Late July and early August are one of my favorite times of year, because it’s the time when my favorite flower is blooming – the sunflower! I love sunflowers – they make me happy. They always seem to be smiling, and, the places I find them – there are acres and acres of them – acres of happiness!
I have a few sunflower fields that I like to visit, and this photo was taken at one of them. It’s a Wildlife Management area in Maryland that provides a habitat for deer, wild turkey, waterfowl, over 200 species of songbirds, and numerous reptiles and amphibians, and, of course, sunflowers.
McKee Beshers plants acres and acres of sunflowers every year. As much as we’d like to think that they plant these sunflowers for ME, they really plant them for the seeds – and for the songbirds. If you’re a lucky photographer, you won’t just get some amazing sunflower photos, but you’ll capture a photo of one of the 200 species of birds nibbling on the seeds in the fields.
I’ve been visiting McKee Beshers the last few years – ever since I heard about their sunflowers – but unfortunately (for me) and fortunately (for everyone else in the community) the local papers, including the Washington Post, have been publishing information about their amazing sunflowers. Needless to say, two years ago, I was the ONLY person there taking photos at sunset. Last year, there were a handful of us. This year, I think they must have brought people in by the busload! As much as I love that more and more people are out enjoying this amazing place and the world that we live in, it’s hard to share. Yes, that’s selfish, but I miss my days of having acres of sunflowers to myself. 😞
I like to think that this sunflower is expressing what I feel – looking away from the crowds, and towards our beautiful natural world that surrounds us.
Photography by Theresa Rasmussen Photography.
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