Kansas is known as The Sunflower State. I’ve lived here many years, but I must admit that I have never really encountered all that many sunflowers. So I began to wonder – Are there really any sunflowers in The Sunflower State?
This summer I set out in search of The Kansas Sunflower. And I didn’t have to look far. Turns out Mr. Grinter and his family at Grinter Farms plants large fields of sunflowers each year. Their farm is just outside of Lawrence Kansas – only 30 minutes or so from Kansas City. This year they planted about 60 acres of black oil sunflowers. Later this fall they will be harvested and used for bird seed. But prior to harvest the Grinters welcome visitors.
Having discovered the Grinter’s Sunflower Fields, I packed up my camera and my Phantom Quadcopter and headed out. My first visit was was on August 25th. The fields were full of Sunflower plants – absolutely – but no blooms. Guess I was a bit too eager. But ever the photographer, I shot the fields in their totally green state. I returned to the fields on September 1st. And there they were – fields full of wonderful, sunflowers in full bloom. It was a bit cloudy and there wasn’t much sun. But the blooms were there and I did my photography thing. My final visit to the Grinter Farm was on September 5th. A beautiful sunny day and the fields were full of sunflower blooms obediently facing the sun. It was a great day for photography.
Here is a video compilation of my visits to The Sunflower Fields of Kansas.
Hope you enjoyed the video. And if you are ever in Kansas – you really should check out the sunflowers. Apparently late August to early September is the time for sunflowers to do their thing. You can follow their blooming progress on Ms. Grinter’s blog –http://krisgrinter.blogspot.com. She shares information about the sunflowers as well as other interesting information regarding their life on the farm including photos and some great sounding recipes!
Yes Virginia, Kansas does have Sunflowers …………. Enjoy The Adventure!
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