following the sun

We waited so long through our winter last year for Summer to unfold. It is hard to believe we are now undoubtedly bathing in the true thick and humid heat of Australia's mid-Summer.
Even if we didn't want to we have no choice but to follow the sun.

Along with the sun this Summer have come our most majestic and temporary budding guests. They have inspired the naming of our new backyard cottage. They have stood tall, proud and smiling like golden guards over the fruits and vegetables struggling to thrive in the heat below them.

Our Sunflowers.....borne of tiny seeds planted by tiny hands.

We have loved them as they have loved the sun.....inside and out.

Their vibrancy and size have inspired our imaginations and left us in wonder of nature's beauty and of how small we can quickly become. They have towered above us, twice or thrice the size of some of us in fact, with stems so prickly and strong. Once dried they make excellent garden stakes.

Sadly with no more seeds sown, the last of our lofty shoots have bid the garden, and us farewell. But not after providing so much joy and a magnificent lesson in life's cycles. We have not wasted anything of their time with us under the Summer sun.

All seedy goodness has been carefully extracted and yet they are still beautiful. Those caramel coloured prickly husks are a completely different feast for the eyes.

Despite how hot it is as we sit under the guava tree cracking and munching on sunflower seeds...sharing some with the chickens....you can't help but admire and love the sun this Summer just as the sunflowers did.