August On The Farm

The pure white Morden Snowbeauty was the only rose of the six I planted this spring which had not yet bloomed. It finally began to flower, and right next to the pink Carefree Beauty:

 In the pasture, the wild Butter-And-Eggs began to flower:

 And the white fantail pigeons were having a good year:

 They produced more successful nests and babies this year than ever before:

Newborns in a cake pan nest:

 A newly hatched baby being fed "pigeon milk," which is partially digested food, regurgitated for their babies (by both parents, who share the caretaking):

 Another wildflower bloomed, in the lawn and pasture - Birdfoot Trefoil:

 The Rugosa roses continued to bloom and the wild Bouncing Bet continued to add its white flowers to the extravagant display:

The neighbors' Narragansett Turkeys still roam the county road and strut their stuff for passersby. I imagine their displays will come to an end near Thanksgiving:

 I had left the barn uncleaned for longer than usual and took a picture to illustrate how badly it needed cleaning - but alas, the picture makes it look rather clean. OK then, let's just say I've been keeping an immaculate barn! Really though, I hauled 6 or 7 loads of sodden bedding out of there with the tractor:

 And a heart shaped sunflower appeared, perhaps a good omen:

 Green Elderberries began to form by the millions, and the Wild Cucumber vines began flowering on top of the Elderberries:

Wonderful Debar Pond - Part 2

A friend and I were walking a trail along the shore of the Adirondacks' Debar Pond (see also Part 1, posted yesterday), and arrived at a small stream. The dogs thought it was great fun but we humans decided to turn back toward the easier walking and the buildings:


We all walked back to the lodge and peeked in the windows. It must surely have been a luxurious mansion in its day:

The group of people and their dogs were all gone by the time we arrived, so we ambled over to the water's edge and enjoyed the scenery and serenity. A cluster of pink Joe-Pye-Weed stood on the shore:

And then a Red Admiral butterfly began flitting from flower head to flower head and a bee joined it, making a lovely scene:

And this shoreline was much easier for the dogs to swim in. Seamus was able to walk easily out and not have any trouble with his back legs. Daphne and Clover went in, but stayed closer to shore:

I gave them all a call they waded back in to join us:

My friend and I enjoyed the dogs' company as we surveyed the scenery:

The dogs walked over to the old boathouse and then went back into the water. Seamus disappeared and we called loudly for him until we found him:

Seamus, of course, loves the water and couldn't stay out of it. Even Jack went swimming

We began walking again, passing by the old caretaker's residence:

And out onto the lawn, which is still kept mowed, beneath the towering White Pines:

We made a happy caravan as we proceeded onto the dirt lane which would return us to our parked car:

My happy dogs continued to sniff and search everywhere along the way. We stopped for lunch at a small general store where we could eat at a picnic table with the dogs. It had been a good day:

Wonderful Debar Pond - Part 1

It had been several years since I visited Debar Pond and I decided it was time for another visit. I brought along a friend and my five dogs. We drove into the forest on a long, one lane dirt road. It was lined with what I thought were Foxglove plants in bloom. Then we parked and began walking:

That's when I discovered that the flowers I'd seen had not been Foxgloves at all, but some kind of Bellflower:

I looked them up when I got home and learned that they were Creeping Bellflower, not because their stems were low to the ground (they were all about three feet tall or more) but because their roots send out runners. Furthermore, I learned that they were a garden escapee, not a native wildflower. There were many hundreds of them, all along the road:

We walked the dirt lane toward Debar Pond and passed by this ancient White Pine. It had to have been at least eight feet diameter at its base:

Normally I have Debar Pond all to myself, but this time there was a group of about ten people with big dogs, so we put my dogs on leashes. My friend took the three little dogs and I took Seamus and Fergus:

As we approached the former home site, we passed many abandoned barns and this picturesque greenhouse/potting shed:

And a garden filled with red Bee Balm (Monarda):

We arrived at the abandoned mansion, an Adirondack Great Camp on the shore of lovely Debar Pond. If I remember my history correctly, this was once the home of an eccentric and wealthy German hops farmer. Now it is empty and owned by New York State:

Alas, the serene nature of the site was turned into a boisterous day for about ten people and four big dogs. Some of the dogs were worrisome around my small dogs, so we walked uphill, away from the pond and toward the old mansion. This white dog, named Aspen, came running with us and ignored his owner's calls:

We arrived at the mansion and turned to look out over the pond and mountains:

And then we continued on a trail into the forest, where my dogs could do some swimming without worrying about the big dogs:

Big ol' Seamus waded out too far and then his back legs kept collapsing. He didn't seem able to stand up, and I was just about to wade in after him when he managed to make it back to shore:

Yes, he then went back out where he'd been before - and little Daphne swam out to join him. But we had much more to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Flowers, Pigeons, Chickens

August this year brought abundant flowers, so many that one Sunday I brought four vases of them to church. This one contained four colors of Daylilies and Blue Sea Holly (looks a bit like thistles):

Yellow Heliopsis, red Echinacea, blue Delphinium and red/green leafy branches from a Ninebark bush:

All wildflowers from alongside the road: Pink Joe-Pye-Weed, yellow Goldenrod and Purple Loosestrife:

White Tree Hydrangeas, multicolored Sunflowers and pink and red Yarrow:

Meanwhile, the little hens were living comfortable lives in their coop inside the barn:

They all get along well together and I never see any fighting. They have no rooster, but I sometimes hear crowing coming from their coop. I looked it up and learned that sometimes, in the absence of a rooster, one hen will become more masculine and began crowing:

It was me, and I keep everybody on their toes!

Egg production is way down, which is fine with me. This day I had only two small eggs, one pink and one green. Soon, as we head toward winter, there will be none:

The white fantail pigeons in the adjoining room are multiplying at a fast clip:

This mother had a nest on the floor with a six day old baby:

A nest up on a shelf had two recently hatched babies. The parents are on them so much that I haven't been able to get another photo since this one:

Cats And Dogs

July was too hot here, but August has mostly been quite pleasant, a time for old Seamus to hang out on his ramp by the Rugosa roses:

And indoors, the dogs and cats like to snooze together in the kitchen corner. This collection consisted of Bugsy, Clover, Fergus and Jack:

Sammy and Daisy in the farm house kitchen:

Caspar, planning more mischief:

Seamus and Daisy near my computer:

Jack dug a hole beneath a small maple tree, but the last time I was out there, it had been taken over by Daphne and Seamus:

Life is good, sunning themselves on the ramp: Fergus, Seamus, Jack and Daphne:

Little Clover likes to curl up in the tall grass by the fence:

Another kitchen corner collection: Caspar, Fergus, Clover, Jack and Daphne. Jack and Fergus are wearing belly-belts because they began peeing in the house again:

Seamus, hanging out by the Daylilies: