Sunny Side

...Under cloudy skies.  Very unusual weather today; we're supposed to get an inch of rain with an oncoming atmospheric river.  We're all very excited about this at my house.  So far though, it's just overcast.  I hope the rain comes soon.  Anyway, I took advantage of the overcast skies to stop by one of the many sunflower fields around here that are just starting to bloom.  The green bands are rows of slightly smaller sunflowers.  All the fields are planted just like this, and I'm not sure why, but maybe smaller variety offers some cross pollination?  I'll try to find out about this before all the flowers start hanging their heads in a few weeks. 

Sunflower Season

It's the time of year when fields around here start turning yellow.  I'm always amazed at how many fields are planted with sunflowers.  It must be a lucrative crop! And I've learned something about sunflowers living here.  I used to think of sunflowers as these nimble flowers, bending on their stalks to face the sun.  Now I know that they face east to great the sunrise, so by the end of the day, they have their backs to the setting sun.  In past years I've photographed them in the morning.  Here they are backlit just before sunset.