Seeds of hope

All that's left is a garage

Poppies

Weeds

And seeds of hope.

I'm standing where the house was. It's a riot of colour with poppies etc in full bloom.

It does impact you to stand and consider the lives that were here. Where are they now? Are they ok? How are they coping? There are houses and flats on either side, all occupied. It's hard to tell but maybe where I'm standing was a house converted into a business. I wondered because there appeared to have been two driveways.

A few doors down are the demolished house and contents of peoples lives left in piles after demolition. Judging by the letterboxes it was an old house split into flats. People's lives left exposed and never cleared. Presumably the building was too dangerous to enter and they've fled. Lives go on around it.

It does take a bit to absorb.

Poppies are flourishing in the rubble and ruins. I like to think of them as seeds of hope. I collected the unopened seed heads from the poppies. The seeds are hard to collect. Cabbagetree advised me to include stalks, put them in a paper bag and hang them upside down.

I might not get many/any seeds. I couldn't tell how close they were to ripening and releasing their seeds. I'll try again in the new year.

If I'm successful I'll offer seeds to NZ blippers and we'll spread seeds of hope from Christchurch's poppies.

Edit: I've just discovered today is 3 years worth of blipping. I think that shows how blip is ingrained into the fabric of my life. Fitting too I should have an earthquake related blip. Blip is a place to record, document and work through the ongoing enormity of the earthquakes on our lives.

I appreciate this site, all who visit my journal, those who comment and many of you I now consider friends. You know who you are. Thank you.

Jo and co. Thank you, thank you, thank you.