The Lope: The Sunflower State

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

The Sunflower State

"Home, home again. I like to be here when I can" - Pink Floyd


Ace Jackalope and I have been hither, thither and yon for over three weeks. On the trip home, we enjoyed some of the beauty our world has to offer. A field of sunflowers bows to the waning daylight along highway 400 near Fredonia, Kansas, yesterday.




Ace observes the huge field and notes there is no visible irrigation system. Sunflowers in Kansas are grown as both irrigated and fallow crops. Although Kansas is "the sunflower state", all of the data I could find online indicates that it ranks 3rd in U.S. sunflower production behind North Dakota and South Dakota. Here's some more info on sunflowers.




This is what Adobe Photoshop's "auto correct" setting wants to do to the field. It looks like something Keir Dullea passed through at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey.




The setting sun hides behind a hill near KS Hwy 400 in the Flint Hills at 8:34 PM.




As we pass over a hill, we have a couple more minutes with the sun; it grows more red as we are viewing it through a thicker slice of atmosphere, absorbing more of the longer light waves and leaving us with a higher portion of red. And they say physics isn't fun. This is 8:40 PM.

2 Comments:

Blogger Phyllis RenĂ©e said...

These are my favorite photos I've seen on your site. Absolutely lovely!

Tue Jul 25, 08:17:00 PM  
Blogger Debbie said...

Wonderful pictures! What a treat.

My mother is enjoying The Lope.... well the snakes were a bit much for her.

Thanks for continuing to share.

Peace and Love

Thu Jul 27, 10:34:00 PM  

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