The Truth About Sunflowers

Last but not least, the Black Russian Sunflowers are in bloom. They insisted on a blog posting of their own.

Despite the commonly held belief, sunflowers do not really follow the sun. They generally face south, and never show any interest in facing north. The fact that so many people believe they follow the sun shows how little they get outside and actually look at sunflowers late in the afternoon when the sun has moved on to the west.

Many Praying Mantises have moved into the sunflowers, preferring a high-rise location.

The waning moon stayed up all day to be in the pic. I could stand and marvel at these beauties all day, if it weren't for the fact that the temps are hovering right around one hundred degrees this week.

I believe they are called sunflowers not because they follow the sun but because they look like the sun.

Flowers That Bloom in the Late Summer, Tra la

Sometimes, flowers in August are hard to come by, so these Surprise Lilies are especially welcome. They were planted by the former owners, who liked everything in straight rows like soldiers. They make a lovely bouquet. It's been a drought all summer, so everything that bloomed demanded lots of watering.

This is one of three butterfly bushes I planted that are now reaching full size. I had no idea they would attract butterflies! This year, I grew four more of the pink ones, from seed. Although only eighteen inches tall, they have their first flowers.

The fabulous front border annuals are brilliant. The perennials are in there somewhere. All are guzzling water.

Did I mention this was my first year to grow Gazanias? Each plant has a different color flowers. All insisted on being in the blog.

This variety is perennial, Sunshine Mix Improved.

All the Gazanias here are from one package of seed from Park Seed Company. I've been ordering from them for over thirty years.

Nearly ready to bloom are the sunflowers, which are now taller than the house. I was in error to call them Mammoth Russian Sunflowers, they are Black Russian Sunflowers. I planted them in honor of my many Russian readers. They are from Pinetree Garden Seeds.

This Datura that I transplanted from some volunteers waits to bloom until the sun is nearly down. The gorgeous blooms open in 45 minutes. It indicated that it was ready for a close-up.

I will gaze fondly at these pictures when Winter comes. Meanwhile, they are getting all the water they want in payment for being so beautiful.

Landlubbers Afloat

It was my kind of float trip. No whitewater rapids, no being upside down in a kayak, no being flung out of the boat onto rocks.

In fact, it was extra-mild. My daughter Lissa, the more adventurous of our Lewis and Clark team, showed me (on the internet) the river access upriver from my place. I was concerned that the many twists and turns that the river makes would make for a long journey. Maybe we would still be floating along after dark.

A needless worry, as it turned out. We drove the River Run tubes up in her Jeep and carried them down the bank, where there were sandbars. We launched ourselves after I insisted that we tie our tubes together with the ropes that came with them.

After some time in the sluggish current, our expedition leader, not me, made the life-saving decision to turn back. We hopped off the tubes and waded in the shallow water back to where we had put in. We had gone about two blocks.

We came home and waded across the river with the tubes. We walked on the sandy far side up to the bend, then floated lazily back. We didn't scrape our bottoms on the bottom as much. By that time, I had gotten brave enough to not be tied to Lissa's tube.

Here I am, passing Clam Beach. You can almost see the curvature of the earth. Lissa arrived back at Fishing Beach first, where we had safely stored the camera.

My tube was a little big for me to paddle with my arms, but the mesh seat kept me from sliding through into the water.

The next time the river goes over Whale Rock, we shall return to the site of our failed attempt. We shall conquer the Grand River, not quite the adventure Teddy Roosevelt had on the River of Despair, but exciting enough for me.

Our seaworthy crafts, safely ashore. The instructions said they were not a life-saving device nor a toy. Perfect for water that was never over our heads.

Fabulous Energy Source

In keeping with my belief that nearly everything's better outdoors, I got this Sun Oven last winter with some Christmas money.

It was rather fascinating to be baking outside when there was snow on the ground. It was like a miracle crystal had been discovered that would cook without electricity, gas or a wood stove. The Sun has been around forever, what a surprise.

So far, my only problem has been slightly over-cooking things, on account of not being able to believe that food could possibly get done.

The Sun Oven really has come into its own with hot summer weather. Turning the stove oven on when the AC is busy trying to cool the house never seemed like a sensible thing to do. However, I love homemade bread, especially sourdough. I've been using the same starter since an elderly Missouri woman gave me a little of hers in the late 1980's. She'd had it in the family for some years. It is simplicity itself to keep it going, saving out about a quarter of a cup for the next batch.

I never thought I would be still using the same starter when I myself became an elderly woman. Who thinks they are ever going to be elderly? If someone told me I'd be baking bread using the Sun's energy, that would have been even harder to believe.

The big round loaf I made in the gas oven on a pizza pan wouldn't fit into the Sun Oven, so I changed to two loaf pans.

Anything that can be baked in a regular oven does better in the solar oven. Less water is used in cooking. A bonus is the pans don't get baked-on crust, so are easy to clean. Cooking whole wheat was much simpler, since it didn't boil over like on the stove top, or boil dry, requiring me to keep an eagle eye on it.

Brownies did well with my regular recipe. No photo; we ate them too fast for an action shot.