gigantious

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Just when I thought sunflower season was over, I found the mother-of-all-sunflowers growing in a neighbors yard near my home. Wow!

Sunflowers are native to North America but there are at least 67 species and several subspecies, all in the genus Helianthus. This one I'll simply call Helianthus gigantious—my own name for it, not a real one—it dwarfed the smaller variety growing nearby.

Vincent van Gogh would have loved to paint this one, but he would have needed a big canvas.

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feeding goldfinch

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I received another great photo from our friend Wayne Mallinger from Madisonville:

"Captured this moment the other day while photographing my sunflowers. Female goldfinch feeding on a half spent mammoth sunflower. It's worth the minimal time in the spring sowing and protecting young sunflower plants to keep birds happy in late summer."

Thanks, Wayne.

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ignorance

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What did Steve Perry of the rock band Journey sing?
Was it "Don't stop believing"?

According to modern folklore, the laws of aerodynamics prove that a bumblebee (in the genus Bombus) should not be able to fly. It's too heavy and does not have the capacity—in terms of wing size or beats per second—to achieve flight.

Not being aware that scientists have proven it cannot fly, the bumblebee succeeds under “the power of its own ignorance.”

The myth about their lack of sufficient aerodynamics should be easy to test but every time an entomologist gets close enough, the bee simply flies away.

They are the fuzzy little engine that could.

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wilting away

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I return once again to Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area in South Knoxville. I've been there many times the past two months watching the fields of sunflowers TWRA plants to attract birds.

The large yellow flowers are wilting; their seeds ripening. Goldfinches are having, if you pardon the pun, a field day.

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July's passing

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July. July. July. It's come, and it's gone.

I associate sunflowers with sunny July and it's hard to see their season come and go as well.