Sunny Days

 

Summer finally decided to come and stay awhile, these past two weeks. We've had a long stretch of golden sunny days and deep blue skies, although there's more than a hint of autumn in the slant of the rays. It's a perfect backdrop for the row of cheerful sunflowers along my (new) back fence.

The tallest ones must be twelve feet high. Even the shortest are well above my head. The stalks are thick and sturdy, the leaves as big around as dinner plates.

The fact that they're a surprise, an unexpected gift that sprouted from the flower heads left standing by the previous gardener, makes them that much more lovely. (In case you're wondering, I did move them, after they popped up haphazardly all through the garden, into a semi-orderly border. And I think some of the more unusual colors and shapes probably came from the "Sunflower Discovery Mix" from Seeds of Change; I tucked a few of those seeds among the transplants.)

The flowers have been blooming for several weeks, with no signs of slowing down. Bees busily cruise the newly opened heads, their legs thick with pollen. Goldfinches bustle from flower to flower, chipping to each other as they check on the progress of the seeds. Squirrels make big shredded messes of the old heads, which I've been tossing in a pile beneath their cedar-tree hangout in an attempt to distract them from digging up my turnips and other mischief.

It's incredible to me that all this growth took place just this year, each towering plant from a single seed smaller than my fingernail. Sure do love these sunny days!