Field Trip: Sunflower Fields Forever (Pope Farm Conservancy)

One of my good friends has a pretty tattoo on her foot that says girasol in cursive. It's the type of tattoo that makes me wish I was brave enough to get a tattoo.

"What's it mean?" I ask, because I'm inherently nosy. She explains she got the tattoo in memory of a friend, and it's the Spanish word for sunflower, which has a beautiful literal translation: "turn to the sun." (girar meaning "to turn" and sol meaning "sun.")

I thought of her, and her friend, a lot on Thursday as I wandered amongst the beautiful sunflower fields at the Pope Farm Conservancy. If you're in the Madison area this weekend, I recommend checking it out. It's free, and well worth the short drive!

Sunflowers actually do turn their faces toward the sun, and track it as it goes across the sky. (It's an activity called heliotropism, or solar tracking.) Isn't it nice when nature conveniently hands you a life metaphor? It's so easy to focus on the negative in life, but, everyday we all have another option: turn to the sun.

If you're planning on checking out the sunflower fields, go before this Sunday—they don't stay bloomed for long—and there's space to have picnics! I did some writing when I was there, and it'd also be a great place to read.

(It's also a good place for family pictures....or solo pics if you're cool like me.)

I hope, regardless of any current struggles, you spend this weekend turning toward the sun. xx