As we strolled along the Poppy Hills Golf Course, the sight of vivid yellows by the parking lot captivated me. I’m referring to the beautiful Poppy flowers neatly arranged along the sidewalk with green bushes and other beauties of which complemented it.

Some facts I wanted to share: Poppy is California’s state flower. It was selected as the state flower by the California State Floral Society in December 1890, winning out over the Mariposa lily and the Matilija poppy by a landslide, but the state legislature did not make the selection official until 1903. Its golden blooms were deemed a fitting symbol for the Golden State. April 6 is designated California Poppy Day (see wiki). Wearing of poppies was once a custom in the United States as well, and attempts have been made to revive the tradition in the US in connection with Memorial Day (end of May).

No wonder this flower was chosen for the Golden State. Although it comes in different colors, its golden color fit the State’s title. We were at the golf course around mid afternoon and you can imagine how bright it was at the time of the day but glad that it was a breezy afternoon. If I was not wearing shades, the vibrant reflection that almost like the sun rays, would have hurt my eyes. Ok, it was an exaggeration but at least you get my point on the simile.

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Beautiful flowers of May

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Categories: I thought of it

Tagged: California, Flower, In Flanders Field, Memorial Day, Poppy, Poppy Hills Golf Course, poppy seeds, United States

Finally, a Break from Monotony…Memorial Day holiday

HappyMappy

Posted on May 29, 2012

Holidays make our sanity intact. Legally speaking, this is the time when we get to spend some quality time with the most important people in our life without having to worry about skipping from work. On the other hand, no one can take away that choice anyway, but it’s always nice to have an extra paid time off. In between stress and hustle-bustle of life, we sometimes cannot recognize which one has taken control of ourselves, thank God for holidays and we are able to stop and put on the brakes of this rapid accelerator of life. Whatever it is that drives us nuts, it depends on the kind of world we live in.

Living in the fullness of life is what makes our life worth living. It is not about the hardship; this is what gives us endurance. It is not about poverty; poverty makes us human. It is not all about money; money is just a tool for making things easier. It’s not about just getting rich; nobody cares about those who are in the millionaire’s list. It’s not all about our job titles; our job is to make a difference in the lives of others. These thoughts will occur if we have a time to reflect and contemplate. Turning off the “noise button” of life will help us understand why things are just the way it is. I guess my point is that we allow things to happen because these are part of the elements of life. However, the proverbial saying (which my mom used to tell me) will always echo in our hearts and minds…”Life is what you make it”.

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Let’s begin the tour at the 17-mile drive. First, we paid an entrance fee of about $9.75 (I guess that’s per car). We were not really sure what to expect. So we paid a fee therefore, it gave me a hunch that it is worth driving the area otherwise, why charge? So a welcome sign greeted us at the gate and the friendly staff gave us a brochure/map of the area.