THE FLOWER.

Arn't flowers wonderful ? more and more as I get older I seem to fall under their spell and am amazed by how seductive they are, not only to bees and insects but to us humans too. I haven't as yet met anyone who hasn't fallen under their charms, wheather it be as a love token, for their beautiful perfume or the part they play in producing food. Look at these beautiful flowers, they are growing on our butternut squash plant, and look what they turn into, a squash!

Now you may think that we named Poppy because we love Poppies, well, yes I do, but no, I feel that fate played a part in this. You see, Andy, Pop's dad loved the name but I was not sure, may sound strange, but I just couldn't imagine the name growing with her, I could only see a Poppy as a cute little girl but not as a young woman or old lady, I was not buying it.

One sunny Saturday morning in early July I went into labour. I can remember standing at the kitchen sink gazing in to the garden trying to breath through the pain, when something caught my eye, there was a beautiful pink Poppy bobbing in the breeze, all on it's own. It hadn't been there when we went to bed and there had never been Poppies there before. FATE I told myself, how could she be anything else. We still have that beautiful Poppy pressed intoan old ' Hutchinson Encyclopedia', our name. It's one of my most cherished things and I think Poppy will enjoy the story of how she got her name.
Poppy starts school on Thursday, she starts a new adventure, without me. I thought I would make her a kit bag using odd bits of material to make her name and ofcourse flowers are used, she'll know it's hers, Mammy always gives her flowers, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxEnjoy baby girl.

P.S. I was watching the news one evening, a wonderful sweet 80 year old was being interviewed, her name came up as Poppy. I smiled to myself, my fears were very much unfounded. xxxxxx