Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

In Search of Red Poppies

Red Poppies
Photos and Text by Corey Amaro

French Husband and I rode over two hundred miles yesterday looking for a red poppy field. 

I was determined to find a sea of red, not just a clump of poppies. Usually a sea of red poppy field is within walking distance from our home, but not this year.

After a lovely day riding the motorcycle, drinking in the perfumed air, on a flawless day we headed home. Right outside of Aix en Provence, about thirty minutes from our town we came upon what we were looking for:

Field-of-poppies

One-red-poppy

red poppies

Red

Poppies-red

Poppy-field

Sea-of-red

Before going to bed I downloaded the photos, I found one I hadn't taken.
I hollered, "Somebody is in trouble!!"
Though all I heard was laughing, my fear tactics never work.

The-end

The End.

I do not claim this as my own.

Comments

74 responses to “In Search of Red Poppies”

  1. Juliette

    A sea of Love… red as the passion. I love it.

    Reply
  2. Di

    What fantastic views! We occasionally get a few clumps in a field but never anything like this – I love poppies – but even more so when they are mixed up with cornflower!
    I would say you should own that last photo – it’s not a bad butt!

    Reply
  3. Shelley Noble

    Hee Hee. Lovely shots, all.

    Reply
  4. Beverly

    I love reading how happy you are Corey!
    The poppy photos were gorgeous…Scenes from the Wizard of Oz are running in my head..

    Reply
  5. Kathleen

    Exquisite photos everyone one of them!!
    Love the red poppy fields how lucky to be surrounded by such beautiful scenery!

    Reply
  6. Cindy

    The fields are amazing this spring and turning a corner to see a sea of red makes one gasp. I love finding the poppies tucked in the stone walls just waiting to have their pictures taken.

    Reply
  7. Alexis

    Hahahahha!

    Reply
  8. Gina Johnson

    Scream! That is hilarious!!! Loved the ending and your cute tush!

    Reply
  9. Merisi

    *giggles*
    I see some fresh talent growing out there! 😉
    The fields are beautiful, there is something so ethereal and mysterious about the power of poppies. You captured the essence. You always do!
    I have to go search for some too as soon as time permits.

    Reply
  10. Julienne

    In Tasmania, they grow the opium poppy for morphine and every time we drove past the fields, looking very like this, I regretted I did not have my camera. Now I just have to look at these to remember so thank you!

    Reply
  11. Stacey

    Nice Butt! The poppies are also lovely..

    Reply
  12. Jackie

    Hilarious! Question, do the poppies grow wild? if not, why do they produce them?
    Jackie
    bliss farm antiques

    Reply
  13. Julie W.

    AMAZING sight!…the poppies, I mean…seriously AMAZING!
    Never turn your back on a man, Corey. They are always up to something…you don’t know whether to slug ’em or hug ’em. Oh, what the heck. He thought it was worth photographing–I’d say give him a hug.
    Glad you found them,
    Julie W.

    Reply
  14. Linderhof@classicnet.net

    Those French poppies remind me of the poem, “In Flanders Field” — and to me, red poppies remind me of our fallen heroes in WW I and the red poppies that our VFW sells around this time of the year.

    Reply
  15. Annie

    Very nice! And so are the poppies.

    Reply
  16. Lia deKoster

    I am cheeky…
    but not as much as some
    all
    that
    sings
    in mine
    head’………
    ILOVEBIGBUTTSANDICAN’TDENYTHEMOTHERBROTHERSCAN’TDENY
    see
    tooooo
    cheeky by far.
    p.s that sing along with mean nothing to you if you havn’t watched shrek.
    picture, you looking at poppies
    French husband
    loooooking at you
    you poor dear…..
    ahhhhhhhhhhh
    Ciao
    Lia

    Reply
  17. jend’isère

    Love your poppies…from every angle. Provencial fields bring such joie de vivre. Poppies near Paris remind me of Monet, while those of the North evoke tears in the WWI poem, “Break of Day in the Trenches”.

    Reply
  18. Penny

    I loved drinking these in this morning. I have, hmm, maybe 10 poppies that will, of course, bloom right before a heavy wind or rain. No matter, they color is so intense.
    Perfect post with a perfect ending.

    Reply
  19. Jeanne

    Fabulous
    Blessings
    Love you
    Jeanne♥

    Reply
  20. Sheala

    French Husband really CRACKS me up!!!!! 🙂

    Reply
  21. Judy O

    Gorgeous photos of poppies. Reminds me of the poem IN FLANDER’S
    FIELD that I had to recite in 6th grade and of Memorial Day next week.
    The butt shot priceless:)

    Reply
  22. Dru

    Thanks for the beautiful photos.My son Marc went to school in Aix en Provence, and I took these sights for granted.Never seen them in Australia.will keep looking.Dru

    Reply
  23. Lorelei Lane (WAC – 70’s)

    In Flanders field, the poppies blow,
    Between the crosses, row on row;
    That mark our place, and in the sky
    The larks, still bravely singing, fly.
    Scarce heard amid the guns below.
    (John McCrae, 1915)
    The photos were gorgeous and I think they’d go perfectly with the photos of the veterans from last week. Memorial Day is coming – please, everyone, take time to remember the vets (both passed and in person).

    Reply
  24. Violet@CreateBeauty

    Oh how beautiful! Delightful! Colorful!
    And I love your sense of humor.
    ~ Violet

    Reply
  25. Natalie Thiele

    Beautiful poppy photos. I never knew the reference for the red poppy boutonnieres that veterans sell on Memorial Day- “In Flanders Field”, very poignant. Thank you for the photos, Cory, and thank you to Lorelei for the poem.
    (BTW, if I looked that great leaning over I would be begging my husband to take pix.)

    Reply
  26. AmyKortuem

    My pinky-orange poppies are blooming in my garden right now, but I only have 5 blossoms — not 5 million! How beautiful.
    Great views “all around!”

    Reply
  27. Kathie B.

    To a native Californian like me, the word “poppy” was always synonymous with ORANGE, as in our ubiquitous state wildflower!!!
    As a child I wondered why veterans were honored by RED paper poppy boutonnières — World War I, I suppose. See post by Lorelei Lane (WAC – 70’s) below.

    Reply
  28. Carolyn Mallin

    Beautiful red poppies. Loved the ending.

    Reply
  29. shannon in oregon

    poppies are one of my most favorite flowers. our plant hasn’t bloomed yet, and there are very few buds on it. i am a bit worried, but am holding out hope that it puts on a bigger show than i am thinking it will. perhaps it would help if we got some sun?!?
    i think it’s rather sweet, the end photo. shows how much he…well, probably shouldn’t write any more to that statement. 😉

    Reply
  30. Jeanette Mc. from Everton Terrace

    Perhaps this is what heaven looks like. I have never seen a field of poppies, think “walk through a field of poppies” will now go on my list. It’s beautiful. FH is so darn adorable.

    Reply
  31. georgie

    Objects in camera lens are smaller than they actually appear.

    Reply
  32. georgie

    That didn’t come out the way I wanted it too!
    I meant objects are smaller in real life, than they appear in camera lens.
    The poppies around here bloom later in the summer, though the lavender is blooming early. Beautiful field of poppies, thanks Corey.

    Reply
  33. deborah

    What a wonderful laugh for the morning! The poppies are beautiful, the humor is great!

    Reply
  34. Chris Wittmann

    Indeed…must be “the end.” Looks like the kind of shot my husband would take of me 🙂

    Reply
  35. Alena

    Ha ha. My husband would do the same.
    The poppies are breathtaking.

    Reply
  36. g

    love from all angles, isn’t it grand!! beautiful just beautiful!

    Reply
  37. Trish

    Gorgeous Corey! Did you pick any? They are amazingly fertile flowers, each seed head containing hundreds of earnest followers (not unlike your blog readers). Not a bad end to a lovely day! Merci! Trish

    Reply
  38. Jean(ne) Pierre in MN

    One of my favorite pictures of my French husband and me was in the middle of a red poppy field, also near Aix. We also found a giant wild field of narcissus near Sault. What a treat. Thanks for the smile and the laugh at the end!

    Reply
  39. cynthia Wolff @Beatenheart

    unaware of the poem everyone mentioned.

    Reply
  40. Marilyn

    Love the poppy fields. My husband does this same thing. Funny! It brought a smile to my face this morning.

    Reply
  41. naomi

    Red Poppies are one of my favorites! Thank you so much. My children and I call my daddy “Papa” and when they were smaller, and even now still sometimes to be ornery, we would call him Poppy instead, and he would put his hands on his hips and scrunch up his face and growl at them, “That’s a FLOWER! I’m not a flower!”
    Sounds like a wonderful holiday!

    Reply
  42. Hillary

    Love those Poppies, hate husbands with cameras.
    Looking though my camera I found a lot that need to be delete. One good thing is he doesn’t know how to download them.

    Reply
  43. annie

    Red poppies are the BEST. So’s that backside of yours. You GO, French Husband!!

    Reply
  44. ThroughtheMilkhouseDoor

    Cheeky and Delightful.
    Laurie
    SF

    Reply
  45. Victoria Ramos

    Beautiful field of red poppies — reminds me of the california poppy fields near the coast…..
    OK – I admit it, I am still on the whole eyeglass thing and I think we got it wrong…
    women are the #1 consumers so I think we should change things up and have Corey (or other suitable woman of a certain aged model) laying in a crumpled bed, reading a book (romance novel perhaps) and looking up at FH in a white towel only…….
    Now THATS what I’m talkin’ about ;-)!

    Reply
  46. Lieselotte

    How decorative ( I mean the red poppy seed field ). LOL

    Reply
  47. roxane

    “Comme un petit coquelicot Mesdames, comme un petit coquelicot” like the song says…

    Reply
  48. Julie Ann Evins

    Postcard perfect Corey. Where did you have lunch ? Jx

    Reply
  49. Star

    Ahhhh…poppies. Love ’em.
    I know you’re protesting the one pic that you didn’t take, but I think you’ll smile every time you see it. 🙂

    Reply
  50. Alan

    Such a lovely heart shaped ending.

    Reply
  51. Lorri Carter

    We have California golden poppies and lupins blooming here right now.On hillsides,gullys and cracks in the street. Oh the thrill I feel as a California Girl living in Oregon picking the poppies as often as I can.

    Reply
  52. Tracy

    Did you get sleepy? (Wizard of Oz)

    Reply
  53. Carolyn

    Guess you were seeing red even once you returned home (lol)! What a beautiful memory of a day spent with FH, who was willing to explore what your heart desired. Plus, he was sharing what is dear to his heart with the rest of the world…that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

    Reply
  54. robelyn

    Oh – I’m laughing!!! What gorgeous photos!!! So worth the trip!!!
    🙂 robelyn

    Reply
  55. Shelley@thiswhiteshed.blogspot.com

    You have a way of making every story, one we can all hunker down and relax into…right to the ‘end’.

    Reply
  56. pauline

    French Husband obviously appreciates a good ending 😉

    Reply
  57. Sara

    I hope I get to see a field of red poppies like that some day! Wondrous!
    P.S. Thanks for sending me the Believing link. I passed it on, and thanks for your prayers as well. It means a lot.

    Reply
  58. Jenny N

    Claim it girl! you have a very nice back side and obviously a man that appreciates it. How fun and wonderful. The photos are oh, so lovely and I hope to one day get to enthrall more of my senses and see it for myself in the flesh. Thank you for the “view”….heehee. He’s “cheeky” isn’t he…Oh, I pun the ones I love.

    Reply
  59. Sara

    Tracy beat me to it, but I have to continue with the quote:
    “Something pleasing to the eye and soothing to the smell. Poppies. Poppies. Poppies will make them sleep. Sleep.”
    Now I have to watch The Wizard of Oz.
    Your sea of poppies is just lovely.

    Reply
  60. carol

    These are so beautiful. I hope to see a real field of poppies like this some day. My mother grew poppies, but to see an entire field. Ah…I can almost smell the French countryside. Love that husband’s sense of humor. I too love the heart shaped ending.

    Reply
  61. Rhonda P

    Oui Oui Madame…you make me laugh so loud!
    That was once again priceless…best wishes from the states.

    Reply
  62. Denise Solsrud

    so,this is why everyone fell asleep, while on their way to emerald city. it was poppies,right? Bestest,Denise

    Reply
  63. Elaine L.

    I love Yann’s photo!
    ~elaine~

    Reply
  64. Liz

    How lucky to have 200 miles to journey and a free day to chase something wild and fanciful and non-monetary! In Malta, we manage 19 miles top to toe on the Island before we hit the sea. Few poppies as the heat sets in…And myself and my husband tied to our computers despite the blue day. He till 3am! Your photos made up for my reality…

    Reply
  65. monicawatercolors

    Great bunz, what can we say!

    Reply
  66. Marie-Noëlle

    Eating your pictures up and singing :
    “Gentil coqu’licot, Madame
    Gentil coqu’licot nouveau…”
    Would you sing with me ?
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JhWurhYjt0

    Reply
  67. Sue Morris

    Hi Corey from Cold/Wet Western Australia.
    I adore the red poppies – such lovely, happy flowers. Sue/Cottesloe. West.Aust.

    Reply
  68. yvonne

    Just breath taking. I have tried to grow them for 10 years and they won’t come back the next year.

    Reply
  69. liannallama

    LOL! Thanks for the smiles! What beautiful poppies–I’ve never seen such a thing and every year I *swear* I’m going to search out some of our beautiful orange California poppies but I never do! The red ones look heavenly and you are posting them just in time for memorial day so thanks!

    Reply
  70. Jane Ann

    I watched as the pictures loaded. I was stunned at the beauty! They literally took my breath away. I too have a funny hubby that loves to play jokes on me. It helps to keep me lighthearted. I can just see the smile on FH face as he did this. Ho ho!

    Reply
  71. joanne nixon

    i am always delighted to read your stories and see your photos…thank you for the “gift” of your creativity….love the finale also…..

    Reply
  72. Alison Whittington

    Lovely photos, all of them! There’s something about the seventh photo, with the trees in the background, that reminds me of central California.

    Reply
  73. Marie

    Those poppies are beautiful! I love flowers.I wish i had a field of poppies in my backyard! xoxox Marie

    Reply
  74. Olive Cooper

    That last shot is swell Corey. FH got you. The poppies are delightful.
    olive

    Reply

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