The sunflowers of late summer

Late summer is all about sunflowers - don't you think?


It's also about transitions and shifting to new routines. So although these first days of September are blue sky beautiful, the type of weather so lovely it's almost dreamy, daily home life have been somewhat tumultuous. Coming down from the high of a spectacular backpacking weekend and adjusting to a shifting season and new responsibilities hasn't been easy for the kiddos, the youngest especially.

Having discovered that I spend what amounts to a full time job feeding my family you didn't think I'd keep working so hard with 3 able bodied children available to help, did you?? After assigning them more tasks in the kitchen this past week or so I'm amazed at what they are capable of accomplishing. Why didn't I think of this sooner??

But making my children work for their keep is the subject of another post. Today is about sunflowers. Because this gardening season, the transition from summer to fall, is all about sunflowers if you ask me.


I grew a small patch this year attempting to clean the lead out of the soil. The effectiveness of this strategy remains to be seen but these flowers earn their keep with beauty alone.


These sunflowers are from the farm and to take this photo I used my new polarizer filter which adds a lot of color and pop to the blue sky.


I could spend all day talking about how much I love sunflowers and taking photos of them. But it still feels like summer in these parts so we're off to the beach this afternoon. I have to reward these kiddos for all their hard work!


(These aren't sunflowers but look like miniature versions. This is actually a coreopsis of some kind)

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  • Andie

    Andie on Sept. 3, 2009, 1:46 p.m.

    Mmmmm, I love these shots. Yes, late summer is all about the sunflowers..and maybe squash. The garden is going crazy w/ squashes right now. :) xxoo

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    • renee

      renee on Sept. 3, 2009, 1:51 p.m.

      If I had grown any squash, that would be the case. Actually, I did grow one "volunteer" pumpkin. It came up in the pea/sunflower bed and I thought I'd let it live and it's turned out to produce a beautiful pumpkin, perfect for the front step come October!

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  • 5 orange potatoes

    5 orange potatoes on Sept. 3, 2009, 2:31 p.m.

    How beautiful Renee. We also have a sunflower patch growing with zinnias at their feet. I can see them out my kitchen window while I'm doing dishes. They make me smile.

    Thanks for the lens tip. I need to start investing in new lenses, don't really know where to begin.

    Lisa :)

    5 orange potatoes's last blog post... WIP- owl potholder and breast cancer ribbon felty

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  • kate

    kate on Sept. 3, 2009, 6:35 p.m.

    Ah, fall flowers are so lovely...and so is the growing of helping hands in your home! We're just eeking into that too with our three (well, two out of three) and I'm both amazed at their abilities and so glad for the help (albeit begrudgingly present help;)). I posted a picture on Tuesday of a sunflower that truly set the tone for my whole week. Come see it! http://www.theblankiechronicles.com

    kate's last blog post... Monthly Mindfulness:: the mantra

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