Plants And Animals

It's been a wet summer, difficult for many people but good for growing my perennials. Notice Fergus watching me from his fenced yard:

 A normal dawn sky in the northeast, something I see nearly every morning:

 The fantail pigeons are earning their keep just by being pretty and fun to watch:

 Just about the time the Rugosa Roses slowed their blooming, the wildflowers growing at their base began flowering. These are called Bouncing Bet, and they bloom here every year:

 It's been so wet that mushrooms sprang up on the lawn:

 The bantam hens stayed indoors, clucking and eating and laying eggs:

 They seem contented with their lives, though I know they'd rather go outside:

 The apple trees all got sick from something and dropped all their fruit, though I found one tree with a few apples on it. The pear tree, after a questionable spring, surprised me by producing nicely. These baby pears are growing rapidly:

 I thought I'd moved all the old Asiatic Lilies to the new garden, but one plant is rooted below the shed over the generator. It sent out a flower stalk and is blooming happily. I hope to find its root in the autumn and transplant it:

 And in smaller, less conspicuous flowers, there is Wood-Sorrel blooming everywhere:

 I heard peeping one day in the pigeon room and looked for a baby. There was one, about a week old, on the floor and doing quite well. How I never noticed it before is a mystery to me - or perhaps a testament to my lack of attention:

 I wish I'd taken a photo of this spot before I cleared it, but at least I got a picture of the results. It was covered with brush and filled with large rocks. I removed all the brush and most of the rocks, then filled it back in with compost. I have ordered a Wisteria vine, a variety good to -40 F and reported to bloom repeatedly in the summer, to be planted this autumn. I will encourage it to grow up this power pole: