R. Doug Wicker — Author

California Poppies in the Franklin Mountains

A refresher from last Monday’s article:

This week and next I’m going to go into cruise control and just post a lot of pictures at an annual floral event here in El Paso, Texas. And this year is an exceptional one. It’s our annual blooming of California poppies along the eastern slopes of the Franklin Mountains. I’m also going to intersperse photos of these poppies with some flowing in my own yard. So, why is this year so spectacular? Because we’ve had an exceptionally wet spring. El Paso normally gets around 9.71 inches/247mm (30-year average) of  annual precipitation, and most of that falls from early July through the end of September. So far, we’ve had 3.01 inches/78mm!

Scarlet hedgehog cactus in bloom

And here’s today’s photo gallery. Click on any image below to enlarge and engage the slide show:

El Paso sunset

California Poppies in the Franklin Mountains

California Poppies in the Franklin Mountains

California Poppies in the Franklin Mountains

California Poppies in the Franklin Mountains

California Poppies in the Franklin Mountains

California Poppies in the Franklin Mountains

Sunset reflected in windows

And today’s last image:

California Poppies in the Franklin Mountains