Sunflowers always make me smile. It seems like they are smiling as they follow the sun through the day. We recently went on a Yolo Arts & Ag Project outing to 3M Ranches to view their sunflower field. They had a warning to alert us of the bees, asking us not to interrupt their mission of pollinating the countryside.
Thanks to the bee boxes along the field, there were plenty of industrious bees working hard. I’m glad they were concentrating on their work because I’m allergic to them. I give them plenty of space. Watching them is amazing. They have one job and that’s all they do.
It was difficult to find a flower without a bee on it, but I managed. You’ll have to look into the full field pictures to find a sunflower with no bees. Unfortunately there was one casualty. I don’t know what happened to that one flower since the field looked young.
This ranch also had old equipment that we were allowed to photograph. In my next non-LAPC post I’ll show you the beauty of rust.
I chose to live in gratitude this year, and given the world condition, it’s difficult. So, thank you Patti for reminding me there is always hope and encouraging us to look into our own lives to show what gives us hope.
My rose garden, which I’ve neglected this year and still blooms, gives me hope. I’m not a gardener, but these roses have the resilience to show their beauty without much help from me. Maybe if individually we each show our beauty of spirit we can help bring beauty into this world.
Animals in their own habitat also give me hope. They live life simply and naturally. Some only hunt when hungry and some live off the land.
Holidays and festivities give me hope. For a short while we gather and enjoy, laugh and become childlike. Each year our community has a July 4th parade where golf carts, cars and bikes are decorated. If you’re not in the parade, you’re watching it. This is followed by a good old fashioned hot dog lunch.
Dedication to a passion brings me hope. When I’m out with my camera, I don’t think of other things. I just enjoy. My camera brings me to nature and sometimes artistic festivals where artists display their talents. One such festival is Chalk it Up. These artists paint with chalk, putting their all into it only to have it last a few days. Their dedication to their art and wanting to bring joy to others gives me hope.
I love trees–big ones like our Giant Sequoias and small ones; trees with leaves and those without. Trees are expressive in the way their branches bend, or stand out straight. Trees are strong and have a certain energy. Have you hugged a tree lately?
I’ll end with sunflowers. Just looking at them as they follow the sun, gives me hope. Their determination to blossom every year in the same fields shows that given the right care they will continue to smile at us. Can we give the world the right care and have it smile back?
We may not be able to change the world, but we can affect our small micro world and create hope. We can offer hope to our family and friends by helping and caring for them.
Thank you Patti, for reminding us that there is still hope. When you respond to her challenge, please remember to link to her original post and use the Lens-Artists tag. I truly enjoyed your responses to Tina’s challenge last week of Children (human and animal). What a joy they are, giving us hope. Next week Ann-Christine will be presenting the challenge, so look for her post. Until then, stay safe and have hope!
It’s been three years since we went searching for sunflower fields. The pandemic shut us down in 2020 and it has taken us that long to go scouting. By scouting, I mean getting in the car and heading out to the countryside of Yolo County. After getting lost on various County numbered roads, we did find two or three fields.
One had a beekeepers boxes on the side of the field. Since we were respectful of the owners private property, we did not walk into the fields. We stood on the side and used our long lenses. We also took advantage of flowers in the front of the field. Because of this, the bees didn’t bother us.
Here is a sample of our Sunny bounty. Sunflowers help me smile. They are happy flowers!
Slow Shutter Speed 