Pigeons, Chickens And Lots More Flowers!

Things have been happening fast this spring. The Snowball Bushes, sent to me by a friend several years ago, are already blooming:

I caught my fantail pigeons hanging out with a wild Starling atop the barn roof. I'll have to speak to them about the company they keep:

The Lilacs bloomed and then faded, but not before I photographed this black and orange butterfly on one of the flower clusters:

The Bleeding Heart bloomed profusely. I plan to move it when it is finished blooming:

Normally taller, this clump of Blue-Eyed Grass was kept short by the lawn mower:

The Lamium is blooming:

And the chickens finished the spring egg laying rush and then slowed down. Sadly, one hen has disappeared. I never found a pile of feathers, a sign that she'd been killed by some predator, so I just don't know what became of her:

I dug up Iris and Asiatic Lilies when we built the generator shed, planting them in a new location this spring. But one small bulb was trying to grow from under the shed's corner. I dug it up and planted it with its relatives:

I gave the fantail pigeons an all day bath, and they splashed and played like toddlers in a kiddie pool:

Several years ago I cut the ancient Spirea down to the ground. It came back up nicely the following spring, but only this year did it begin blooming again. I see now why it is sometimes called Bridal Veil Spirea:

Our springtime is always late and it was even more so this year. My Iris is one of the first plants to push up through the earth each year, and the chickens eat it back down to the ground until there are many more plants to eat. But the Iris keeps growing and finally began blooming: