This past weekend was the annual Daffodil Show in Julian.  (Last year I gushingly detailed all of the reasons I love this community event here.)

After a brief chat on Friday about how to choose a prizewinning bloom, the students spread out to harvest.

What to choose?

Then after school I took my boys home to pick their personal entries.

Ethan almost backed out this year but decided to enter again after listening to his mother go on and on about the importance of tradition. (A fistful of ribbons, including a “court of honor” distinction later, he was glad he followed through, and I made him promise to do it every year until he graduates high school.  We’ll see.  Elliot’s in, for sure.)

A friend visiting from out-of-town jumped right in on the excitement, watching the boys key out and arrange their flowers.  (The paper flowers hanging from the ceiling and the watercolor paintings on the wall were all done by kids at school.)

The youth division took up one full wall with a record amount of entries.

Photo courtesy of Anne Garcia

Marisa’s beautiful display with children’s essays.  The photos are of kids planting at school and around town—a yearly tradition led by Sally Snipes.

Photo courtesy of Anne Garcia

The ribbons and some of the flowers are now proudly on display in the front office of the school.

My friend Anne summed it up well in a post-show e-mail: