Flowers, Pigeons, Berries, Chickens, Cucumbers

Our rainy summer finally gave way to a mild September, with beauty all around. I was sitting on the riding mower when I snapped this picture of a Wild Cucumber vine in bloom on the trunk of an apple tree:

And I was also on the riding mower when I stopped for a handful of blackberries, growing amid the Lilac bushes:

The pink Rose Mallows bloomed and seemed bigger than ever:

A second white Fantail Pigeon was hatched and growing rapidly:

I cleaned out the chicken and pigeon rooms. I let the chickens outdoors while I was cleaning their room, and they were anxious to go:

Quite soon, however, many of them returned on their own to the safety and comfort to which they were accustomed:

The Elderberries surprised me by producing enough fruit to ripen in spite of the ravenous wild birds. I tasted them again this year and again was not impressed. They weren't bitter like wild grapes, but they weren't particularly flavorful either:

The white Fantail Pigeons enjoyed their newly cleaned floor:

And the new baby began to grow its fantail:

A neighbor stopped by with a gift of four Boothby's Blonde Cucumbers, a heritage variety which she grows every year. I love them!

With Teddy, the rented bull, gone I was free to walk out into the field and spend time with the cows and horses. It was a peaceful scene: