zinnias and sunflowers

I grow neither zinnias nor sunflowers here. I can imagine a beautiful patch of sunflowers, but the fact is, there are others who do this in the area and we can always head out to look at their fields. Occasionally I'll plant some sunflower seeds in my mixed meadows, but our resident groundhog family loves that plant to death so it's usually chomped off before we even see the beginnings of a bud.

August is the month for zinnias and sunflowers. (And other blooms too, but I have those on my mind at the moment.) And this day is so very beautiful! Wouldn't you choose to go to a farm with zinnias and sunflowers if they were a mere 20 minute drive from your house? Sure you would do.

But first, there is the usual tending to your own back yard. I'm still snipping Autumn Minaret lilies (three dozen spent heads today!)...

(the last of the July lilies...)

... And I'm picking out clumps of weeds here and there. Nothing systematic, nothing noteworthy, but still, I do care about the flower fields and each morning something does get a quick brush up from me.

 

 

 

Breakfast on mornings like this is just the best meal you could have! This scene which I replay for you every day belongs here because it is such a favorite of mine! If I could drink endless coffee without worry and munch on morning pastries with fruits on the side with total abandon, you'd find me right here for hours on end, every summer morning that has the glorious sunshine, the comfy breezes and the air that tickles your soul from every angle.

The rest of the morning I spend looking (online) at cottages in Wisconsin. Do you know how many rentals there are in this state (in various price categories, sizes, locations, dates of availability, states of cleanliness and tastefulness)? Perhaps a million. Perhaps more. For every night Ed and I are to camp on our forthcoming adventure, I get to have a cottage night as well. And because getting Ed to do this happens once in a blue moon, I am oh so careful in where I land us! So I search. For the second (third?) day now I search the internet making sure that I have something for us that we will both like.

 

In the later afternoon, we finally make our way to Schusters farm -- the one with zinnias and sunflowers. We were to go with the kids, but at the last minute we all flipped that plan on its backside. A trip to a farm with flowers, in the hot sun, and with lots of bees buzzing about did not seem like a stellar idea for at least the youngest of the kids. So Ed and I went alone and it was very lovely...

 

 

 

And we picked some zinnias because we had paid for this and damn it, we're going to bring those zinnias home or else!

Zinnias are very short lived in your vase. Honestly, why you'd grow zinnias instead of, say, dahlias or glads is beyond me. I mean, they are a stunning flower in the field. 

 

 

 

...  but less perfect (in my view) after a couple of days on your kitchen table. Dahlias age more gracefully and glads just shed their spent blooms leaving you always with something fresh on top. Total winners. Poor zinnias just turn wrinkly and brown. But oh, in the fields! The colors are magnificent!

Then there are the sunflowers. 

 

 

 

The farm has a sort of sunflower maze. Again, beautiful on this gorgeous August day.

(The farm also has goats, but then so do our corn farmers. And every time I see one here or there, I think -- I wonder if I should have gotten a pair of goats...)

And yes, there is a selfie. And with it, I'm posting a link to a very very funny New Yorker article/cartoon about taking selfies. Funny because it's true: we used to just take pictures and hope for a good outcome a few weeks later when they were developed. You got what you got. Now, we are able to inspect, criticize, reject. We look critically at every photo and trash ones that actually show us how we really are. Read the article. It's funny.

In the evening I make some more corn soup while Ed goes off to do his Wednesday night bike ride. I know, it's Friday. But hey, were you here for our weather event last Wednesday? Just compare it to this day and you'll see why biking got moved.

And so ends another summer week. There are so very few of them left... Savor them. Savor all that outdoor time. And take a few photos to carry you over during the month of November or March, when there's a lot less color out there!

 

Late, very late we eat corn soup and watch Modern Love. The new season came on today. All that and sunflowers in a vase too.

With love...