In The Good Old Summertime

The Bush Cherry produced a nice crop of cherries, which I was able to eat this year, thanks to the bird netting:

 They were smaller than the tree cherries but still pretty darn tasty:

 My little garden produced a bumper crop of yellow Asiatic Lilies:

 And the Cliff Swallow parents have been tending to their nest although I still don't see or hear any babies in there:

 The Elderberries inside the old silo base had a rough winter and I hoped they'd survive. But they did more than survive - they flourished, producing a bumper crop of blossoms:

 Intricate, lacy Elderberry flowers:

 And Black-Eyed Susans burst into bloom all along the local roadsides:

 This weed has been growing around the barn for years, places where not much else would grow. It flowered this summer, allowing me to search for its identity. I finally found it, and learned that it is Common Mallow, a member of the Hibiscus or Mallow family:

 Sadly, the apple trees and flowering crab trees are sick, and dropping their leaves and fruit. The pear tree too is suffering, though not as badly:

 The cherry tree, however, did just fine:

 And the bantam hens are healthy and living a life of ease inside the barn where, I hope, they are safe from predators:

 I finally got two fantails pigeons to go outdoors but it was a hot day and I began to wonder if they were smart enough to get off the hot metal roof and back inside where they could cool off their feet. Happily, they were smart enough (after awhile):