Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Sunny Flowers Indeed

In all of my life,  I have never seen THIS many Sunflowers in the same place...When George took me on my birthday trip on August 4-6,   one of the places we stopped was a favorite of ours,  the Biltmore House and Gardens...

When we were in the car,  getting ready to leave,  we spotted rows and rows and rows of beautiful Sunflowers in bloom.  Of course,  we had to stop and take some pictures.  I'll share them with you today --but it's hard to explain just how many we saw --since we couldn't get all of them into the same photo.  Some man standing there said that there must be thousands... I'm not sure,  but it felt like thousands to me... Today,  I'm sharing some of our gorgeous Sunflower pictures for you.  Hope you enjoy seeing them as much as we did.

See the bees?





Here's a closer picture for you to see the bees enjoying lunch.



I love seeing the mountains in the distance.



Here you can see more flowers, plus the mountains.



Can you see how many???? Rows and Rows... It was awesome!



Here is a very happy girl---who absolutely loves Sunflowers--especially on her 69th birthday.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the Biltmore Sunflowers today.

Have a SUNNY day!!!

Hugs,
Betsy

54 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Good Morning, Betsy! Seeing your sunflowers mady my morning. It is beautiful to see so many together. I love the shot with the mountain in the background. It would look awesome as a screen saver. Great shots, I hope you have a nice day!

Hootin Anni said...

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, such a beautiful array you've shared. And I might add that your lovely smile is infectious...I'm smiling right back atcha!!!

I'm new here, came over from Squirrel Queen's comments. Nice to meet you Betsy.


HOT TOWN SUMMER IN THE CITY is my link for Thursday's Themesong.

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

I love sunflowers too! Those are so pretty. The most I've ever seen were fields of them when driving through Nebraska.

Darla said...

Gorgeous! Bee heaven!!

From the Kitchen said...

I love sunflowers! I love waiting for them to turn their beautiful heads to follow the sun. And I especially love the sunflowers with the mountains in the background. Oh, and the one with you in their midst.

Best,
Bonnie

mamahasspoken said...

What cheerie pictures so early in the morning.
Thanks!

Unknown said...

I love fields of Sunflowers. Wonderful photos!!!

John
relaxedrush.blogspot.com
connectedtothevinephotography.blogspot.com

diane b said...

They are a beautiful sight. I have seen plantation fields of them and it is a magic picture. I love the way they all turn their heads to face the sun. So they all look east in the morning and west in the afternoon. Great shots, especially the one with mountains in the background.

Rose said...

I love them, too, Betsy! We used to have some fields around here that were planted with sunflowers, but no more.

Catherine said...

Aren't sunflowers just the most happiest sunny flowers? How can one not smile when they see such a sweet face ~ and your sweet face too Betsy!!
xo Catherine

Diane AZ said...

Hi Betsy! How awesome for you to see all those sunflowers with the mountains in the background. I love all of the pictures, especially the one with the Happy Birthday Girl!

Anonymous said...

We stopped going to the Biltmore House after the last trip. They had doubled the entrance fee. Since we had already seen it several times we just scratched it off the lists of places to see before we died.

Anonymous said...

Hi Betsy, How cheery! Yes, sunflowers are both lovely and uplifting flowers. Your pictures are just spectacular and so is the scenery! Have a great day!

I Am Woody said...

There were several fields of sunflowers around Tullahoma this summer. Unfortunately by the time my camera was home from the repair shop, all were no longer in their prime:( So glad you were able to see a field in bloom!

Karin said...

Not only do I love sunflowers, but every once in a while, I love eating the seeds - usually on a long car trip!! Have a great day!

DeniseinVA said...

I would love to see a field of sunflowers. Your photos are awesome, especially the last one ;)

MadSnapper said...

i am thinking 10's of thousands, acres and acres. i have never seen more than 10 in a row in real life. these are amazing, love the shot of your smiley face with their smiley faces as background

Birdman said...

Not many but they'll be some soon in our garden. I like to see the remnants surviving winter snows.

Chatty Crone said...

That was gorgeous. I can see why you like going there so much.

I have seen this once before in 1998 - we were in Italy and there were miles and miles and miles of these sun flowers!

Arkansas Patti said...

Love the shot of sunny you surrounded by those sunny faces.
However I can't help but think of the horrid price I pay for sunflower seeds in the winter for my birds.
There is a gold mine there.

TexWisGirl said...

that field has more light than a birthday cake with 69 candles on it! i LOVE it! thank you for sharing it with us!

Anonymous said...

So they're located near the Biltmore Estate? How beautiful! It would be overwhelming to a photographer to see that many at one time... so glad you stopped! WoW! =)

Carol Murdock said...

That's a heap of sunflowers there!
Betsy do by chance have a copy of the Dillard House Cookbook? I got one and the history in it is as good as the recipes but I thought of you when I was reading about ALL the Waterfalls around there! :)

nanny said...

Great Shots Betsy....I love the one with the mountains in the background!! Sunflowers are such Happy Flowers. thanks for sharing these!

Hidden Haven Homestead said...

Those are beautiful!! I can imagine seeing so many would be breathtaking. Just something about seeing sunflowers takes me back to childhood visits to grandma's. Such a peaceful feeling walking among the tall flowers. Have a blessed day my friend.

ruthinian said...

I will never get tired of looking and taking pictures of sunflowers. they are amazing and taller than me. hahaha

Barbara said...

Wow I have never seen so many either, they are gorgeous, thanks Besty for sharing those delightful photos, I planted some once, they were leggy and not pretty at all, cut them all back, and it killed them, lol the end of my sunflowers.

Fred Alton said...

All very beautiful, Betsy! I love sunflowers in bloom and have never seen that many blooming in one place. Thanks for sharing.

Cheryl @ TFD said...

I love the cheerful looking sunflowers! The photo with the mountains in the background is really neat. Have a good day!

Ruth Hiebert said...

Beautiful. I now have another reason why you need to come to Manitoba,Sunflowers. :) Farmers here grow acres and acres of them.It is a beautiful sight,and one I never get tired of.Have a wonderful day my friend.

Ginny Hartzler said...

I love all of them with the mountains in the background!! And you are the most joyful sun flower in the group! Do you notice the bees on them? I have been seeing this different kind of bee only on sunflowers. They are short and stubbed off, not bumbles and not honeybees. And they grab a big ball of pollen or something and roll it around and it gets bigger! I have pictures of them doing this.

happyone said...

A field of smiles!!

Ms. A said...

I can't imagine seeing all the things you've seen and been able to capture in photos. I'm so grateful you share them.

Sally Wessely said...

I always say you take great photos, but these are absolutely amazing. There is a real professional quality to these photos. The sight of all those sunflowers must have been something. You captured the essence of it all for us.

Becca's Dirt said...

Love the beautiful sea of sunflowers. Now that's a LOT of sunflowers.

Janice K said...

How beautiful...Such a "happy" flower. Last fall, if my memory serves me correctly, we saw lots of field of sunflowers in the state of Nebraska. They also seemed to grow along the roadsides.

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

Sunflowers are just such cheerful flowers. I loved that first image of the sunflowers with the mountains in the background.

Janie said...

I just love sunflowers. They're so happy. I love the mountains in the background, and I love seeing pretty, happy Betsy in the foreground!

Bruce Clark said...

Wonderful sunflowers photos. Here locally in Connecticut ours were in bloom about three weeks ago. Very nice.

Beth said...

Gorgeous! Your sunny smile fits right in! I really needed all this brightness today! Thank you.

Carol Mattingly said...

Betsy, you were at Biltmore a few days after me but the same week. And your image you posted looks so much like mine I posted today it's almost uncanny. Carol

Jill from Killeny Glen said...

Your happy face is as BRIGHT as the sunflowers! Lovely!

Leontien said...

Wow that are a LOT of sunflowers! they look beautiful and so do you!

And i am sorry my post made you cry and i am sorry that you lost your friend. But thank you for your sweet comment. They help to stay positive.

Leontien

Connie said...

They are so bright and cheery! I love sunflowers. It must have been amazing to see so many at once. Great pictures, Betsy! :)

Busy Bee Suz said...

I adore sunflowers too Betsy....they just make me smile!!!! Love the bee shot. *wink wink*
xoxox

SquirrelQueen said...

Oh wow, fields of sunflowers and mountains in the background! Could it possibly get any better?

I love those shots Betsy. I have never seen that many sunflowers in one place before. That's a lot of sunflower seeds!

Glenda said...

Your sunny attitude and smile fit right in that beautiful field of sunflowers!

carolina nana said...

I love sunflowers, you can't look at them and not smile they are so cheerful.
I didn't know they grew them on the Biltmore Estate. I wonder if they harvest the seeds ??
Blessings
marilyn

Kirigalpoththa said...

So many sunflowers!! Lovely..

I like that close up photo very much..

Ann said...

what a fabulous place, I love all the sunflowers. I can certainly understand why you were such a happy girl :)

Lynda said...

No wonder you smile looks like sunshine because of all the sunflowers you got to see - - - and share with us! They are gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I, too, love how you got the pic of the flowers and mountains together.

Twilight Man said...

Sunflowers are like happy flowers! You certainly looked happy like one too! May God bless Betsy to have many more happy and healthy years so that I could enjoy her photos! Happy Birthday once more!

Loren said...

WOW.....Your pics almost don't even look real....sooo many of them! They are just gorgeous!!! I can't even imagine seeing all of them in their glory :) God did bless you on your Birthday...Love it when HE does that!!

Cicero Sings said...

Sunflowers are really rather magnificent - especially when seen like this.