The Pope Farm Conservancy in Middleton is enjoying a peak week of Sunflowers over several rolling acres.
The flowers are a major attraction.
Overflow parking lots are carved out of nearby fields to hold the rides for the thousands of fans drawn to a yellow carpet.
As I made my way across mown paths to the flowers, the idea a bunch of flowers can persuade individuals and families to drop what they're doing for a ride to the park made me smile. Not a bad thing in a "Pokemon Go" world.At 7 a.m. several dozen people wandered the perimeter of the field taking photos and selfies while measuring themselves against giant flowers.
The Pope Farm Conservancy is essentially a public farm. It's used to teach Madison area fourth graders (and the rest of us) about farming and the origin of the food on our tables.
It's an interesting spot. An actual farm with fields growing crops used for teaching.
There are other fields - corn, soybeans, and three others - to watch grow through the seasons until harvest.
There's an incredible stone fence - made with rocks picked from the fields over many years.
A nod to the public are the spacious grass lanes around each field.
It's a great place to walk or run in the quiet of nature.
Sunflower Days - the conservancy's public celebration runs through Sunday. Many of the flowers are expected to stick around.
I think it's virtually impossible to walk around a field of sunshine without smiling. In fact, the blooms share a remarkable resemblance to those ubiquitous smiley faces you might recall from the 1970's, or at least the Forrest Gump movie.
If you go, I'd recommend the morning if you want to avoid some of the crowds. Or bring some patience if you want to capture the sun setting over the flowers.
You don't need a camera to capture the view, the incredible yellow smiles on stalks will leave you with views you'll never forget.
If you can't make it this year, make a date for the end of July in 2016.
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