I received a text from my friend Inge yesterday.  It said: “When you drive into town this weekend, take the low road and see the poppies.”  So, this morning, we drove into town (Henley-on-Thames)  and saw this:

This beautiful field is planted as far as the eye can see with opium poppies.  They are absolutely gorgeous, a sea of the most subtle, lovely lavenders and palest pinks.

These fields are planted as part of a research project by a local university in collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry.  For obvious reasons, they don’t advertise, and they plant somewhere different every year.  Normally, these fields are planted with rapeseed and provide a burst of vibrant yellow late in the sumer.   This field of pink was a fantastic surprise.

See the building and umbrellas in the distance of the top photo? That is Orwells, one of the best retaurants in England.  It was impossible to resist having lunch there and soaking up the view.  Here is the view from the garden at Orwells:

Pure heaven.  The only thing as good as the view is the food!

Notice how Doug and I are both colour-coordinated with the flowers?

I hope that your day is as filled with colour and surprise.  Tune in tomorrow for a knitting post.