People have been affected in profound ways by the coronavirus pandemic. Being stuck at home is bad enough, but health restrictions and being unable to travel has caused people to cancel vacations and large-scale events.
If you are feeling a little down due to the pandemic, you aren’t alone. It got so bad that one farmer in Wisconsin decided to turn one of his fields into something to smile about. He planted 2 million sunflowers to achieve that purpose.
If you are interested in seeing what farmer Scott Thompson did, you would have to travel to Bristol, Wisconsin. He lives on a farm that has been part of his family for more than 7 decades. In all of that time, none of his family has seen something like the pandemic that we are seeing today. He discussed it with his wife and they decided to lift people’s spirits by planting sunflowers on the Thompson Strawberry Farm.
Posted by Thompson Strawberry Farm on Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Thompson spoke to CNN, saying: “We just did it … and we just kept building. As the season went on, the pandemic never went anywhere … and we thought people might be looking for something to do, and what a great way to social distance and … smile, basically.”
After planting the field of sunflowers, they found that many people were attracted to the area. Thousands of people have come by to take pictures and to pick a flower.
Amy Lieb Knobel is a Facebook user who recently visited the farm and took a picture. She posted the picture online to share the day with others.
Posted by Amy Lieb Knobel on Monday, September 7, 2020
Typically, the family will plant raspberries, pumpkins, or strawberries in the fields. They still had plenty of room left to plant those other items, but they used 15 of the fields to plant sunflowers. All in all, they planted 22 acres of sunflowers!
In order to add even more color, they also planted zinnias and wildflowers.
Posted by Thompson Strawberry Farm on Monday, August 24, 2020
During the month of September, you can go to their fields to pick your own flowers. They are open from 10 AM till 7 PM every day. The cost is $25 per car, but you can bring up to 6 people. Up to a dozen flowers can be picked.
You might also want to consider taking a picture or 2 and sharing the sunshine online for others to enjoy.
“I’m just glad we get to have a business people are happy to come to … and get away from the city,” Thompson told CNN.