The Sunflower

You may recall that back in the Spring, A kept telling everyone that she and I were going to have a fabulous time growing sunflowers together. Seeing as how I had no intention of growing sunflowers and had not proposed any such project to her, I was a bit perplexed. I've never been much of a gardener. Along the lines of "the frugal gourmet" or "the thrifty traveler," I call myself "the haphazard gardener." I throw seeds in dirt and hope for the best. I never save the package and so when something does sprout, I have no recollection of what it might be. I like surprises.

In April, I took the kid to the gardening store and we bought some starter trays and a few packs of seeds, including sunflower seeds. We dutifully planted everything and waited patiently, watering our dirt each day. But then, my friend Kevin died and I had to fly out for his funeral during the seedlings' crucial first days. When I transplanted what was left of the plants in May, none of the sunflowers seemed to have survived. However, one seed somehow landed among the petunias and so . . . we have one solitary but mighty sunflower. Behold!

I also feel compelled to share one additional photo. Last Saturday we took a family trip to our local wildlife sanctuary. The squirrels and chipmunks were in quite a pre-winter frenzy, busily stealing seeds and such that had been set out for the birds. This little chipmunk was so pre-occupied with stuffing his cheeks (literally) that he didn't notice I was lying on the ground with a camera just inches away.