Notes From Around The Farm

The neighbors across the road have six heifers, all of them pregnant. The first calf was born last weekend, a little bull they named Buford. But it was a difficult birth and both mother and calf might have died if they hadn't called on an Amish man to come help pull it out. Then the mother refused to feed it and they had to milk her and feed the baby by hand. But mom and calf were reconciled by day two and everything was working as it should. I stopped by to see the little guy. By the way, that's my house across the road:

The chickens' favorite spot is beneath the apple trees:

They seem to find lots to eat under the apple trees, and there's shelter from both sun and rain:

They mostly travel together as a flock, though there are always a few stragglers:

This year's two baby pigeons have been the only fantails to venture out so far this summer. You can see them on the roof of the milk room:

And they have been doing some fancy flying:

I seldom see honey bees anymore, but we have a kind of small bumblebee which keeps the Rugosa Roses pollinated:

The yellow Asiatic Lilies began blooming. The orange ones will bloom later:

The fantail pigeons get all excited when I give them fresh water. I assumed they wanted to drink it, but then I noticed them making motions like birds in a birdbath. I will get them something in which they can bathe and see if they like that:

I saw this elegant black, orange and blue beetle in the Elderberry flower buds and looked it up. It is called an Elderberry Borer Beetle:

This cornfield near me seemed to stretch almost to the horizon. That blue valley to the upper right was, I think, Canada:

The neighbors came over and helped me tattoo and tag Loretta's ears. She fought harder than any calf before her, but we got it done. The next morning, I saw that she had green tattoo ink all over her face, including around one eye. And she wanted to keep far away from me. She'll forgive me in time, though: