Visiting the Pope

There was one more trip to the Pope Farm Conservancy to look at the acres of Sunflowers.

It was a good thing not to wait any longer since the Sunflowers time for blooming is over.

The full field of bright yellow heads are now bowed. 

Soon, the seeds will appear as petals float away in the wind.

The trip to the former farm land was part of an adventure through town with family in town on vacation.

It's quite a place this time of year as corn stretches more than 10 feet above the ground and even the now slumping flowers tower 6 feet above the heads of niece and nephew.

While we were walking the perimeter of the fields - guides were sharing the story of the Pope Farm with a small group of visitors tracing its past, present, and future as an educational oasis for an increasingly urban southern Wisconsin population.

Flowers at the west end of the field are fiercely hanging on to their moments in the sun.

Most are like the school kids and families wringing out a few more carefree days before the classroom calls.

Just like the last folks to leave the beach in the face of an incoming storm, the late-bloomers refuse to go quietly into the summer's night.

It stands as a witness to blue skies and sunshine; lemonade and BLTs; and picnics with family.

Late comes soon enough in the fields and in our lives - the ticking clock that fades into the ambient noise of our lives and only alarms us to a quickened pace when we see sand running out of the glass.

You have time to find your sunflower - your moment in the sun.  The people you love have those moments, too.  Take advantage of the longer days of light before the autumn days tuck them and us back to sleep.