Notes From Around The Farm

I release my nine little hens every morning with a prayer for their safety. They are a favored dinner of a lot of predators and relatively easy to catch. But so far there continues to be nine hens each night. I only see eight hens in this picture, but one might be hidden behind another or perhaps one hen went off in another direction. They have differing personalities. Some always go with the flock, some prefer to go alone:

They love to pick through the deep grass for bugs and any grain the cattle may have dropped:

They seem to be everywhere sometimes. I panic when I don't see them, but then always find them sleeping in the shade somewhere:

I brought a fresh bale of hay into the barn to use for bedding and the hens began burrowing holes in it to use as nests. The downside is that they mess up the hay. The upside is that I can easily find all the eggs and they are always clean:

The fantail pigeons continue to build nests and lay eggs, but so far there have been no babies:

The Rugosa Roses will bloom all summer, but have slowed down from their extravaganza in June:

This is the peaceful scene I see out of my upstairs bathroom window. It reminds me why I love being here:

I saw that the chickens were in the shade of the bush cherry, which inspired me to searched for cherries. I found only one cherry, and it wasn't yet ripe. I ate it anyway lest the wild birds get it and found that it was tart but distinctly cherry flavored. The wild birds may be a problem, however, as the cherries, though originally numerous, all quickly disappeared:

The yellow Asiatic Lilies I rescued all began blooming together in the little garden which used to be a rock pile. I planted a hardy Magnolia in the center. Will it survive its first winter? If so, will it bloom next year? I can only wait and see:

I took this photo along the road just south of my place. It's an old, abandoned home with Hydrangeas and Perennial Sweet Peas blooming on the steep hill out front. I like the idea of the Sweet Peas and, now that I know they can survive our winters, may give them a try myself:

Here's a close-up of the Perennial Sweet Peas. I've seen them growing here every year:

I went out to the barn this morning and, to my horror, found a chicken wing in one of the empty stalls. I checked the chicken coop and all my hens were still OK, so this bird was killed several weeks ago. But where has the body been all this time and what predator carried the wing here? It seems that it must have been a fox. I may never know, but I'm watching for clues: