A Field Of Green And Yellow...

 My wife and I were talking the other day when the subject of sunflowers came up in conversation. It's an odd topic, sunflowers. Thinking back, I don't recall if we actually saw a sunflower, but something sparked the flora discussion.

"They say," my wife said, "that an increase in sunflowers signals a harsh winter."

It's the kind of phrase that makes one think, Did I know that? Had I heard/read that somewhere before? I don't know the answers to those questions. I do think I've seen a lot of sunflowers this summer, and if the saying is true, we're in for another tough winter. Last winter was rough, mostly because of a side gig our family had last winter, a gig of snow removal for a retirement community. We shoveled driveways and sidewalks for two years. The first year, we were called out four times. Last year, it was almost a weekly thing. It was a harsh winter--don't know if we could do it again.

Tonight on a drive we passed a field of sunflowers, comforting greens and brilliant yellows. The wind whipped the flowers from side to side as if trying to capture my attention...

It worked.

Soon, the cooler temperatures, the shorter days all spell doom for the flowers as it has for thousands/millions of years. Next year, even after the harshest winter, the flowers will return to fields, home gardens, sidewalk cracks, and open spaces everywhere...at least, in our part of the world.

Green and yellow, the colors of citrus fruits, the colors of the University of Oregon, one light, one dark...not similar, but they look great together.