More Sunflowers!!!

Have you ever had a voice/sound/feeling that you should do something… not next week, not soon, but now? The sunflowers have been calling my name since the beginning of the month. I drove out just because I was curious at the beginning of July and then went back last week for photos. The flowers were young and bright… and I kept thinking back to last years… more mature, bigger sunflowers… and thought I would go and see the flowers again. I went yesterday. 

Unlike the last visit the weather was perfect, “COOL”.  There was  severe weather and thunderstorms on Monday and Tuesday and overnight to Wednesday, so some of the sunflowers were pretty battered. It was amazing to see the difference in just 5 days.

Since it wasn’t as hot, and I was there a little earlier…. there weren’t as many bugs flying about yet, nor as many. The grasshoppers didn’t jump every time you took a step. The bumble bees were slow and still warming up on the flowers.

Several flowers were still glistening with rain drops on the petals.

There are still a few flowers that are late to open.

   

But not many. The fun thing is finding more… in a place. The first time I saw a green bee was in Nebraska. I have spotted a few… but they were much to quick for me to snap… but I found one yesterday that was so interested in the many chicory blossoms, that I was able to get a decent shot.

I also found a green lady bug, aka Green Cucumber Beetle, which is a pest. It almost looks yellow.

As I mentioned before, there were several other people at the field, most of these were like me… there for the flowers, (no characters), but all of them were shooting at the front edge and corner of the field. The field is huge, a couple of acres. So I walked around it. When I got to the far end, I could hear birds… When I looked over toward the long grasses I could see the gold finches… and I could hear them flying and talking over head… then I spotted one on the sunflowers… but it flew off before I got a picture. So I waited. The picture isn’t great… and if I am still here next year I will bring the big lens and sit and wait!!!! The finch is right smack dab in the center, yellow on yellow!

I saw lots of honey bees… at least they look like honey bees. I saw one go into the ground, so they may be a different type of bee. These guys were loaded with pollen… some how I shot this one… makes me think of the supply shuttle for the ‘space station’.

After a good soaking… mushrooms appear. Usually in a single or maybe a two-sie patch, or at least well separated from one another. I saw a whole bouquet… Not particularly pretty, but delicate.

After the sunflowers, I thought I would stop at the ponds and see if the water flowers were blooming. Lots of buds again, but no blossoms. I wonder if they bloom at night? I took a short walk… looking for ‘more’. I could hear an eagle screeching, but it didn’t fly where I could see it. But I almost missed something.

Here is a vista of the pond.

and here is what is in the center of the vista shot above.

If it hadn’t done some preening, I don’t think I would have spotted it. Even though it is taller and a different color, than the vegetation! I was hoping that it was hungry and would catch a fish…

More later! Beth