This was a different kind of year in the garden as we moved all kinds of stuff around. Crop rotation I guess you would call it. Interestingly, tomatoes flourished and corn did not, even though both did well where they were at last year. But maybe that had more to do with the sporadic rain we had here all summer. Whatever the case, tomatoes are coming out of our ears and corn looks like it belongs in a wok.

But the big project for me this year was the crop circle! Well, with time crunch as it was in May, it was more like crop semi-circle, but I do plan on finishing it this fall. I took a stake and drove it into the ground, tied a piece of string to it, then put a spray can of white paint on the end of the string and made a template for the circle about 15 ft in diameter. Then, of course, came the real work of getting the sod up and the earth turned for some planting.

So this year I planted it with sunflowers from the seeds I had harvested last year. The seeds were from a dwarf variety that only got about 2 feet tall, but as plants will do, they reverted from their hybrid traits and I got plants from 2-5 feet tall. That was kinda cool as I think it looked more natural than when they were all the same height. There were plenty to cut and give away to friends and neighbors, which everyone always appreciates. It’s nice to bring a little of the outside inside.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do next year. Maybe a whole circle of sunflowers. Or maybe plant some perennial grasses in it like pampas and other tall varieties. I like ornamental grass and it usually looks good year round.

The sunflowers have peaked and are now starting to wane. But I really like that time of the year, and I always like the look of sunflowers that are a little spent. The texture is awesome, the way they kind of wither gracefully. But, I really like to contrast of old flowers and new ones. In a couple of months, all of them will be dried up and I get to explore the seed pods, which really is one of my favorite things to photograph.

But for now, the bees are buzzing and things still look like summer. But in a few weeks, the leaves will start to turn and things will settle down, and we’ll all be ready for some football weekends and maybe a trip or two.

So here are a few shots from the crop circle this morning. It is hard to photograph bees with a macro and no tripod, but one or two turned out like I wanted. Boy, did I ever need a little personal shoot time. All work and no play was making Kemper a dull boy.

Energized….CHECK!!!