The Antelope Valley

The California Poppy Reserve had some blooms, but the most of the hillsides were not in bloom yet. However, after driving around on the roads around the reserve, we saw carpets of goldfields, poppies, but very few lupine.

We saw thousands of poppies, but only one yellow one.

Goldfields and Poppies

The sepals of the poppy flower cover the bud, then fall off as the bloom opens

I noticed this poppy was opening up, and as I was taking photos of it...

...the sepal popped right off.