Look What's Popped Up.

These poppies are the very definition of improbable.  Every year they bloom in my yard, despite living in full shade conditions and being the object of the neighbor children's overzealous weeding.  (Their leaves are fuzzy and almost look prickly, though they are not. The assumption, I believe, is that if it has prickly leaves, it must be a weed.  I have tried to get them to direct their energies to the many tiny buckthorn plants that continually sprout between our two houses, but to no avail.)  Anyhow.  The poppies emerge from their large furry buds against these odds, with the unlikely color combination of bright orange petals surrounding purple reproductive parts... these flowers should be a sports team logo!   Although I'm not sure the Fighting Poppies would inspire fear in opponents the way Banana Slugs do, or Oregon Ducks... 
In other news... if Memorial Day is the first unofficial start of summer, tomorrow is the second unofficial start of summer... the last day of school!  Countdown: 20 hours until freedom!