You Always Remember Your First!

I will never forget this sunflower...actually, I probably will.  But yesterday, I would have bet that there was NO WAY that a sunflower would be blooming today.  I would have lost that bet.

Enjoy, my friends!  This is the first of many.

This bud's for you

For the most part, every sunflower right now looks like this. We still can't promise that they will pop open by this weekend, but we think they will because it is just so darned hot. I'll do more updates at this point, so check back. Especially check in if you intend to make a visit. We would hate to have you make a special trip for a green field.

Some have asked for additional information about the field, so...

THIS IS HOW IT WORKS:
-We are a row crop farm and just happen to plant a few sunflowers. 
-We have neither business hours, nor a store front.
-We do have a field. The closest address is 14754 243rd street, Lawrence, KS 66044.
-The field is NOT at our house. It happens to be around a neighbor's house this year, so PLEASE be respectful and stay out of his yard. We like our neighbor and want him to continue to like us.
-We allow people to stop at the field and take pictures.
-We allow people to cut sunflowers if they wish. We have two "donation" boxes located at the field.
-We do allow professional photographers access to the field. Remember that if you're making $ off of our field, a donation in the box is a lovely and much appreciated gesture.
-If you haul it in, haul it back out. (Last year we almost combined a metal chair that was left in the field. Combines are not cheap, and being without one because of repairs during peak season is very costly.)
-The field will (most likely) be hot and buggy. Be prepared for both.
-There are no restrooms!!!!!!!!!!!! (It's a field.)
Okay! Now that I think I have the rules for engagement covered, I'll just say ENJOY! (And please be careful.) A field of sunflowers truly is a thing of beauty...for about two weeks. We think next weekend (August 30th) is when that two week window will START. I'll stay in touch.-The farmer's wife.

Next Weekend!

The sunflowers are heading out and will be starting to bloom next weekend.  So, the weekend of Aug 30th and Sept 6 should be the two weekends to view them.  (Hopefully)

Thigh high

The sunflowers are now thigh high.  They have had a good amount of rain (especially for August) and are growing like weeds.  As a matter of fact, there are plenty of weeds growing in the field, too. 

This is Farmer Ted out standing in his field.  Unfortunately for him, he made a face when I took the photo, so that is the one that gets posted.  (He said he couldn't believe that I would post this particular photo...but really?  He should know me better by now.)

Still projecting a couple more weeks until they bloom.

Patience!

As things stand

The sunflowers are planted and are popping up.  Most are currently around 6 inches tall.

A rain would help things greatly, but this is KS in August, so chances of getting any are pretty slim.

Our best guesstimate of bloom time is September 1st.  Keep checking back or visit our Facebook Page.

I'll post field location later on.

Sunflowers on TV

Farmer Ted and I were watching TV last night and a commercial for KS tourism came on.  The I hear Ted say, "That's my field!"  Sure enough, we made the cut.

Last summer, the KS department of tourism was out at our place and they had a drone with a video camera shooting some film.  We had no idea what they intended to do with the footage until we saw the commercial last night.  This is the long version and we are at 1 minute, 50 seconds in.  (All of the short versions I've seen end with our sunflowers.)  Pretty neat!  And I'm now a fan of this Logan Mize who is singing.  (Ted met him when they were filming last year.)

Chicken Aprons

I'm really not crazy..at least I don't think so...but I seem to do a lot of questionable things, like attempt to put aprons on my chickens.  No, I'm not one of those people who dress up their animals.  I don't judge.  If it's your thing, that's fine.  But it's not my thing...and it's clearly not my chickens' desire to don clothing.  

So, let me be more specific.  My chickens (all girls) have taken to (literally) picking on each other.  A few of them are pretty bald on their backsides.  When this happens, unless the chickens get bored of the activity, they tend to keep at it.  A chicken's tender skin is quite red from the irritation and chickens LOVE to peck at red things.  What to do?  I've read that chicken aprons (or saddles) will help.  To show you what I'm talking about, I could go take a bunch of pictures of my own birds, or you could look at this one from another blogger:

Pat, at Corn in My Coffee Pot, does an excellent job of showing you the same issue that I'm having with my birds.  This is one of  Pat's photos of her chicken, Ethel.  "Don't look Ethel..."  (Sorry.  Couldn't help it.)

Anyway, I've tried my hand at three fittings now.  I've failed each time.  At tonight's fitting, I took the girls some bread to lull them into a sense of security before I grabbed one and accosted her with the third revision of my apron.  Too small...after the first two were too big.  Ugh!  (Back to the sewing room, I guess.)  After I let the angry bird go, I noticed that I was pretty well covered in chicken poop.  That's alright.  The inside of my washing machine has seen far nastier things, I assure you.  One last check of the nesting boxes yielded me one final egg for the day, which I quickly tucked into the pocket of my poop covered pink John Deere jacket.  I threw the girls some meal worms as a reward for putting up with me and headed inside.  Not wanting to wear poop covered clothes through the house, as soon as I got inside the door, I took the offensive jacket off and chucked it downstairs because that's where my washing machine is located.  Then I remembered the egg.

*UPDATE*
After my hubby got home last night, he held Bully (yes, that's the name of this bird) and I managed to get the apron on her.  She seems very happy today and maybe the other birds will take the peace signs as a message.  Now to make a few more aprons for the other naked chickens...