Sunflowers

I found this perfect woodland sunflower blossom growing at the drip edges of trees shading the banks of a western Massachusetts river. Perhaps three inches wide, these abundant summer sunflower plants reach up three to four feet, and bunch together above tall grasses and other brush.
Our week has been cool and largely overcast, with a low of 45F Monday. The summer sun has retreated some 13 degrees from its June 21 high (see The Analemma, June, below), and daylight hours are noticeably shorter. Still, as this sunflower attests, summer fertility will last at least another month at this latitude.