Sunflowers At Sunset

Yesterday evening as sun began to set, I grabbed my camera, hopped into the little Toyota farm truck, and ripped up the road to the nearest sunflower field. Bloom time is short, so time is of the essence. I parked the truck along the edge of a gravel road, and walked out into the field.

Most of the plants are eye level, or over my head, and it would be easy to get lost, except for the fact that all the blooms are facing east, which provides a handy natural compass. It’s amazing how fast the sun sets if you’re trying to make the most of the dwindling light.

I wandered throughout the field looking for just the right angle, the right flower, the right composition. Occasionally I heard a hummingbird buzz overhead, but they never stopped near me.

The birds chirped their last songs of the day, and I could hear a farmer feeding his cattle over the hill.

Finally the sun slipped beneath the horizon.

In the twilight, I zig-zagged through the sunflowers my way back to where I thought the truck was.  As I emerged from the field, I saw that I was about 100 feet off, but no matter – it was a short walk up the hill along the road. An alfalfa field nearby had been mowed earlier in the day, and its sweet fragrance filled the air. The silence was absolute, the cool air of evening was descending, and I was reluctant to leave.  I drove slowly back to the house, trying to hold on to the serenity of my evening on the prairie.

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Suzanne

Cattle, corn, wheat, beans, mud, snow, ice, and drought. Plenty of fresh air and quiet. Our life is sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous, but never boring.

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40 Responses

  1. Lee Ann L. says:

    Holy! These are absolutely gorgeous.

  2. Your photos are absolutely gorgeous!!!!!

    You really captured the serenity of a sunflower field at sunset.

    Beautiful. Thank you.

  3. Shonneky says:

    These are absolutely BEAUTIFUL pictures! Nature is amazing and miraculous. Thanks for bringing a touch of the miracle to me through your blog and your picture-taking.

  4. Glenda says:

    I could smell it and feel it after your description. That’s how I felt driving slowly on the gravel roads after mowing at the pond last night. It’s incredible!!!

  5. How gorgeous are these photos! I love them! It makes me miss The Midwest in summer! Thanks for sharing!

  6. Liz says:

    Photos are breathtaking, someday I want to come and see them in person! Thank you again for being my guest today.
    Always,
    Liz
    P.S. I have my little picture now – thanks for the help….

  7. Mary in Idaho says:

    Thank you for the breautiful sunflower pictures. Your squirrel population must be much smaller than in Idaho. I think the squirrels here watch the sunflowers closer than we humans do. As soon as the seeds are even close to mature the squirrels are up the stalk and eating all the seeds. If it is a particularly tall stalk the squirrels will chew the stalk in half, similar to a beaver, and let the flower hit the ground. Be we still plant sunflowers and enjoy the wonderful order of God’s creation.

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Mary,
      I’ve never seen a squirrel in the sunflowers. I rarely see them at all really. I guess because there are not very many trees here.

  8. Oh, how beautiful. I do love sunflowers and can only imagine a field full of them ( I only had 3). Thank you for sharing their beauty 🙂

  9. Shailaja says:

    Spectacular end-of-day shots!

  10. Joani says:

    Beautiful pictures. Luv this time of year with all the blooms.

  11. Teresa says:

    The pictures are beautiful. I love the smell of freshly mown hay.

  12. Keep coming back to the pictures of the sunflowers! I would love one of those to hang in my house!

    Love, Love Them!

    -kristina-

  13. CheyAnne says:

    beautiful. this is how I picture living on the prairie. And I don’t blame you for going slow back towards home. the way you describe the scene I feel like I can touch and smell it too, thanks
    peace n abundance,
    CheyAnne
    http://cheyannesexton.etsy.com
    ps I keep seeing your comments over on the Pioneer Woman’s site

  14. Doe of Mi. says:

    They certainly are beautiful – pictures 2, 3, & 6 are very
    artistic. And thanks for the wonderful memory of newly cut
    alfalfa. O-yummy wish I was standing there!!! Makes me want
    to smile and throw my arms out wide in a moment of Praise.

  15. Maggie says:

    Wow, Suzanne! How beautiful!

  16. GinMT says:

    Thanks again for bringing a smile to my face with these cheery flowers. Great photos, Suzanne!

    Glendus

  17. I wish I was there too! So pretty and serene. I love sunflowers…they’re just so…I don’t know…GRAND! What a pleasant evening! These photos are so magical and peaceful. I really love them. Hope you don’t mind, I am going to save one to my desktop for my background on my computer!

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Bonnie,
      Thank you, and of course I don’t mind if you use it on your desktop. Hope the sunny faces brighten every day for you.

  18. Yowza! I just set your first sunflower photo of this post as the background on my computer and it is so gorgeous! the pixelation is absolutely perfect..no blurring whatsoever…your “window on the Prairie” sign is on the bottom of the photo, so you get total credit for the photo!!

  19. Candace says:

    Gorgeous, really gorgeous photos. Your writing was so evocative of late summer in “the fields” Wonderful.
    Thank you for sharing.
    Candace

  20. Charlene Greathouse says:

    Where do you find these sunflower fields, i live in Missouri, would love to see some

    • Suzanne says:

      They bloom in late August and early September. We find them by just driving around and looking. You can see the bright yellow from miles away, and then just drive in that direction.

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