuzzy cap slowly breaking out into a fluttery form. I wish I had red poppies, I will have pink ones-I'd thought they were white and gave one plant to a friend. Alas, they are pale pink. They will still be very pretty~ At any rate, these orange blossoms are a blaze of beauty everywhere you look. The first start of this bunch came from a friend a town away. I'm forever thankful! In the middle of these lovelies, I'll share a popular poppy poem for Memorial Day. May we never forget the ones who have fallen through the years. SSG J. Vrooman,  1 Lt J Riggs, SP4 D Barnett, and so many more. Thank  you to those families who gave so others might know freedom. 

In Flanders Fields-by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

    That mark our place; and in the sky

    The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

    The torch; be yours to hold it high.

    If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

        In Flanders fields.

Mother's Day and a few days later

Dorothy came down for a lunch of hamburgers and fixings. Steve did the burgers, I did the fixings. Except for dessert, Steve bought a chocolate cream pie. 

We missed having Tony with us. Remembering he was with us for 2016 Mom's Day is a beautiful memory to cherish. 

 "Families are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and the future." G.Buckley

 Jon brought down Granite, the chinchilla rabbit. Moses was very intrigued by the larger than he is mammal in a box. Rabbits are not a rodent, in spite of the teeth and ability to procreate quickly.

 Jon added strawberries to his chocolate pie.

 Most of these photos were taken with the cute little point and shoot Jon picked out for me. I took a lot of pictures to practice. This is one of the plants Steve picked out for me. He thought it was a bleeding heart, I was glad it was a fuchsia. This is one of my very favorite kinds. I hope I can keep it alive over the winter here in EO. He also got me the hanging pot in the above photo of Jon, Dot, Steve, and Granite.

 Young finch through the cleaned window and screen in one of the kitchen windows.

 Allium

 Kerria Japonica, these last 3 were taken with the older canon.

 The storm clouds on Monday were beautiful, so was the sunset on the other side of the town.

 The locust trees are finally getting leaves!!!

 Last year, at this time, I was in AK. Thankfully, the virus hasn't disrupted much in our immediate family, just travel to the north. Until then, may you find ways to shine for those around you. Below are marbles I'm wire wrapping. Tony did this for jewelry, mine are more for durability in all kinds of weather. I have more than two dozen more to add!! If you are in town and walk past, see if you can find them.

May Day memories, flowers, and a storm!

Technically, this is May Day and the Saturday after. I took the flower photos, Jon took the storm ones. He's out and about this Sunday with his camera, so I reckon he'll have more photos when he returns. I am also confused as to why some of my pictures are 'not there'. Completely frustrating!! Blogger says the issue has been resolved, we will see! 

I also took the one of Mom and Obi in July 17. I am searching for pictures of the pup to make an Obi Wan Kenobi Weenie post, but the things remain elusive. Obi loved to help mom in the yard. Probably  because he would bark at the water and then she'd spray him. He passed over the rainbow bridge this last week to join Mum on the other side where he'll forever have things to bark at,  never ending shared snacks, and walks. 

 Bright Forget-me-notes and graceful California poppies add brightness to the yard.

The lilacs are budding out, although only the white ones are blooming right now. 

The Mother's Day Peony (Fern Peony) is not as pretty as I'd hoped. The ends of the petals on most of the flower heads are blackened!!! Maybe it was water that didn't dry off properly. 

 On Saturday, the day started out lovely and deteriorated fast!!! There was a forecast for thunderstorms, the gorgeous cloud formations were a bonus to the thunder and barely visible lightening. The rain was intense as was the wind. Before the rain, Jon captured a dust storm that seemed to rival some Tony showed us from Iraq! We wondered if it actually hit Weston, like it appeared to.

Storm clouds with rain.

Dirt being blown up into a wall of dust.

Thankfully, the guys are pretty busy with work and projects. There is beauty and fortune on every hand!