Scenes From Around The Farm

Winston and his Aunt Gracie lounged in the shade during a hot day:

 If this seems like an odd pose for Winston, it's because the camera caught him peeing. It does however show the house and barn in the background:

There won't be many apples this year - except for a couple of trees which appear to be loaded with them:

The baby pigeon from a recent post, where I recorded his growth for the first 27 days, lost his mother one night. I found her dead near the nest and her baby was peeping loudly for someone to feed him. His father should still be available, and the baby is still alive, so it looks like he will be fine. That's him in front of the feeder:

 

The front of the house, with lots of flowers: On the left is the Tree Hydrangea, in the middle are the seven baby hardy roses, and on the right are the Rose Mallows, just beginning to bloom:

I saw a Monarch butterfly when I walked out of the house but it took off so fast I didn't even try to get my camera out. When I got to the sunflowers, some of which are now 12 to 14 feet tall, there was a hummingbird enjoying them. I reached for my camera and realized I'd forgotten to put it in my pocket. I went back in the house to get it, but the hummingbird was gone when I arrived back. I then went into the barn to get the lawn mower, and when I came out, there was a brilliantly colored male Goldfinch atop a sunflower, but he too took off before I got a photo. Well, at least I got a photo of the sunflowers and daylilies:


The Frans Hals Daylilies are putting on a real show. I didn't know it when I ordered them, but they are considered to be one of the "Repeat Blooming" varieties:

My neighbor cut the hay in my north field one afternoon, so the next day he was tedding it. Tedding lifts and separates (like a Playtex bra?) the hay to speed up drying:

We had a spell of lovely but cool weather, so he had to come back repeatedly and keep the hay turned over until the sun dried it thoroughly:

The Elderberries began to ripen, but the birds ate them so fast it would have been easy to miss seeing them:

Whenever I drive to Massena, I pass by the "Barney Tree" on the left. It looks like a Tyrannosaur and I get a kick out if each time:

 I planted my Carnival  morning glory seeds in too shady of a spot. They barely grew because of lack of sun, so when one small flower appeared, I figured I'd better get a photo of it. There may not be any more of them: