Upstate Griswold, Connecticut is home to Buttonwood Farm, known for its homemade ice cream and 14 acres of sunflowers. A sunflower festival is held there each year for a week in July, where people can take walks through the glorious sunflower fields and buy bouquets of the cut sunflowers for a $5 donation to the Make A Wish Foundation. On the end of the last day, people gather to watch as the cows are let loose in the fields of sunflowers which will then be used for feed. I was painting there with friends on that last day, and we were warned that we needed to be out of the field by a certain time, or we’d risk being trampled by the stampede of excited cows. It got a little nerve-wracking toward the end of the painting, because we could hear the cows as they were coming closer, and there was a lot of mooing going on! We barely got out in time to witness the event. Cows and calves of all sizes wandering into the field, seemingly unsure at first of what was happening, but then as soon as a few figured it out, a contagion of excitement spread, and it was a sight to behold… the cows and calves all running, romping, kicking up their heels… or rather hooves, sunflowers coming down left and right! Sad to see the sunflowers being demolished, but fun watching the cows.
Upstate Griswold, Connecticut is home to Buttonwood Farm, known for its homemade ice cream and 14 acres of sunflowers. A sunflower festival is held there each year for a week in July, where people can take walks through the glorious sunflower fields and buy bouquets of the cut sunflowers for a $5 donation to the Make A Wish Foundation. On the end of the last day, people gather to watch as the cows are let loose in the fields of sunflowers which will then be used for feed. I was painting there with friends on that last day, and we were warned that we needed to be out of the field by a certain time, or we’d risk being trampled by the stampede of excited cows. It got a little nerve-wracking toward the end of the painting, because we could hear the cows as they were coming closer, and there was a lot of mooing going on! We barely got out in time to witness the event. Cows and calves of all sizes wandering into the field, seemingly unsure at first of what was happening, but then as soon as a few figured it out, a contagion of excitement spread, and it was a sight to behold… the cows and calves all running, romping, kicking up their heels… or rather hooves, sunflowers coming down left and right! Sad to see the sunflowers being demolished, but fun watching the cows.