BEAUTY AMONG THE SUNFLOWERS

Along M-204, which connects the two sides of the Leelanau Peninsula, there is a sight so beautiful that it moves drivers to stop, look, and even take pictures.  I'd visited the site a few years ago, but I had a new reason this summer to spend some time there.

A sunflower farm just outside Suttons Bay had fields of these golden beauties that stretched for as far as your eyes could reach. 

I was torn whether to take pictures of the whole scene or devote my time to photographing single sunflowers.  They each seemed to have a different personality with the way they titled towards the sun or drooped downwardly.

The contrast between the intricate centers and the delicate petals was stunning.  I wondered where the bees were because, in the past, I'd seen lots of them.

But the beauty of the sunflowers wasn't my only reason for being there on this day.  Three years ago, almost to the day, my friend Barbara had her two granddaughters up for a summer visit.  Erin (left) and Casey (middle) were in middle school, and both had an interest in photography.  We spent the afternoon taking pictures all around Northport of what "Fudgies" do when they visit.

But now, Casey is going into her last year of high school, and she asked me to take her senior pictures.  Oh my, how she's grown up in those three years!  We photographed her at the Northport marina, in the village by the flower boxes, in a cherry orchard, and ended up among the sunflowers.

Casey was as lovely and photogenic as the flowers themselves.  Her beautiful smile brightened each of the nearly 400 pictures I shot.  She's in the process of visiting and choosing her college now, and I'm certain she'll be successful wherever she ends up.  (Go, Western!)

As we wandered the field thick with blossoms, I couldn't help but feel the passage of time since first meeting Casey.

Life moves along so fast it's easy to miss important moments unless one stays mindful to the whole process.