Last Of The Sunflowers

It’s hard to believe,

that all this,

only lasts,

just a few short weeks.

Soon, they’ll nod their heads downward, heavy with seed, their sunny petals dried and faded.

So there’s an urgency to spend time with them before their season passes.

To see how the morning sun filters through their petals…

or how the morning dew rests upon them.

Monarch butterflies find sunflower fields an ideal place to rest for the night on their southward migration. In the morning, they await the first rays of sun.

They open their wings wide to gather warmth and dry off the dew.

Later they’ll feast on the sunflower nectar. Rested and fed, they’ll continue on their journey hoping to make 50 miles this day.

And I’ll leave the sunflower field behind, grateful for my time there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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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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10 Responses

  1. Gorgeous. A bit cool this morning, so the monarchs may take a bit to get going. I just did a “study on sunflowers” on my blog, and wish I had a field like you to take even more pics.

  2. Paulie says:

    I have never seen a field of sunflowers before. . . sometimes a row or two but never so many. You have captured some beautiful memories connected to the sunflowers and your last photo is extra super!

  3. Tina says:

    It is hard to even imagine that many sunflowers in one place unless they were purposely put there. Is this a commercial field…do they harvest them? If not do you get any to eat? Beautiful shots of the butterflies!!

    • Suzanne says:

      This field was planted by a farmer after he harvested the wheat in June. After blooming, the flowerheads fill with seeds. The farmer waits until the plant dies and dries down, then he harvests them with a combine. The seed is used mostly for sunflower oil.

  4. Tina says:

    Another question…do their faces move with the sun or does it just appear that way?

    • Suzanne says:

      Before the flowerheads begin to bloom, they do follow the sun, but once they begin to bloom, all the heads turn east and stay in that position. After blooming, the seedheads droop with the weight of the seeds and face down towards the ground.

  5. Doe of Mi. says:

    More pics of the beautiful sunflowers. I so appreciate seeing these. Thank you, Suzanne.

  6. These are beautiful, where is this field located?

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