Plants And Birds

Wild Blackberries burst into bloom everywhere I was unable to mow - or were they Black Raspberries? I went to the internet for some ID pointers, but found them scarce and difficult to use. Then I found a website which was wonderfully helpful and easy to use. It confirmed that I have Blackberries, not Black Raspberries. I highly recommend this site:

My north field was getting very tall and my neighbor decided it was time for its first cutting:

 It was so thick and heavy that it was slow and difficult to mow:

 This was some seriously tall, thick, lush, heavy hay! As of this writing, the first part of the field has been cut and will be turned over to dry (tedded) today. About 3/4 of the field remains to be cut:

 My Rugosa Roses suffered badly from a fungus last year, along with the apple trees and one of the Ninebark bushes. But this year they continued blooming faithfully:

 So far, I see no fungus except on the one Ninebark which was affected last year:

 The Variegated Weigela was a dead looking stick a few weeks ago. Now it is blooming!

 The white Peonies (and one new red one) are building up to a flowering frenzy:

 And the Snowball bushes are doing extraordinarily well:

 I had no Cliff Swallow nests under the milk room eaves this year - until now. I found two adjacent mud nests, filled with birds. As soon as I snapped this photo, 6 to 8 birds burst from those holes and flew around, scolding me. I hope they keep the biting flies in check. The cows and horses (and I) will be grateful:

 In the lawn and pasture are many of these tiny white flowers, each petal split into two. They are Lesser Stitchwort, a kind of Chickweed. The grass head is Redtop:

 And of course the big, beautiful Red Clover. 'Tis the season: