Standing Into Danger: Happy Smiling Faces!

Friday, August 18, 2023

Happy Smiling Faces!

Thousands of happy smiling faces lined the road greeting us

as we drove home from the airport after visiting Nova Scotia recently.

Home again on Colorado's Beautiful High Plains

E-470, Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 3, 2023

Colorado has enjoyed a cool summer with lots of rain and sunshine,

and millions of wild sunflowers have exploded along roads and highways

and in odd corners of disturbed ground.

A Sunflower Explosion

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 14, 2023

Wild sunflowers are sustained by run-off moisture from the roads,

heat from the asphalt, and little competition from other vegetation.

They can outgrow noxious weeds like sweet clover and thistles.

Vail Daily

The Common Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 14, 2023

As I drove around on errands and to appointments last week, I became

more and more curious about this happy, cheerful plant dominating the landscape.

So on Tuesday I grabbed my camera and went on a sunflower hunt along Piney Creek.

Upper Pond Along "My" Section of Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 14, 2023

I knew the sunflowers would not grow near the creek bed

because they don't like water-logged soil,

so I headed for a dry bank above the creek where I thought they might be.

Sunflowers Clinging to a Bank

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 14, 2023

The gangly sunflowers clung to the bank, but not displaying the beauty I hoped to find.

So I headed up a gully and found hundreds and hundreds.

Voilà!

I followed another gully back to the trail that led to the power line right-of-way,

because I was getting worried about snakes and ticks.

After taking a brief break from the strong afternoon sun

in the shade of a cottonwood stand, I headed uphill for the power line.

Cottonwood Stand

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 14, 2023

The last time I had walked this way on May 2nd,

a large grading and restoration project blocked my way.

Land Restoration

Aurora, Colorado, USA

May 2, 2023

Today I found a new cement trail had been constructed

beginning at the Douglas County line and running south.

It followed the power line down into marshland,

straddled a stream running into Piney Creek, and wound up the other bank

to link up with the trails in the Inspiration development.

The New Concrete Trail

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 14, 2023

Sun Flowers Galore!

I followed the new cement trail down the hill, across the stream, and up the other bank: Sunflowers galore!

The New Stream Crossing

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 14, 2023

And Up the Other Side

Wild sunflowers are beneficial to the environment in many ways,

one of which is land restoration.

Sunflowers are used as a forb component in reclaiming drastically disturbed lands,

renovating ranges for domesticated animals, and other conservation practices

such as pollinator habitat for bees and other pollinators,

establishing permanent vegetation in areas of high erosion,

and the restoration and management of declining and rare habitats.

Sunflowers provide food to insects, birds, deer, and other wildlife.

Bees Love Wild Sunflowers!

Restoring an Eroding Slope

Stabilizing Slopes

The wild sunflower is native to North America,

and Native Americans first domesticated the plant as early as 3,000 BC.

They boiled and ate flower buds and raw seeds

and ground the seeds into flour for cakes and bread.

They drank an infusion of the plant that eased

rheumatism and chest pain and stimulated appetites.

Different parts of the sunflower plant were boiled to make yellow, purple, and black dyes.

Dried sunflower stalks were used as building materials.

nrcs.usda sunflowernsa

Spanish explorers took the wild sunflower to Europe around 1500.

By 1716 an English patent was granted for squeezing oil from the plant's seeds.

Peter the Great is credited with popularizing the sunflower

as an ornamental plant in the 18th century.

The Russian Orthodox Church added to its popularity

by forbidding the consumption of most oil foods during Lent

and leaving the sunflower off the prohibited list.

By 1830, sunflower oil was produced on a commercial scale in Russia.

Eastern Europeans and Russians who had emigrated to America

imported the commercial sunflower because it was a protein-rich food for animals.

By the 1920s the US was growing commercial crops of sunflowers,

followed by Canada in 1930.

nrcs.usda. sunflowernsa nuseed

Some of my happiest hours are spent roaming along the trails in my area,

and hunting for sunflowers on a gorgeous August afternoon is hard to beat.

Smiling Happy Faces!

I'm linking to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date and Nicole's Friday Face Off.

Thank goodness I have an understanding husband who takes me out for dinner

when I arrive home hot, happy, and too tired to cook.

A Club Sandwich and Sauteed Vegetables to Share

Parkway Bar and Grill

Aurora, Colorado, USA

A Muley Walking Past Our Car

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 3, 2023

I was slammed this week with appointments and commitments,

so I'm still catching up with last week's comments. So sorry!

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

My next post will be soon! 🤞

36 comments:

Elephant's ChildAugust 18, 2023 at 12:55 AM
Thank you so much for taking us on this beautiful excursion. Sunflowers always make me happy too.
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roentareAugust 18, 2023 at 3:49 AM
You have done well with the flowers. The sceneries are gorgeous!
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Alex J. CavanaughAugust 18, 2023 at 5:22 AM
I didn't realize so much of the sunflower could be consumed. I don't think we get the small ones here, just the big ones. They do add a beauty to the landscape.
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Debra She Who SeeksAugust 18, 2023 at 5:51 AM
And of course, the sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine. Slava Ukraini!
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DVArtistAugust 18, 2023 at 6:13 AM
Ohhhh the faces of sunflowers and the muley. I haven't seen a muley in awhile. Mostly white and black tail here. A truly wonderful post. Thank you for sharing with FFO. Don't forget to sign in with MR. Linky. Have a wonderful weekend.
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Valerie-JaelAugust 18, 2023 at 9:15 AM
Wonderful sunflowers, I love seeing them on the meadows and fields here, too. Thanks for sharing, hugs, Valerie
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L. Diane WolfeAugust 18, 2023 at 12:03 PM
How pretty! I wish we had a place like that to walk. And that it wasn't so hot and humid we don't want to go outside anyway. LOL
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TomAugust 18, 2023 at 12:43 PM
...Mother Nature did a fabulous job creating sunflowers. I thank her every summer. That club sandwich looks devine!
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My name is Erika.August 18, 2023 at 6:25 PM
It must be great to have all those happy faces welcoming you home. And it must be great to have so many wild sunflowers, something we don't exactly have here in the northeast. I wish we did, they are beautiful and say August to me. These are great photos. I hope you have a great weekend. hugs-Erika
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BrendaAugust 19, 2023 at 3:01 AM
These are beautiful pictures Louise. The sunflower reminds me of the sunflowers that we had in our garden when I was brought up in Barry, South Wales, they were about five feet high with huge flowers. When you spoke of the indigenous people of America, and how they used the plant, it reminded me of when we lived in Australia. The Aborigine people used to eat a certain grass which would heal them from what we call 'gastro enteritis' . Everything is on this earth for a reason, even what we might call a 'weed'. God bless.
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LeighAugust 19, 2023 at 3:19 AM
What a great place to live near!
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Bleubeard and ElizabethAugust 19, 2023 at 6:38 AM
I never realized how many types of sunflowers there are. Besides Ukraine, they are the state flower of Kansas, where I live. I really enjoyed your desire to seek out sunflowers in your area of CO.

Lovely sandwich and a great mule face. Have a lovely weekend, dear Louise. Don't worry about visiting here. I know you will be by when you have time.

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JeanieAugust 19, 2023 at 7:01 AM
SUnflowers have always been a favorite of mine, but there was much I didn't know about them so I loved not only your gorgeous photos but the wonderful and interesting commentary you shared. I have wild sunflowers in my yard at home -- they just popped up; I have NO idea where they came from! And I love seeing patches of them on a road or a field. Your excursions look like such fun and yes, yielded much beauty. Welcome home.
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AdamAugust 19, 2023 at 2:13 PM
My wife and I had one of my favorite dates back when we were dating in a sunflower field 🌻
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Gillena CoxAugust 19, 2023 at 2:21 PM
Good husband!!!
Luv the sunflower explosion

much💖love
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Pat HattAugust 20, 2023 at 3:53 AM
Sure many faces welcoming you back home. Never knew there were so many facts about sun flowers. Only place I've seen a bunch is the valley I think. You sure have the pretty spot to walk too, always something to see.

Hopefully you guys are rested up and ready for your next adventure. Nyers really wanted to know what type of poop the fossil was, fyi lol
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bailiAugust 21, 2023 at 7:04 AM
precious friend Louise what a delightful post brimming with joy :)))
i loved each shot ,thank you sooooooooo much for sharing the bursting beauty of your surroundings as i am already in deep love with sunflowers and i was constantly smiling and chuckling while scrolling down :)
i a also thankful for history of the plant you shared ,i was unaware of more of it
the deer photo is awesome as well but these joyous pics will keep shining in my heart for long so thanks again !
hugs and best wishes!
hugs
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AnonymousAugust 21, 2023 at 2:58 PM
Greetings Louise. Its Andrew again. You are so knowlegdable about the sunflower and it's edibility to many species including humans. They are so beautiful and you take great shots! I'm so glad you have so much nature on your doorstep and closely beyond, as I too love my walks outside in nature - as evidenced in my pieces. Thank you for your well wishes and concerns for my welllfare, it is most welcomed my friend. My community Psychiatric Nurse has lined my a place half an hour away from Chester (my home city) in Northwhich, Cheshire, so it's not too bad. It's supposed to be a nice area to live apparently, so that will be nice for me with my recovery. Most of my family have cars, so I'll still see them often! The hospital i'm in is like a halfway-house, which is less constrictive than your normal psychiatric hospital. I get on with all the staff and patients alike, and am going to an outside gymnasium near enough eveyrday - they say healthy body healthy mind! Thank you again for brightening up my day with your beautifuly taken photographs of a flower that I really like! The club sandwhich looks so delicious, you have a wonderful partner in Terry! Hope to be posting again soon. Blessing to you my good friend. Lots of love and best wishes, Andrew. Love love. Take good care. Sorry you've been so busy. Bye.
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