The kids are back in school...and the kids are back in school. We had such a great summer, but I'd by fibbing if I said I needed a break.
The bean plans are done...and the bean plants are done. As much as i love the snap of a fresh bean, I'm getting tired of picking them.
The sunflowers are dying...and the sunflowers are dying. Our sunflower house this year was so wonderful. Small, but wonderful. We had a few really big sunflowers grow, including the extra ones we put at the edge of our little garden, which is right out my office window. One particular flower took a hit or two or three from the western wind and as a result never quite stood up straight. When the plant decided to droop over, it made a perfect resting spot of thie little birdie, a nuthatch, I think. I have watched this little guy day after day, come to this flower, reach under and pluck out a seed. Then he sits on the top, a perfect little perch, and feasts away. Over and over, like it was just supposed to be there, like it was supposed to happen.
It's a fair reminder of the change of seasons, and of the season of change. My children, they grow. My beans, they freeze. My sunflowers, in their death bringing the feathered friends as much happiness as they brought me during the peak of the summer.
I've never before saved sunflower heads to use as actual bird feeders, but since we have quite a few this year I'm going to give it a try. From what I've read, I'm going to let them mostly dry on the stem. If the birds eat the seed, well, that's OK because that's what I'm planning on using it for. If they get too hungry, I suppose I could cover them with some garden netting. The head needs to be brown, and the back yellow. Once that's done, I'll just cut the heads off and save them in a dry place. Mildew, apparently, isn't good for the birds. There's a quaint craft on the Martha Stewart site I might throw together, someday when I'm missing summer and the snap of a fresh bean.
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