The Sun is the enemy. Or Is it?

 When we lived in New Orleans and Houston, it was hot and humid for months on end. You may know that kind of weather. The kind where the air is so thick that it's hard to breathe, and the sun is so intense that all you can think about is finding some shade. During those sweltering months, Ward and his friends would often say, "The sun is the enemy." It became a catchphrase for them. (Although thinking back on it now, that may have been code for "Time to have a cold beer.")

Anyway, we have been experiencing the sun-is-the-enemy weather recently. The last time I checked, the temperature was 96°F. Tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter. So yesterday, to take advantage of a “cooler" day, Ward, Joe (a friend), and I went to the McKee-Besher Wildlife Management Area (McKee). 

McKee is part of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and one of their goals is to provide habitats for a variety of wildlife.  Part of what they do to create a rich and diverse environment for the animals is to plant various crops for them to eat. They grow almost 2,000 acres of grasses, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, winter wheat, clover, and sunflowers, among other things.  Our goal was to see the fields of sunflowers that they plant every summer for migratory birds.  

We set out early to avoid the heat of the day. Did I mention that this is a wildlife area? That means that there were a lot of mosquitoes, ticks, and poison ivy. So, I was covered up from head to toe with a good dose of insect repellent to top it off. My preparations were successful for warding off pests, but I was hot! Too hot! As we hiked from one place to another, my mind kept going back to the saying, "The sun is the enemy."  Our "cooler" day was 90°F by the time we got back to the car.

However, the sunflowers were extraordinary. And I guess sunflowers don't grow in the shade, so maybe this time the sun was not the enemy. Of course, I only had this thought after I was back in the car, cooling off. 😅

Here are a few photos of our day.

They mow paths around the fields, but this is more for work access than hiking. Lots of tall grass makes it tick heaven. Ward is not as sensitive as I am and didn't wear his long sleeves.

The first field was just past its blooming peak.

but it was beautiful all the same.

The grass was shorter around the next field, but poison ivy was widespread throughout it. BTW, birds love poison ivy berries.

The flowers we saw here were not as mature as the first field. These fields are a photographer's heaven, and all the photographers have ladders to get better shots.

Ward was looking for the perfect flower to show Joe a Fibonacci sequence.

And he found it! Notice the intersecting spirals.

There's always one overachiever in every crowd. 😀

After the sunflower fields, we visited a pond and wetlands area.

Here, we saw a wildflower member of the sunflower family,

and wild rose mallow (hibiscus). Until today, I didn't know that Maryland had native hibicus.

Until next time...