Lavender and Sunflowers

If you plan your trip to the south of France in late June to early August, one of the serendipities will be 

the lavender you will find growing amongst the hills.

Looking from atop the hillside villages of the Luberon valley, we could see fields of lavender growing in the distance,

so off we'd go trying to find them.

My husband was most accommodating at pulling off the roads and waiting patiently in the car while

I would forge through the fields, climbing over ditches, keeping a watch for any anxious farmers,

and avoiding the swarming bees to try and capture a few photos so we could have some visual record of the beauty that we found.

It was one of the most rewarding "treasure hunts" I've ever been on.  

Here we found another beautiful field, as it was just starting to bloom, in front of the Abbaye de Sénanque, a medieval Cistercian abbey. The only challenge here was avoiding all the other tourists,  since this is one of the most photographed and well known places to find lavender.

Almost as much fun was walking through the fields to capture a photo of sunflowers

and sometimes finding when we got there, that their path towards the sun took them away from us. The French word for sunflower is tournesol which means turn with the sun.

Did you know that a sunflower is not one flower but a cluster of 2000 tiny flowers growing together? I find them fascinating.

Sunflower, how I long to be like you!

Glorifying God in all I do.

Following the Son and his path of light

To worship Him in His glory shining bright.

Katherine Love, 1995