Birds, Fields, Fruit, Hay, Flowers And Skies

The bantam hens have slowed down their egg production and I usually only find three or four eggs each day now:

They still stand on the ramp which leads to their door, but I can't let them out because of all the hungry and sly foxes around here:

Speaking of eggs, one day I found a tiny egg with the others. It was about the size of a jellybean and quite a novelty. They do lay tiny eggs now and then, usually without a yolk. This one was interesting, but I didn't even try to use it:

We had so much rain that there was standing water everywhere, especially under this gate. There must be a short in the underground wire, because now the whole gate is electrified (as I discovered the hard way). I hope it will stop when the water dries up, but the only way to test it is to touch it:

We've had extravagant, blue and pink dawn skies. I never tire of their beauty:

The baby fantail pigeon is still alive and growing. His feathers are coming in and the spot on his head where he was attacked is slowly improving. Even his little fantail is developing now. I am hopeful:

The Rugosa roses are blooming sporadically but many leaves are turning yellow. I suspect they have some disease, perhaps the same thing which afflicted the apple trees this year:

One of my two Ninebark plants is growing at a great speed, but the other seems stuck in place, neither growing nor dying. I hope it gains strength before winter arrives:

The Elderberry flowers turned into green berries:

But the birds have been stripping them clean so fast that I may never see ripe berries this year:

Though the apple crop is pretty much ruined this year, I have some nice looking baby pears which are bigger every time I look at them. I love these pears and plan to eat as many as possible. The rest will go to the cattle and horses:

My biggest expense of the year is the annual winter hay supply. Just like last year, I bought 88 four foot diameter bales. They came on three deliveries, two trailer loads each. It's a major expense and a financial burden. My cows absolutely must produce salable calves this year or I won't be able to afford next year's hay supply: