Earth laughs in flowers.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
As the height of summer approaches, and the heat begins to take center stage, many plants are starting to wilt. Not so the sunflower! It stands proudly and at the beginning of life, turns toward the sun....
As Joe and I observed our sunflowers, and read Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study, we were amazed at what we learned. For example, did you know.....
....that the sunflower is not a single flower, but is a large number of flowers living together?
....that each little floret has a job to do?
....that the "pretty" petals are called rays?
I like how Ms. Comstock phrases this description:
And what could be more interesting than to watch its beautiful inflorescence...and outside all, the ranks of ray flowers flaunting their flags to herald to the world this peaceful conquest of the sleeping, tented buds at the center?
~Handbook of Nature Study, p. 574
Joe's comment was, "Mommy. They just seem so....bright. And happy." I agree. Truly.
Here is Joe's journal entry:
It's hard to read his observation, so here it is:
Our sunflower has ray flowers that are yellow with patches of red, orange, and some green. The stalk is covered with prickly hairs. Today there were bees collecting pollen and several gold finches flew away.
All in all, a fun morning with my son observing nature's beauty. Learning, laughing, and just enjoying each other.
Sharing today at the Outdoor Hour Challenge:
Sunflowers make me happy too Joe! I loved seeing your study and the journal is such a great example, the details are very well done. Thank you so much for sharing your entry with the OHC.
ReplyDeleteLove the photos and quotes. It's wonderful to see creation through the eyes of our children, the miracle of it all and the God who fashioned it for us and said it is "Good".
ReplyDeleteWe are still waiting for our sunflowers to bloom, looking forward to the blossoms even more after reading your lovely post. Thanks for sharing. :)
This is a lovely post. I love how you have interweaved your discoveries with the quotations from HNS. Your photos are wonderful and the journal page is awesome.
ReplyDeleteJumping over from OHC, it's nice to meet you! I too love how you inculded the quotes. I enjoyed the last poem in HNS: "The Sunflower" by Montgomery. Lovely to see your sons page.
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