Around The Farm In May

The Daffodils were almost done flowering when I photographed this hen beneath the Mock Orange bush, but it will be covered with flowers shortly. As for the chickens, however, they seem to have begun laying eggs outdoors and I haven't yet discovered where. I'd be happy to collect them once or twice a day - if I could find their nests. For the record, there were no eggs beneath the Mock Orange:

The Rhododendron by the side door began blooming:

The sun shined, the cows grazed, the temperatures soared:

The chickens scratched around in the lawn and in the pastures. They don't seem to miss a square inch anywhere:

The birds were singing their little avian hearts out but I am unable to identify most of the songs and have trouble seeing the birds for an identification. I was on the tractor in the north field one day when I heard a varied song, almost like a Mockingbird, and then spotted the singer atop a tall tree. I used the zoom lens for a closer look  and discovered, when I got back indoors to enlarge the photo, that it had been a Brown Thrasher. They are common around here and are a northern relative of the Mockingbird. This one looked gray until I got to see the photo enlarged:

The chickens know that when I ring the cowbell, grain is about to be served to the cattle. So they come running. No scrap of food, no insect, no plant is safe with chickens around. In this photo, they were snapping up grain which the cattle had spilled:

The pear tree burst into bloom:

And the farm sign was temporarily framed with pear blossoms. I expect it will framed with greenish pears in the autumn:

The Lilac buds began to open:

And my two red Azaleas, recently purchased half price from Home Depot, looked very happy in their new home:

Even the Dandelions and Wild Strawberries were blooming all through my lawn - or perhaps I should say "lawn," for there are more weeds than grass in it:

The farm was looking good, but the flowers were just beginning. I hope to be posting lots more photos soon: