A Busy Summer On The Farm

The fantail pigeons sure enjoy their two birdbaths. They make an awful mess, though, and I learned the hard way that I should move that red feeder before putting down the birdbaths:

Here's the real action. Besides the obvious splashing, notice the birds who attempt to roll onto their sides in the water:



And, when they'd had enough bathing, this is how they dried off their feathers:


A local lawn was filled with Wild Thyme's purple flowers:

And a closer view, this one with Black-Eyed Susans in the foreground:

I had a pair of House Sparrows (formerly called English Sparrows) living in my barn and a pair of these plainly marked sparrows, which I have been unable to identify. If you know what species this is, leave me a note in the comments (no marks on their breast). Both pairs of sparrows vacated the barn after their babies were on their own:

The chickens spend each day pecking and scratching:

And they sure do cover a lot of ground:

Their favorite spot is beneath the apple trees:

The pears are looking promising:

I bought four loads of hay to see me through the winter. I have more cattle than before and they are eating machines:

Hay is predicted to be in short supply this year, so I want to be prepared. I still hope to get some hay from my own fields to add to the supply: