Around The Farm - Flowers, Weasels and Chickens

The old fashioned rose bush I had saved has burst into bloom in a spectacular way. The tiny cutting I took off of it also produced a flower this year:

And the Mock Orange began to bloom. This was just as its flowers began to open:

The Rugosa Roses clearly were not harmed by the pruning I'd given them:

The Rugosa Roses are just outside my door and fill the air with their aroma:

I've had some vermin problems. There were Red Squirrels in the stone foundation, Norway Rats beneath the trash cans and Meadow Voles and White Footed Mice in the barn. The last invasion was Chipmunks in the barn, but they all disappeared - so much so that I stopped putting out poison. Then one day as I walked toward the barn, I saw this little critter:

It was a tiny weasel, about the size of a Chipmunk. Least Weasels are common but seldom seen predators which can take down animals many times their own size. That's when I knew why I no longer had rodents to worry about. I did worry about the bantams and pigeons, but if any of them had been eaten, I'd have seen the telltale feathers. So far my tiny weasels have ignored my domestic birds and their eggs:

My cherry tree bloomed this year but I see very few cherries forming. Alas, many of my apple trees didn't seem to bloom at all this year:

I kept the chickens locked up for 11 days because they kept disappearing. I finally let them out:

They scattered across the lawn with great excitement and so far, there have been no more losses:

The Mock Orange and old fashioned rose, side by side. They made a striking couple:

And then the white Peonies began to bloom:

Here's a close-up of the Mock Orange, a favorite of the Swallowtail butterflies. As you can see, summer is here and it is beautiful: