A Beautiful Time Of Year

It's such a lovely time of the year that it's easy to forget the rigors of winter. The pigeons have been cooing and making nests, but so far there have been no babies. This I take to be a blessing because if all those eggs hatched, I'd be inundated with pigeons. I don't think there is a big market for pigeons:

The Spirea bloomed gloriously but briefly. This was the last photo of it because a rain storm the next day caused the petals to begin turning brown and falling off:

The view from my back porch with the cows in the north field:

A Grackle atop the barn roof. In my college days, when I was a State Park Naturalist in Ohio, I had a baby Grackle named Smitty. He was so tame that he rode on my shoulder in the car and accompanied me on hikes. As you might imagine, the children loved him. One day, when it was almost autumn, a flock of Grackles landed in the hay field next to where my little camping trailer was parked. I never saw Smitty again, but think of him every time I see a Grackle:

The Rugosa Roses began to bloom in June:

And I kept hearing an odd birdsong which I couldn't identify. Then one morning I heard it coming from a wire, high above me. I recognized the bird as a Bobolink and used my zoom lens to take the best photos I could. They are a magnificent bird and now that I know they're here, I am seeing them all over:

Daisy Fleabane bloomed everywhere:

The homestead:

The old fashioned rose I rescued has continued to thrive:

Two other old fashioned roses didn't make it, but this one has been a winner:

I have only one Day Lily, and it is hiding in a clump of Peonies. I don't even notice that it's there except when it sends out yellow flowers (and buds which look like miniature bananas):

Ragged Robin and Buttercups are everywhere. The cows won't eat Buttercups, so they grow boldly and with impunity: