Sunflower Selfies at Colby Farm

After seeing one too many perfectly posed picture among the sunflower fields in my IG feed, I caved. I mapped out the closest field, which happened to be the big IG selfie spot I was seeing everywhere, and planned our trip.

They opened at 9am, so I wanted to arrive around 10:30-11; enough time for the first wave of early risers to trickle out, but still plenty of time before the mid-day mob. Parking was $10, so I made sure to put cash in my wallet (I never have cash on me, so this was, like, a lot of effort). I combed through the sunflower selfies to find the poses that would be the most flattering. I didn't want to be a total cliche, but I was going to a sunflower field in late August, so cliches were the name of the game.

When I tell you these pictures don't do it justice, I'm not kidding. It was the absolute perfect day to be outside; cobalt sky, cumulus clouds, sunny but not too hot. The yellow petals positively popped against the green stalks and blue sky.

Naturally there were a lot of bees. Like, a lot. I know that bees are attracted to flowers, but I thought the hoards of people would deter them a little? Not at all. I know this is a good thing, that humans aren't ruining nature, and I know the bees didn't want me. But when you step off the path into the sunflower unknown, it's a little jarring to have five thousand bees immediately swarm your way. The most I was able to capture on camera were three on one flower at once, but that's like amateur hour compared to what was really going on out there. 

I think the season is already over, but if you have the opportunity to see a sunflower field, it's so worth it. Worth dealing with the teenage parking attendants who don't give a crap if there's still spots in the lot. Worth the trek from the parking lot to the field and all the people you come in proximity with (people are really good about wearing their masks here). Worth the silly feeling you have when you realize you're posing with a sunflower, and not just posing, but having a full-on photo shoot. One glance around the field confirms what you already know: no one is paying any attention to you b/c they're all too self-absorbed in their own curated selfie.