Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Sunflower Festival- Rutledge, Georgia

 
 

 
The Sunflower Festival was this past weekend in Rutledge, Georgia.  Since my Dad only lives a few miles from the festival, I always like to go to the festival with him.  My camera lens steamed over as I snapped a quick photo of one of my Dad's sunflowers.  (My header photo right now is from almost the same spot last year.)  From the photo, it looks foggy, it wasn't but it was very cloudy and looked as if it might rain all day.  Guess what, it didn't!  After a while, the clouds blew away and it was a beautiful day.  Don't believe me?  See for yourself!
 
Every sunflower festival should begin with a tractor parade!   I love the American flag.  George M. Cohan has nothing on me!  (He's the one who wrote "You're A Grand Old Flag".  Please make sure you see the movie "Yankee Doodle Dandy".  Thank you.)
 
There are artists and other creative people displaying and selling their crafts under the tall oak trees.  Last year, the temperature was over 100, this year...it was the low 80's.  Much more comfortable to enjoy the sunflowers and the atmosphere!
 If you paid $8.00, you could cut as many sunflowers as you could carry.  Many people took them up on this offer.  I always love to see the people walking away with their arms full of sunflowers.
 
With all this rain, the leaves on the sunflowers made it look like a jungle! And they were tall, very tall, some of these were ten feet high.
 
 
There, in the last photo, do you see the oak trees that the people are walking towards?  That is the blessed shade, that once the sun came out, everyone wanted to be underneath it!  All the artists' booths, the entertainment and the food and drink are under the shade trees!
 The sharecropper's house built in 1891 is a focal point with beautiful flowers planted all around it.   Let's get closer, shall we?
 
Is this a watering trough for cows?   It makes a nice spot for hydrangeas too.
 
I always take a shot of the pasture and the sky from the window of the sharecropper's house...I love that view!
 
 
The family that owns the property now allow weddings in this garden.  You should have seen and heard the hummingbirds here! The Georgia Hummingbird Society had a booth right next to this and they spent the early morning, banding the hummingbirds.  I hope to get there early enough next year and I might be able to hold a hummingbird in my hand, here's hoping. 
 
 
 
 
The Rocky Creek Band!  I really enjoyed this band, I thought they were fantastic!  When we first sat down to listen to them, they played "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" which was a song by the Hollies, an English band! AND the very next song, they announced, was by a fellow Georgian, Otis Redding, and the song was "These Arms of Mine".  Boy oh boy, what a great band!  When they played a song by Elvis Presley, you must know that this was my kind of band!
 
Hey! If you don't know this song by Otis Redding, you really should! I have it here for you. Enjoy.
 
 
 
 
Kids had a great time at the Sunflower Festival.  Don't believe me?  Have a look at this!
 
 
 
 
Yes! That is my Dad who is 86 now but I think he might have been the biggest kid there. He is so funny, you can't believe he would get on this kiddie tractor toy. Nothing like being young at heart.  Can you tell he is having fun?
 
I told you it turned into a pretty day!  Y'all come back with me next year, same time, okay?  (This was so tall, I just held the camera up as high as I could and snapped the picture! Meike, you know I thought of you, with that yellow against that blue sky!)
 

38 comments:

  1. Hey, I WANT A TRACTOR LIKE HIS!

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  2. What a wonderful festival. I love the KID having fun on his tractor. Beautiful pictures, Kay. xo Diana

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    1. Thanks, Diana. Richard wasn't with me, so you must settle for the images that I captured this time!

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  3. What a FUN festival! I love tractor parades ... we always have tons of tractors in the local 4th of July parade.

    Your dad looks very sweet and has a definite twinkle in his eye!

    $8 seems like a great deal for all the sunflowers you can carry. :)

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    1. My Dad always has a twinkle in his eye, well spotted, Sue!!

      There were more tractors but most of them had a lot of kids on them, so I can't really show those photos here!

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  4. The sunflowers are lovely but those tiger lilies are gorgeous! One of my favorite flowers.

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    1. I loved all the flowers there, not just the sunflowers in the fields! That is the main reason that I go to the Sunflower Festival, to see all the flowers.

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  5. Great photos! Looks like an amazing day! Thanks for a very happy post!

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    1. Thanks! I took these photos!

      It was a beautiful day, one to remember and keep for a rainy day!

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  6. Oh my gosh! Such glorious, wonderful, sunny photos. What fun! I wish we had something like that here. I would love to have some of those sunflowers. It makes you happy just to look at them.

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    1. Thanks, Kay! I want to see the flowers in Hawaii!!
      Still thinking of you and your Mom holding the sunlight in your hands, one of the best photos I have ever seen!

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    2. I've taken your suggestion and put it on my sidebar. I'm also going to put it on our holiday newsletter. I do love it.

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    3. Kay,
      We have more in common than just our names. You have great taste too!!! So happy to see your great photo on your blog, I will look at it every time I read a post from you! xxx

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  7. Hmmmmm, note to self....check out the Sunflower Festival with Kay next year. Seriously. I'd be one of those people walking out with so many sunflowers you wouldn't be able to see me walking underneath them all!!! I love them. Of course the photos of your Dad made me smile!!! Such a beautiful place and lovely photos!!!

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    1. Mark it right now on next year's calendar!!
      If you ever come down, you wouldn't have to get the sunflowers at the festival, Daddy would let you pick them from his garden for free!

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  8. Thank you, Kay, that last picture really "does it" for me :-)
    I can't believe it is already a year since you told us about the Sunflower Festival, I remember it so well.
    And I also can't believe how sweet and funny your Dad is. He doesn't look (or behave) 86, does he!
    To hold a hummingbird sounds like magic... just to watch them close-up would be wonderful, I think, but holding one...

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    1. I knew you would love that last picture!
      (And do you notice the heart in the second flower, it is in the green just under the flower!)
      My DAd is a "mess", as we say here, he is funny and just that wee bit mischieveous, can you tell?
      Sometimes, the hummers are a bit stunned after being tagged (not hurt, just a little scared) and they are able to be held for just that little moment. I hope I will one day hold one, it would mean so much to me!

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  9. Glad you had such good weather and enjoyed the festival. Nice they have a place in the trees so everyone can keep cool in the shade there. I enjoyed your pictures and do love sunflowers.

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    1. That shade was very welcome indeed!
      I love the sunflowers too, just a beautiful sight with the sun beaming down upon them!

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  10. Such fun! And gorgeous flowers, too. I love the sunflowers. And the hydrangeas and lilies are stunning.

    Your dad is a hoot! Good for him. Being young at heart helps keep us healthy and happy.

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    1. Thanks, Martha! You would have LOVED the flowers, I just know it!!

      My Dad has so much energy! It makes you feel young just to be around him!

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  11. Beautiful photos, Kay! I love sunflowers! Loved seeing your dad having fun on the tractor! I love people who can step outside expected roles and just have fun! Good music too! Hope your having a good day!

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    1. Thanks, Louise! It was a great time at the festival, with good sights, good food, good company and good music!
      Hope you are having a great week!

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  12. What a wonderful festival to have. The Tiger Lilies are just beautiful. After seeing so many altogether, I hesitate to say that I have actually got two in my garden just about to come into bloom (if the wind doesn't destroy them first). It is a constant battle to grow the more exotic plants up here but I am a very determined gardener much to the amusement of the locals.

    By the way, I love the pictures of your Dad - he so reminds me of mine a few years ago. Also, I am just about to email you with the old pictures of Stone Mountain - just look at the 1980's fashions too. x

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    1. Hey Pat!
      It was great! I love Tiger Lillies too!

      Oh, can' wait to see Stone Mountain from the 1980's! I might be in the background with my big hair and shoulder pads! LOL!!

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  13. I love sunflowers and I just can't get them to grow here, if we lived closed to Rutledge I'd be up there cutting away. Your Dad looks like such fun.

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    1. We can't have sunflowers at my house either, we have too many squirrels! (They EAT them!)

      We stayed longer at the festival than I thought we would, my Dad talked to all his friends and to a lot of friends that he met for the first time that day! He IS fun!

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  14. Gorgeous pictures! I enjoyed them all. I would love to see that sunflower patch myself. Nothing like that in Hawaii.

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    1. Thanks! I am glad you liked the photos. I must admit I do wonder what images that Richard took have gotten for you, but at least my pictures give you an idea of what it was like!!

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  15. I love sunflowers and a day out at a Sunflower Festival looks like really good fun.

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    1. It was great fun with a really happy crowd of people!
      The sunflowers were a sight to see.

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  16. What a grand festival! Good for your father, enjoying himself his way.

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    1. It WAS a grand festival! And I didn't tell you, but my Dad had to wait for a little boy who stayed for quite some time on that toy tractor. He waited patiently and then, jumped on it just like a kid, saying, "Hey, Kay, take my picture!"
      You know I did!

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  17. I am late on commenting on this one, but your wonderful sunflower photos sure hit the spot. It is a gloomy rainy day today and I sure needed some colors.

    Enjoy your weekend Kay.

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    1. Thanks! I truly wish that Richard had been with me, I can't help but think his photos would have been spectacular!

      Hope you have a great weekend too!

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  18. Oh I absolutely loved this post. Such gorgeous colours. I would have been one of those people staggering under the weight of as many as I could carry! And I love the one of your Dad - he looks such a sweetheart but with a mischievous twinkle in his eye :) x

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    1. Thanks so much, Julie!!
      You would have loved this sunflower festival. Besides the beautiful flowers, there is such a lively, happy atmosphere.
      My Dad! I am glad that his personality came across in the photos! ;-) xx

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