Sunday, July 1, 2012

Sunflower Festival-Rutledge, Georgia-2012

  The Sunflower Festival!  It was a fantastic day!  Yes, is was hot, so very, very hot.  It broke the record in Atlanta at 106 degrees but we were east of Atlanta in Rutledge, Georgia which is about 50 miles away, and believe it or not, I think it was hotter there!  My Dad said he would go to the Sunflower Festival with me and when I mentioned how hot it would be, he said, "We'll be alright, we'll stay in the shade".  Ready?  Let's go!



See my Daddy posing for me under this fig tree? This is the largest fig tree I have ever seen in my life and it reminded me of a verse from the Bible,
 John 1:48.     Nathanael said to Him, "How do you know me?'  Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Phillip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
 This property has an old sharecropper's house on it and so many of these houses have been torn down now so it is nice to still see one.  I believe it was built in 1891.  The flowers around this house are just incredible.  Believe me when I tell you, this had to be watered constantly for the flowers to look this good, we have had very little rain.

This garden was closed for a bit while members of the Hummingbird Society were capturing and banding hummingbirds!  It was scary to see this woman do this, it looked so much as if she was about to cut the beak off!  Don't worry, she just measured it and then weighed it, in grams!  I couldn't hear how much it weighed, but it wasn't much...what a tiny, precious bird.  Look at that little eye.

Dare to be different! 
You could go into the sunflower field and cut the sunflowers and take as many as you could carry for $15.00.  A lot of people were taking them up on it...some looked as if they were walking sunflowers!



My Daddy had such a good time!  He talked with everyone there, not only with his good friends who he sees all the time, but even with people he had never met before.  In this photo, he is posing with Rena Holt.  She is the one who organizes the Festival each year and it has grown to be one of the most well-attended festivals in the entire Southeast!

Do you remember that they planned to sell sunflowers and make a sunflower chain and all proceeds were going to go to Aimee Copeland?  They did sell the sunflowers but I think the work of putting the sunflowers together to make the chain was just too much in the extreme heat...but I hope that they collected a lot for her.  I don't know what the total collection came to, but if I find out, I will come back and edit my post and let you know.

Corey Durkin is the singer who wrote a song about Aimee Copeland and he sang his song here and he told us how he had visited her in the hospital and was allowed to sing for her there.  We were happy to speak with him.  He is a most personable, young man and my Dad really liked him too!

  Here is the song from Youtube  and he also talks a bit about Aimee Copeland and how he came to write the song.  If you ever read this post, Corey, I was very moved by hearing you sing this live!

We had such a good time at the Sunflower Festival...if I am asked what did I do on the hottest day EVER in Atlanta...I will be able to say I spent most of the day outside with my Daddy at a Sunflower Festival!   (This sunflower is at my Dad's house, and I can see my reflection in the bumblebee!)

33 comments:

  1. Oh. You are very brave to be outside today! I must admit I'm at the beach for the 2nd time this summer and we are actually cooler here than at home. (Knoxville also broke the record today at 106). You will be glad you spent your time with your dad someday. He seems like a charmer;-)

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    1. Hey Jeanette!
      Someone at church told me that it was in the 80's at the town in Florida where her sister lived on Saturday and I told her I need to visit her to cool down!
      My Dad is the best! I have written about him before on my blog if you would like to go back and read about him! :-) Stay cool!

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  2. 106? That's like being in an oven. Your dad was a trooper to go with you. Those sunflowers are so beautiful.

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    1. Dear Kay,
      Exactly so, you walk out your door and BAM, that heat hits you just like an oven.
      Thank goodness, we had a bit of unpredicted rain on Sunday and it cooled it down slightly. That rain was much prayed-for rain!

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  3. Lovely pictures, and good to hear the festival was so well visited in spite of the extreme heat.
    Is the wooden house still lived in?
    The humming birds are indeed so precious and delicate!

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    1. Thanks! And I took all these photos, Richard had to work!
      The house now has old furnishings in it, and is shown so that people may see what it was like to live like during those times. I will try to get in there and take photos next time!
      The hummingbirds are so tiny and beautiful. We have them at our feeder in our own backyard!

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  4. So many sunflowers together look gorgeous. What a wonderful day you had, and in the company of your dad too. I would have wilted in that heat!
    The hummingbird is so tiny, I had no idea they were so small.
    It will be interesting to know how much was raised for Aimee Copeland; and how nice that you met Corey.

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    1. Dear Tracey,
      It's funny, every now and then, I would imitate the Wicked Witch of the West and say, "I'm melting, I'm melting"...and when that would make someone laugh, I would then say, "I wish someone WOULD throw water on me!"
      It was nice to meet Corey and I was most impressed that he was able to perform in that heat! All for a good cause, of course, and I hope to find how and put the amount on here. There were not as many people as usual, due to the heat I am sure, but I saw a lot of twenties being put in the collection pot, rather than ones!

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  5. Wow I like the corrugated tin roof. And the sign on a rusty piece of corrugated. I'm going to steal that idea for my ramshackle gallery sign.
    By the way,I would not be able to cope with that heat.

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    1. Hey John!
      I just had a reference to "The Wizard of Oz". Am I going to have to call you my "Tin Man"? :-)
      Steal away, and I hope to see it on your blog!
      The heat was brutal and more so for me, since I was in such cool weather in Eastbourne the first two weeks of June!

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  6. 106, Kay? I think I would die in that heat!

    Where do I start with this post? Everything is lovely. I can't get over that fig tree. How I'd love to be able to grow one here. I really like figs, but only really fresh ones. I can imagine how thrilling it would be to pluck one right off my own fig tree.

    Those sunflowers! How gorgeous. One of my favourite flowers. Such a happy bloom.

    And what a nice song by Corey Durkin. It must have been great to hear him sing it.

    It looks like you had a wonderful day. The photos are beautiful, and your dad looks so happy. Thanks for sharing this special time with us.

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  7. Looks like a great place to visit, liked the sharecropper's house. Love the sunflowers. You're so lucky to be able to do things with your Dad!

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    1. Hey!
      It was great and great fun with my Dad who never meets a stranger.
      Hope you are coping in the heat!

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  8. What a wonderful day that was for you both! Glad you went, and happy that you shared it with us.

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    1. Thanks, Mimi. Now, if only we could get some rain!!

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  9. Your Dad's a real trooper to be out in that heat and sun! You too! Glad it was a fun time for you both.

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    1. My Dad is outside most of the time. He has a huge garden and he raises cows too. He is SUPPOSED to be retired! :-)

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  10. Sunflowers are amazing - especially en masse! They can put a smile on anyone's face :) We've been hearing about the heat wave you all are having and it's truly frightening - I hope it lets up really soon. Your Dad is a sweetheart and I can tell people just gravitate towards him everywhere he goes. Love that song - very heartfelt and encouraging for Aimee - he's a very talented writer and performer.

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    1. Dear Jane,
      The sunflowers! So beautiful! They are native to the Americas, you know!
      And it is true, people just buzz around my Dad like...well, like bees around sunflowers!
      And Corey was such a sweet guy! It was an honor to meet him and talk with him.

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  11. What super pictures, Kay. I love sunflowers but I doubt if we will have such beauties this year in England. NO SUN! Would you like some of our rain in exchange for a little of your liquid gold?


    Tasha

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    1. Hello Tasha!
      How lovely to see your comment here! And thank you for saying thise photos are good! My husband usually takes all the photos but I took all of these!! And I would love it if you could arrange for us to get some rain, we need it so badly!
      Where are you in England? Do tell! :-)
      And how did you find me? (Glad you did.)

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    2. Hi, Kay
      I live in the very Heart of England - wonderful Warwickshire, and I found your super blog through Ocean Breezes & Country Sneezes.
      Tasha
      P.S. Still raining!

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  12. Kay- Thank you for finding me because now I found you back. You have a wonderful blog and I will be popping in from now on. What a great festival. How wonderful that your Daddy is still alive and that you can enjoy his presence-xo Diana

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    1. Hey!
      Thanks so much! You live in a beautiful part of the world. TWELVE lighthouses! I would be over the moon in live in such a gorgeous spot!
      We had a great time at the festival. I just called my DAD, he couldn't talk, had to go see about his cows!!
      Take care. Please visit again!

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  13. My goodness it's been hot! I don't know how you did it! I would have melted! Beautiful photos and beautiful sun flowers! Have a wonderful 4th of July!

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  14. Hey Mary!
    It was hot but worth it!
    Thanks and I hope you have a wonderful 4th!!! :-)
    Have you seen the osprey cam on the audubon website? Now, they have a puffin-cam too!!

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  15. Cabins look interesting. Remember seeing fields of Sunflowers like that in Germany.

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    1. Dear Barbara,
      You would have loved the flowers around this old house. It might not be that impressive for someone used to English gardens, but I can assure you that gardens like these are almost impossible here, especially in the drought and heat that we have had!

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  16. Lovely pic of Sunflower! Lovely flower!

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    1. Oh thank you so much! The sunflowers are beautiful.
      So much so that even I can't take a bad photo of one!

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  17. Hi Kay - Found your site through a random blog hopping expedition. There are so many interesting people out there and it is a joy to meet them. Loved the sunflowers. Remember them grouwing wild on the roadside in Oklahoma when I was a girl. And I like the picture of the sharecroppers cabin. Very well done indeed. Thanks for sharing. - Karen

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    1. Hello Karen!
      Thank you so much for your comment. I am thrilled you liked my photos! My husband usually takes them, but he had to work this day so they were all taken by me. This festival is very special to me and I enjoyed it so much, even though I felt like I was melting!
      Please visit me again. I was often called "Kay-Run" when I was little!

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