Point Lobos Poppies - Copy - Copy — California poppies at Point Lobos

California’s state flower, the golden poppy, dots the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Point Lobos. I focused on an expanse of poppies until I saw surf kick up on an ocean boulder. The white splash added spark to the photo.

The close up is from my backyard poppy. I sowed poppy seeds decades ago when my son was born–each year after a poppy has bloomed in my backyard on or near his birthday in February. I’ve moved several times, but always in Northern California. Regardless, the state flower has come through every time. This one from 2016 opened exactly on his birthday.