Summer In Full Swing

The Snowball bushes were at their peak, blooming extravagantly and, I suspected, nearing the end of their season. So I collected some branches and put them in a vase. I'd intended to bring them to church, but they were so top heavy that I gave up and left them at home. At least I got to enjoy them:

And speaking of flowers, this early morning shot was taken looking over the tops of the Rugosa Roses, out into the pasture. You can barely see some cattle out in the field. They were coming in for some morning grain:

It hasn't all been good news. My Bush Cherry died over the winter. I gave it plenty of time to revive, but it was dead, dead, dead:

I'd sunk cedar fence posts in the ground to use as a framework from which to hang bird netting last year, so I hooked a chain to each one, and tried lifting them out of the ground with the tractor bucket:

To my surprise, they slipped right out of the earth:

Then I used a weed-whacker to clear the long grass so I could see, and a chainsaw to cut off the bush at ground level. I tried to cut it low enough so I could mow there, but not so low I'd ruin the chainsaw blade:

When I was done, I had a neat patch of lawn:

And right next to the Bush Cherry was the plum tree which bears fruit every year. It's doing well again this year, though the other plum tree had no fruit which I could find:

The fantail pigeons seem happy and healthy:

And have an elaborate social structure:

When I top off their food and water each night, they congregate at the feeders and waterer with great excitement:

The old-fashioned rose which I rescued is doing well in spite of the fungal damage from last summer: