Craving and saving a little of summer: The poppy

Yes, the poppy. You didn’t think that last post was going to stand all alone did you. Don’t you know me by now?

It’s Labor Day and, unofficially, the end of summer. And by turning the calendar from August to September we welcome fall and say goodbye to summer. Has it only been a few months since I first posted the onslaught of summer heat? It feels like only a few days have passed. Or perhaps I am just mixing that up with my fleeting youth. I get the two confused so often. Both make me hot and cranky.

Yep, fleeting, that is summer. And that is the poppy, the summer’s most precious bloom. Opening its petals for only a few days at the height of summer. The sun setting off its own fireworks in the fields below bursting forth with bright colors. By the time we notice, it’s over. The season begins to wind down, and we realize what we are going to miss for the next several months. Sure, the colors will reappear when the leaves start to change, but they are never as bright or as vibrant as summer’s swatch of orange, yellow and red.

But before we begin watching the leaves turn and fall, let’s extend the summer a little longer and revel in the flower’s colorful pops of inspiration. And yes, you guessed it. From its vibrant petals to its tasty seed, join me in my latest obsession, the poppy.