Spring Has Turned To Summer

The fantail pigeons have been getting bolder about going outdoors. Our beautiful weather (finally!) has helped, I'm sure:

The pigeons sometimes pick around in the gravel or the grass, much like the chickens do:

And speaking of chickens, my little flock of bantams is out and about all day, every day now that the weather is pleasant:

This hen was sunning herself, lying on her side to feel the sun's warmth. They also like to take dust baths:

I had a weed and rock patch in the middle of my side lawn. I put the rocks in a big circle and then planted a hardy Magnolia in the center. Around the young tree, I planted Iris, Rugosa Roses and Rose Mallows. If they all grow, I may have to move some things. Notice the chickens in the background:

Here's a little weedy patch - weedy but beautiful. Ignoring the blooming white Narcissus when I snapped the photo, I focused on the wild Dandelions and Violets:

The first of the Flowering Crabs began blooming just as some of the apple trees were beginning to flower. The second Flowering Crab had not yet begun. Both quickly burst into bloom and then it was all over. Spring was both late and brief this year:

I used to have a gigantic stump in the middle of my lawn. It was perhaps ten feet high and six feet in diameter, so covered with vines that it looked like a haystack. It occurred to me that it might be so rotten by now that I could simply knock it over with the tractor and haul it away, so I gave it a try:

Knocking it over was easy, but hauling it away was a lot of work. Nonetheless, I finished the job and will have an easier time mowing from now on:

I saw this hillside covered with white Trilliums along the road and pulled over for a closer look:

They were spectacular, with huge, white flowers:

This species, Trillium grandiflorum, is sometimes called  Large-Flowered Trillium. It's an appropriate name: