Sue, Sunflowers and September

Hi, it's me. Sunflower Sue.

One downside of being alone is taking self pictures that either show only the head, or some strange angle of the body. The upside is there is nobody around to make fun of you .

Yesterday was an almost autumn day, September 11, 2010 . In the United States of America there were probably very few people who did not pause and remember this day, one of similar beauty and weather, nine years ago. I had read several Facebook posts that reflected anger, some that reflected sadness, while several were patriotic and proud of being so.

My personal life story intertwines with 2001 USA history in such a way that for me, as I move forward, I can feel some of the same sadness, grieving and healing patterns that I understand Survivors of the 9/11 Tragedy to be experiencing. It was not surprising or unusual then, to see weeping and tears. The healthier people interviewed were the ones who had gone on and lived Life and forgave, rather that remain bitter and stuck in their pain.

Forward I march.
Saturday. Perfect Weather. Crisp and even cool breeze after an horrendous and hot summer. I was ready to enjoy this day, thank God for it's beauty and experience the senses, alone. Gulp. Alone.

My church friend Debbie had invited people to a gig her Jazz band was playing at in Chadds Ford, PA, a mere 20 minutes away.

 

This is Debbie.

The small town appears to be the happening place to go, [they have an annual pumpkin carving contest, for crying out loud!]and one can get lost in a crowd if a sudden panic attack hits, so I was sure this was where I needed to be.

 Please note the word Free.

There were lots and lots of people and fragrant aromas and beautiful children and strangely, something unexpected. Dogs. Lots and lots of dogs. Apparently there was a dog obedience demonstration and welcoming of dogs into the 45th annual Festival. Wow, was I glad my dog Perfect didn't hear of this, she would have been a total nag.

Where was I? Oh, my Festival experience and sensory fulfillment. The sounds of jazz were emanating from the loud speakers, the art tents were filled with gorgeous paintings and photographs, the food vendors were busy, the Colonial dress up people were acting their parts, even the lady chained to a tree for Gossip was not speaking to me!

I tasted some free samples of cheeses from a local dairy, tried a new sandwich-turkey shredded on a ciabatta roll with cole slaw and guacamole, and even sampled Indian pudding, warm with homemade whipped cream! Sitting by myself listening to the tunes was simply delightful! Who could I have explained my feelings to or conversed with that could possibly have understood ? 

After an hour, having wandered aimlessly through the artists galleries, (or otherwise known as large white tents) I decided it was time for the sunflower field I had read about.  Apparently Longwood Gardens experimented with planting a field of sunflowers, something I had only seen in Kansas and the Midwest. I was anxious to photograph it and for no other reason than I LOVE photographing things of beauty!!!!

As I approached the area there were brake lights ahead and my assumptions were correct- more people than I had read of this blooming bounty and brought their cameras along!

 I LOVED this place!!! Who knew that such a magical world existed when walking within the  borders of these bee- laden flowers?

 I was lost in my own world of thought, wandering amongst the flowers, getting close enough to photograph, far enough to steer clear of the buzzing. Thank you Creator God for this treat! It was almost as if I went to a far away land and returned, all in a 30 minute time frame. Is this time travel?

It was difficult pulling myself away, I wanted to just BE. [not BEE] Oh, speaking of that, I have a picture of a traveling Bee. Check it out!

Well, can you see it? Personally, I am impressed with that.

Leaving the sunflower field was difficult. This day had been as close to perfect as I think I have been in a really long time. I realized that it might be over and then what? Thoughts like these churn within my mind constantly and sometimes I cannot turn them off. So I asked God to take control of my mind, and could HE please change it's direction because I could not?

A funny thing then happened.
I decided to call daughter Margie since I was about 5 minutes from her home, and a grandchild sighting is perhaps a million times better than a sunflower sighting. As I was pulling out of the driveway, a man who had been impatiently waiting for his 'significant ' other to get in the car, peeled past me and SCREAMED out the window "Get off the phone!"

Guess he didn't like sunflowers. hahahahahaha! Laughter is always my best medicine!!!! Thanks God, great day!!! Sunflower Sue signing off.