Poppy red

I love poppies at all stages and so this was where I headed off to straight away on Friday, when several of us went south of the city to Jim Coutts' homestead, just north east of Nanton. I was thrilled to bits when I noticed the distant sea of red and knew that Jim's wonderful Poppy garden was still in bloom. Our annual trip to see his gardens and homestead was in September last year - and there wasn't a single petal left on any Poppy, which was so disappointing. Interesting to note that Jim used to be the former principal secretary of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. After visitng Jim and being shown around his incredibly beautiful homestead, we drove west through William's Coulee to botanize a hilltop of virgin prairie grassland belonging to Rob Blades (about 5 acres; 1 mi W of Meridian Rd, on Connemara Rd) and then to botanize some prairie grassland belonging to Howard Hornecker. Thanks, Jim, Rob and Howard for giving us these wonderful opportunities! And thanks so much, Laura, for driving!