Images: California Poppies in Vienna in August and in the California Poppy Reserve in April 2005
Images: California Poppies in Vienna in August and in the California Poppy Reserve in April 2005
Paper or plastic? Bag from South Africa. My friend recently came back from a trip to South Africa and brought me a reusable grocery bag. It is from Woolworths, one of the largest retail chains in South Africa; it is made by a community project and serves as a symbol of the company's commitment to sustainability and social development. I will think of this whenever I use my new bag. Thank you, dear friend! The Woolworths bag is not my first reusable bag. I carry two baggies which fold up into packs smaller than a deck of cards in my purse and a bunch of bigger ones in the trunk of my car. To me this feels like an easy way of making a difference environmentally. Others seem to have a harder time. When the county of Los Angeles recently introduced a ban on plastic bags for its unincorporated areas the new ordinance was met with resistance. Shops bemoan that paper is more expensive than plastic. They charge customers ten cents for every paper bag. Shoppers complain about ...
Comments
The Poppy Reserve is beautiful. I love the desert - its introverted personality. Quiet most of the time, then sudden bursts of color. But, we have to pay attention, or we'll miss it!
debi
Before moving to Ireland and then Salzburg, I spent most of my life in California. I love the California poppy, the broad expanses of gold, brilliant in spring sunlight. That would be something I miss, though the compensations here make up for it.
I remember the kind of superstitious belief we had as children that you couldn't pick them because of their protected status. (No unlike, I suppose, fearing to cut the tags off mattresses.)
In our back garden in Southern California, I used to treasure the spring poppies, even though they looked desolate and barren once the blooms had faded. The year we moved to Ireland, someone sent me a packet of California poppy seeds, but I never planted them, believing that the climate was not hot or dry enough. Perhaps I should have had more faith. Imagine finding them growing in Vienna!
Thanks for the memories!
Lorraine
Our neighbor in L.A. grows patches of California poppies in her front yard. They shine between lavender bushes, a perfect color combination - and a drought tolerant mixture too.
It's pointless to pick the poppies or put them into water. Like the meadow flowers of the Alps, they're better enjoyed in nature.