My entry for this week’s Weekly WordPress Photo Challenge theme, Forces of Nature…
I took this photograph after learning about “scale” in an earlier challenge. I think including the silhouette of the beach visitors adds to convey the vastness (and force) of the ocean, even in a small photograph. What do you think?
The WordPress Photo Challenge is truly a good way to improve photography skills, especially for an amateur and forever newbie like me, and to help with composition ideas.
I also started taking wave shots recently, and include these for the theme…
And a few weeks ago, while at a walk, I was struck by the persistence of this California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) to flower, even in a spot that looks unfavorable for growth.
The poppy is the official state flower of California. It is seen on scenic route signs and “welcome” signs along California highways.
Because this poppy is a state flower, it is illegal to collect it in the wild. But, as you can imagine, if it can grow here along and in between the gravel filled railroad tracks, it is also easy to grow in gardens as it is drought-tolerant and self seeds.
When we lived in the East Bay, my daughter put out some seeds at the front of our home, and every year after that, California poppies showed up without fail during springtime.
More on the California Golden Poppy on Local Wiki, where they note “California Native Americans cherished the poppy as both a source of food and oil extracts”. and on an Arizona State University webpage which includes information about these poppy plants and its traditional use “as a remedy for toothaches…and as tea for headaches”.
There is also an article on The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano about how to make a poppy tincture. Who knew!
California poppies, springtime blooms in front of Colton Hall, Monterey, California
California poppies — if you are not familiar with these flowers — are really bright and pretty, and so lovely to see blooming en masse wild in a field or valley.
One year, my older sister, my daughter, and I drove out to Point Reyes (North Bay) for a visit during spring to see the wild poppy blooms.
If you like seeing wildflowers, Point Reyes is a must visit during springtime, as there are over 800 species that grow there. More about Point Reyes, part of the National Park Service here.and see this poster to get a sampling of the wildflowers you can see at the Point Reyes National Seashore.
When my younger sister (who now lives on the East Coast of the U.S., but lived in California for years) saw the orange poppies for my post on The Changing Season photo challenge, it made her miss the area.
I wonder if California poppies evoke similar feelings for others…and does a little flower count as a force of nature?