This has been a remarkable summer all along, and now—for the second year in a row—Babs Young sent a photo of sunflowers without a single Triffid in evidence. She writes: The sunflowers are in full bloom up here. This is Maple Bay Farm on US 31 south of Elk Rapids and is now part of the Grand Traverse Land Conservancy. This is just one small field in front of this great Victorian home built around the turn of the last Century. Across US 31 are several more fields.
Don’t you wish you had a field of sunflowers like that in front of your house? You ought to see the rest of the property. It flows down, down, down through layers of geological time to the present-day beach on Grand Traverse Bay. You can see clearly where the ancient lake bed used to be, and how the levels dropped. It’s a nice walk. Restorative. Triffid-free.
Torch Lake Views 
uphilldowndale
August 15, 2011
Stunning, sunflowers should be available on prescription, such a tonic
Gerry
August 15, 2011
They are everywhere this time of year, filling the farm markets and the fields, their pretty faces following the sun. I just love them.
Joss
August 15, 2011
I followed all the links to triffids and sunflowers and saw some lovely images. If you could photo the triffids I’m sure they would look like himalayan balsam. It’s now in flower here and although we can still bash it, the time is getting dangerously close when bashing it just helps spread the seeds further. I took my son out for a go at it last month and he laid waste to a huge area using nothing but a ball launcher. Together we managed to open up a vista which revealed a swamp. An actual swamp. Now local dogs can get covered in pond weed and mud right up to their muzzles and the local community is going to be really grateful to me!
Gerry
August 15, 2011
Ah, the “unintended consequences of purposive social action.” Or perhaps just “no good deed goes unpunished.” Weed-bashing is art as much as science. I keep thinking we ought to find a way to get one invasive species to eat another–particularly one that will give it a heart condition leading to an early death.
I hunted for himalayan balsam images online (this is a particularly nice one). It’s a very pretty thing, until you learn that it can grow to 6-10 feet tall and smother everything in its path. Bash away, Joss.
P.j. grath
August 15, 2011
The large sunflower in the foreground and pretty house in the background make this photograph perfect. I don’t think I’ll try to photograph sunflowers at all now. Babs has done it!
Gerry
August 15, 2011
But–but–they’re always different! Even Babs takes a new one or two or a dozen each year. Sunflowers are irresistible. I take pictures of them too. Go figure.
Scott Thomas Photography
August 15, 2011
DYI, in North Dakota, sunflowers are a huge crop. You go by thousands and thousands of sunflower fields this time of you. Though I like this place. Surely a golden place to live.
Gerry
August 15, 2011
I love sunflowers but I suppose that after awhile driving past miles and miles of them becomes routine. I’ve seen them in Kansas, stretching to the horizon. Didn’t know North Dakota was a big grower too. Stands to reason. Sunflowers are such a useful plant.
kanniduba
August 15, 2011
Wow! What a stunner!!! 🙂
Dawn
August 15, 2011
AMAZING!
Beth Toner
August 24, 2011
Joseph & Viola commented on this place as we drove by. Joseph LOVED the sunflowers. Loved them.