What to Know
- The Lancaster-close space is famous for springtime wildflowers, including the beloved California poppies
- Colder weather has made for a later bloom in 2023
- Filaree and goldfields are blooming as winter begins its final week, and a few poppies, too (though not many just yet)
That first unexpected postcard from a sunnier season can arrive in our lives in so many blissful ways.
It can happen when we set our clocks forward by an hour, and the beauty of a bright evening can fill us with instant peace.
A not-so-cold breeze or the sight of a fruit tree beginning to flower?
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Those effervescent experiences are also uplifting, and definitely count as pretty postcards from warmer days soon to come.
And those warmer days may be on the wind, even as we expect more rain before spring starts. Here's one reason to believe: The team at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve posted a hope-filled message on March 16, one that shows that, despite several recent bouts of wintry gales, flowers are blooming.
The "first kiss of spring" has arrived, confirmed the Reserve staff.
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Sweeeet.
Are the oh-so-obsessed-over poppies at the centerstage of this particular update? They are not; rather, frilly filagree and lovely goldfields are getting the much-deserved attention.
Think of these early arrivers as the glorious guests that get this petal party going, and do so in a splendid and celebratory fashion.
True, just about everyone is awaiting the main guest of honor, the California poppy, and the Reserve confirmed that those blossoms are beginning to pop, too.
But they aren't in profusion, creating those famously "thick" orange blankets we've come to anticipate in April, so hold tight to your patience and keep your anticipatory outlook through the next storm, or storms, soon to come.
To check out the latest images from the Lancaster-close expanse, peruse the snapshots shared by the Reserve on March 16.
Eager to see how things will unfold, poppy-wise, in the days to come? Poppy Cam can help.
Observing the rules, like staying on trails and not picking wildflowers? So important. Find out more information here on how to be a considerate visitor to the Reserve and all places where wildflowers bloom.
