September On The Farm

It has been a busy month for the fantail pigeons. The birds who haven't been able to hatch eggs or raise babies for a long time suddenly began doing both. I'd like to credit my new cake pan nests, but I suspect there were other factors as well. Anyway, here are two babies at one day old. Mama needed to be nudged aside:

 Day two:

 Day four:

 Day seven, when the parent was actively feeding the two babies:

 I discovered another nest with a baby in an advanced stage which I hadn't previously noticed. There were several other nests in progress as well. Sadly, not all the babies lived - but most of them did:

 My little bantam hens have had less excitement, though you'd think otherwise if you heard them all clucking and squawking at once. I used to think that meant someone had just laid an egg, but when I checked, there was no new egg. Heaven only knows what they squawk about:

 Their coop has a clean floor and they get their food and water topped off each evening. Their life may be unexciting, but it's safe and comfortable:

 Blue, Remy and Rosella lined up for a photograph when I walked out into the south field. With the bull gone, it is safe for me to walk out there whenever I feel so inclined:

 Lady-Thumb Smartweed is the plant which produces the pink and white flowers. I was perplexed at the tiny, daisy-like flowers but decided that they were Galinsoga parviflora, sometimes called Gallant Soldier. I furthermore decided that the flowers I previously identified as Galinsoga quadriratiata were too big and must remain unidentified, at least until next year:

 My Rose Mallows put on a big show this year, and the Tree Hydrangea did also. They made quite a handsome display:

 I tried hard to kill all the thistles in my pastures, but this one got missed. I decided that it was Bull Thistle even though it was smaller than usual:

 Autumn is harvest time, and when I stopped at these wild grapes I smiled, remembering how mouth puckeringly bitter they were in years past. But I tried them anyway and discovered that these were not bad at all, perhaps because they were riper than what I'd previously tasted: