Sunflowers and more sunflowers!

Never have I been so obsessed with sunflowers! I only have three plants this year -- up from one last summer -- but their blooms are prolific. Birds are eating the seeds and the chickens are devouring the leaves I toss into their pen. As for me, I just gaze out the window and delight in them! I keep promising myself that next spring I will plant one of every kind The Seed Bank offers. I'm new at this, but I think they come in oranges, browns, reds and lots of yellows. I will make myself the sunflower expert of Sonoma County, it will become my latest new enthusiasms (of wish I seem to have an unending supply).

Steve heard a radio commentator say that July was the coldest in the Bay Area in 50 years. I write about the weather constantly and I bewail the fate of my little green golf ball tomatoes, and I've even said things like, "I don't remember it ever being this cold since we moved here." Well, we moved to Sonoma County in 1995 and to California (from Illinois) in 1977 -- all years fewer than fifty so I guess I've been speaking the truth. Don't misunderstand -- it's been a gorgeous summer! We've had bright sunny afternoons, lots of breezes and flowers are blooming abundantly. I'm also aware that most of the United Sates is suffering in extreme heat. The only thing I miss is, well, bright red tomatoes that ripen in the heat...