The California Poppy Reserve is located just west of Lancaster, CA. Each spring we anxiously await the bloom of the poppies. In some years, the bloom looks like a thick blanket of glowing orange, but in other years the poppies are very sparce. Even with a wet winter, the poppies aren't in bloom for very long in the high desert. They arrive in March and they are gone by May.
This photo was not taken at the Poppy Reserve but in a simple home garden. Photographing poppies is always a challenge because the petals close up in the late afternoon and don't open again until mid morning, missing the glow of sweet light at sunrise and sunset. They need the sunlight to open, but when the sun is overhead, harsh shadows are unavoidable. By late afternon, the wind has kicked up and they won't hold still !! The best time to photograph them is on a high overcast day with calm winds.
The philosophies of man have come and gone like the spring wildflower season. But God's word, the Bible, will endure forever.
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8
