You see them in the grocery store, at the farmer's market -- even peaking up over the fences of neighbors who have the luxury of a garden. They've always been a favorite of mine, sunflowers, so cheery and bright!
I remember when I was growing up (I think I was four or five), I begged my mum to let me grow a small batch of sunflowers in our yard. One of my favorite childhood pictures is of me standing in front of those tall, wonderful flowers, looking so proud at what I had grown...
As I've grown up and moved into the big, bad city, I don't have many opportunities to see sunflowers in their natural habitat anymore-- unless I seek the opportunities out, that is!
A few weeks ago I was reading online about how the Maryland Department of Natural Resources's McKee-Beshers WMA plants a few huge fields of sunflowers each year as food for the local dove population. Cue social media perusing, gawking at other photographer's photos, frantically emailing friends to see who would come along with me on my search for these epic sunflower fields... and before you knew it, I had a date on my calender to visit the beauties.
While we didn't get there during peak bloom, my crew and I did have a wonderful (HUMID!!) evening walking among these bright, cheery flowers. Here's some of my favorite snaps:
