Bob Crum

Upon awakening, I rolled out of bed and dashed to the computer for an Antelope Valley weather report: Temperature in the low 70s with a moderate breeze of 6-9mph. Great! Poppy bloom is short-lived so quickly dressed, grabbed my gear and headed north for another exciting photographic adventure.

Fake weather report! At my first stop, the weather was horrific! Not only very cold, but also very windy! What to do?

I've experienced this condition – cold and windy - before so I was prepared for gloom. I donned a winter coat, grabbed the camera and grudgingly began the short walk to the poppies. As expected, the poppies were closed tighter than a gnat's chuff! Nyctinasty! Nevertheless, I shot some photos of closed poppies for future purposes.

Nature devised a mechanism whereby plants, like poppies, protect themselves against unfavorable weather conditions by closing the flowers. The process is called nyctinasty (nĭk′tĭ-năs′tē). Wind and/or cold temperature trigger nyctinasty. Speculation suggests that cold temperatures cause the cells of the underside of a poppy to swell up more than those on the top causing the flower to close. When the temperature rises, the swelling subsides and the flower opens. Wind also triggers nyctinasty to protect the poppy's petals from blowing away.

I recall a bed of poppies on an east-facing hill about three miles up the road. Perhaps situated leeward and sheltered, I might get lucky. Though cold and windy, many sheltered and sun-warmed flowers were open and shouting TAKE MY PICTURE! So many glorious poppies without, ahem, a phonetographer in sight!

The little grove of Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) was about five miles down the road. I previously made a quick cursory trip around the area making only a few photos. This trip I spent more time in the grove. Aberrant, irregular growth patterns, and in full bloom, make the tree-like succulents interesting and very photogenic.

Moving on, I turned south on 170th Street West. A couple of miles down the road I was surprised to see thousands of poppies that weren't there previously. On the east side of 170th Street, up a dirt road, poppies filled a hillside. These too were on the southeast leeward side of a hill shielded from the wind and sun-warmed. With so many luscious photo ops, endorphins flooded my head making me giddy! Such are the joyous experiences of a wildflower photographer.

Later, I moseyed down Lancaster road, past the busy Poppy Reserve on to Munz Ranch Road. Within a few miles another southeast-facing hill full of sheltered poppies. A delightful ending to a fulfilling day of photoing poppies. Perseverance rules. Also delighted to be legally allowed to have so much fun!

One fantabulous adventure deserves another. So, last Saturday, the last day of Mermazing Mermaid Month, I went to Ventura Harbor Village. There I met Kristen, a beautiful mermaid with a lovely tail. In between Kristen meeting & greeting a line of children eager to meet a real mermaid, we made plans to meet afterward, in a kayak-for-two, under the Ventura Pier. We enjoyed shrimp scampi, champagne & great conversation. When time for her to return to her watery home, I asked for her, ahem, phone number. HA! The laughter was rollicking and hearty. Cell phones don't work underwater! However, she told me that she resides in Section 9 of Kelp Village in Seaweed County and whispered the GPS coordinates!

Photo of the week is another image of gorgeous poppies with a backdrop of fiddlenecks.

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