Eschscholzia californica – Or, as residents of the Golden State call it, the California Golden Poppy. It’s our state flower.

It’s golden petals close at night, and open each day. It grows wild here in Northern California. This one, the star of this post, was growing along the Bay Area Ridge Trail in the Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve. What I like about our California Golden Poppy is that it is an annual that always comes back each spring. No matter how tough the winter, how strong the wind and rain, how the intense the rays of the sun, the California Golden Poppy always opens up each day. I took a lot of pictures of Golden Poppies on this hike. I was looking to get the “Sunset” magazine cover shot of our state flower. But, I chose this picture because this Golden Poppy is not perfect…you can see faint streaks of discoloration and the pedals are slightly worn. But, it’s an authentic part of the real, natural beauty to be found all around us. You just have to open your eyes and look.

Links:
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/habcon/plant/poppy/
http://openspace.org/preserves/pr_russian_ridge.asp
http://www.ridgetrail.org/

http://www.sunset.com/ – I devour this magazine every month. Pick one up if you’ve never read one!

Where are you hiking this weekend?

If you’re looking for me, I’m over the hill.