<
https://apnews.com/article/sunflower-ukraine-indiana-backyard-guinness-world-record-a31f44168431c3ba5d7886d7e994f1c4>
"FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — When Ukrainian immigrant Alex Babich stands in his
Indiana backyard craning his neck to look 35 feet (11 meters) into the sky, he
isn’t just staring at a sunflower. He is looking at his roots — and his future
legacy.
The flower, nicknamed “Clover” and confirmed Wednesday by Guinness World
Records as the tallest sunflower ever measured, stretches as high as a
telephone pole.
Achieving the feat holds special significance for the 47-year-old Babich since
sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine.
Born and raised in Ukraine, he immigrated to the U.S. at age 14 in 1991 after
the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Seven years ago, he started growing sunflowers
as a symbol of his love for his home country. Babich’s first sunflower was 13
feet (4 meters) tall, then 15 (4.5), then 19 (5.8). Quickly, he began asking
himself, “How far can we take this?” Babich said the record-breaking flower was
the result of “trial and error over years.”
“It’s one of my kids,” he said. “You’re out there every day taking care of
it.”"
Via Susan ****
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
