HELIOTROPE BOUQUET

I gotta get out on the street and shoot something new. For now, one more close-up of the business end of a sunflower. The post might be better described by something besides my words:     

 

 

ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI

All of the recent sunflower pictures were taken in the Columbia Bottom State Conservation Area. Bottom here means river bottom land and sometimes flood plain, so there has to be a river nearby. This is the Missouri, just above its confluence with the Mississippi. That's around the bend to the right. It's interesting to stand on the point of land right at the junction and watch the waters mix. The Mississippi is very muddy and the Missouri much less so. You can see the two streams go a long way before they mix completely.   

I gotta go find something sticky for theme day but what? Ice cream on the pavement?              

SPECTATOR SPORT

Everybody who goes to see the sunflowers in the state conservation area wants some snaps. I'm no exception, of course. Phone cam pictures can be fine if you use it well. One advantage of the flowers heliotropic behavior is that they can all be facing you at the same time. The disadvantage is that means they are all backlit. Improvise, improvise.              

BEFORE THE SUN RISES

I suppose it's accurate to say that I am someone more of the unnatural / man made world than the natural. No Alexander von Humboldt I. There are only a few places more unnatural than New York City, my place of origin.

There are many lessons to be learned off the pavement. I said something in yesterday's post about the complexity of the sunflower. This is what it looks like in its early development. You can just see the elements of what it will become after a genetic explosion.                

BZZZZ

It is no wonder that bees are symbols of industry. Countless numbers of them were working the field I've been showing recently. I was puzzled by their activity, though, since I could not distinguish the pistils and stamens I remember from high school biology class.

It turns out that I don't know much about sunflowers other than their association with Mrs. C's home state of Kansas. They are complex. The points of those whorls (arranged in a Fibonacci pattern) are individual mini-flowers that will eventually become heavy with the seeds some people love to munch. They are heliotropes. In their early and middle stages the heads move from east to west in unison to follow the sun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helianthus_annuus . Some of the many things that city kids don't learn.                   

 

SENTINEL

Why does one sunflower tower over the others? It looks so alert, as if keeping watch over a ragtag group of nodding heads.                        

LOVE THY NEIGHBOR, AND THY CUSTOMER

More sunflowers pushed back another day. I was too drained after another open-air opera matinee in STL summer heat to do editing, although the performance of The Barber of Seville was fabulous. Before the show we had lunch at a place called Olio. https://www.oliostl.com/. It's been around a few years but we had never tried it.

Locals who are interested can see my rave review at https://www.yelp.com/biz/olio-saint-louis?q=public%20health. The sign in the photo seemed to reflect the attitude of the owners and staff.