The Sunflower Experiment

Here's another nature story with a modern technology twist. I've asked myself why it's okay to write about nature stories in this blog - I answer myself that for me nature reminds me to be present, to know that "we," the whole of God's world, are one. The beauty and perfection of nature reminds me that there is only one presence in my life and in the universe, God the good, omnipotent.

My story begins with buying a couple packets of seeds for sunflowers. One of the packets said the flowers would grow to 4-6 feet tall, another said 2-3 feet. I planted the seeds (trying to remember to put the smaller plants in front of the taller ones) in the best place near our house - the area that receives full sun in the morning. We would see if they grew.

I had a setback moment  several weeks later when I realized I wouldn't be able to keep up watering these plants - they were too far for the hose to reach and the watering can just didn't work well. I kind of gave up. But ... my husband didn't. We have been running two dehumidifiers in our basement all summer because it gets so damp. Unbeknownst to me, every time he emptied one of the dehumidifier "tubs," he would take it outside and water our sunflowers.

One day he suggested I take a look at our sunflowers. Really? We had shoots all over.

And so the flowers grew and grew and grew. They fed bees, hornets and butterflies.

 We had huge flowers and smaller flowers - tall stalks and shorter stalks. I could see the sunflowers from across our yard as I drove up to our house. I smiled every time I saw them.

Then one day, the tallest stalk with the biggest flower cracked. The plants were mature or spent now. About 10 days ago, my husband again called me over to the sunflowers. They were all leaning over and there were sunflower seed shells scattered underneath them. Our sunflowers now were feeding squirrels and birds and probably deer too.

The sunflower seeds were an experiment. I call the experiment a HUGE success. Yea, God!

~ JEAN