Thank you for the warm welcome! Yes, they are poppies. They come up every year, and have been for at least the last 30 years (I have lived on or around this block since I was six). I tried sowing seeds in and around them for various other color poppies a couple years in a row, but they never grew.
Too bad they only last a couple days then they're gone. Ahh well, nice while they last.
The old grey kittie is one of the barn cats that adopted us some years ago. He's kind of become part of the scenery around here. We've grown rather fond of him over the years.
I think the small pond in front is a 90 gallon (can't remember, put in 5 years ago), and the side pond I think is 240 gallons? I put that one in last year. Ponds seem to be like a growing addiction for me; I keep wanting a bigger and better one!