Pictures From Around The Farm

The pigeons are happy to be rid of the chicks and get their room and privacy back:

My plum tree once again produced some nice plums:

I cooked about eight cut up plums with a diced apple and sweetened it with brown sugar Splenda. It made for a fabulous dessert:

Daisy, the mama cat which someone dropped off at my barn, has become very sweet and friendly. Alas, the local shelters are full and of no help at all. Their low cost spay and neuter programs are backlogged for many months. I plan to get Daisy her shots and then spayed. Then I will try to slowly introduce her to the menagerie which lives in my house. Will she recognize Bugsy, her own kitten? I suspect not, but will be watching to find out:

I went for many weeks without finding any eggs. Then one day I found this nest atop the hay bales but hidden by an old board. I threw out all the eggs and hoped that the hens would start using the nest again. They did not. There surely are other hidden nests, inside or outside, but I have only found one of them. I have an indoor nest which gets one to three eggs each day:

The wildflower called Butter-and-Eggs began blooming in the south field. It's one of my favorites, largely because of its creative name, but this was the only plant I saw this year:

One section of one apple tree produced an abundance of fruit this year. I sent much of it to a friend from high school who now lives in Texas and was hankering for a taste of the north country:

The baby chicks began staying with the big hens and spending their days outdoors. They were frightened and confused at first, but soon learned:

All eighteen of them stick together most of the time and never stop peeping. They sometimes venture farther from the barn - but not too far:

They're pretty smart and adaptable birds, all except one. Do you see that golden colored bird with a white bird right behind it? He or she (I can't tell yet) is more stupid than any of the others and I joke it's because it's a blond. It will be interesting to see how the dumb bird survives:

I do the morning chores just as the sun breaks over the northeast horizon and sometimes spreads its colors to the southeastern sky. I love to see it:

The pink Rose Mallows bloomed first and then the red flowers began. Notice the cluster of giant buds behind my hand. It will be a grand display this year: