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:

Chickens, Flowers, Turkeys

The little hens were closed up for the night when I snapped this photo. I made sure they had lots of food and water, then I collected the eggs and went back to the house for my own dinner and evening ritual:

 I never did learn what this mysterious Daylily is called, but it sure looks pretty in the early morning light as it begins to open:

 This Daylily I know the name of. It is called Paradise Pink:

 My favorite planting this year was the multicolored Yarrow. It's so thick that it's crowding out the weeds and so floriferous that I have a constant supply of colorful flowers:

And the red Yarrow is my favorite:

 But there are plenty of other colors and combinations as well:

Just a couple of days after I deadheaded the baby roses, I was shocked to see this Sevillana rose, barely 10" high, loaded with flowers again:

 I am still bringing flowers to church, including three vases full this Sunday. This was a collection of white (wild) Bouncing Bet, three colors of Daylilies, and Rugosa roses:

Several colors of Yarrow, yellow Heliopsis and blue Delphinium:

 Multicolored Sunflowers and Gloriosa Daisies:

Up the road from me is a pair of Narragansett turkeys, a male and female, who march out into the road and sometimes stop traffic. The male seems to be trying to assert his dominance as he displays to each car. I find this one of the delights of country life:

Summertime Stories

A new Daylily began to bloom among last year's plantings. I checked what I'd ordered and no such color was included. I emailed the supplier to identify it, enthusiastically telling them how happy I was with everything lest they think I was complaining. Alas, they never answered. I was angry until I remembered my own working days, when our tech manager forwarded many customer inquiries to me. I was already feeling overwhelmed with tasks and resented his forwards, so didn't answer many of the emails. That memory helped me to feel less irritation. Nonetheless, I like the Daylily:

 The fantail pigeons are becoming more numerous and more of their nests and attempts at parenting attempts have been successful this year:

 It has been hot, so I put two pans of water in for them to bathe in. Of course I was hoping for photos, but they all ignored the water until I gave up:

 When I went back later, the water was dirty and had feathers in it - but the pigeons all acted like they hadn't noticed any bathing water. "Who, us? We saw no water. Must have been some other birds who bathed." So I got no photos of them splashing and having fun:

Another Daylily began to bloom. This one I had a record of ordering and was called Paradise Pink:

 The wild Bouncing Bet mixed with the Rugosa roses and they both continued blooming extravagantly:

 In front of the house, along the county road, my new, hardy baby roses continued to bloom - and the Tree Hydrangea, a gift from a friend some years ago, outdid itself with blossoms:

And the Sunflowers began to accelerate their blooming. This was a variety called Cherry Rose:

 And a very dark maroon Sunflower, called Red Wave:

 One quiet day I was on my hands and knees, pulling weeds in the new flower garden by the gravel road. The dogs were in their fenced yard and were barking wildly. This is common for them and sometimes spurs me to holler at them. But this time I stayed calm, telling them they were being silly and barking at nothing. But I heard something beside me and looked up, over my shoulder, to see a big, brown llama regarding me with curiosity. A neighbor and I found her owner but she was at the fair, showing goats at the time. So we spent an hour following the llama and trying to put a rope lead around her neck. She finally eluded us and we had to quit. I found out later that the llama had traveled to an Amish farm and jumped over the fence into a pen full of goats (she normally lives with a herd of goats), where she was picked up and trucked back home:

Everything's Coming Up Flowers!

The Iris finished blooming a long time ago, and then the yellow Asiatic Lilies began to bloom. When they were through, the orange Asiatic Lilies bloomed - and then the red lilies took over - along with the Blue Sea Holly:

 The red lilies are taller than the orange, which are taller than the yellow. Perhaps that's why they bloomed in the order they did:

 They made a spectacular display:

 And the Blue Sea Holly is putting on quite a show:

The pink Yarrow was the first to bloom, but then the red also began to bloom:

 And my new Heliopsis is also blooming (with purple Veronica on one side of it and Chives on the other side):

 The Lupine seedlings (on the left) are still babies, but the new Gloriosa Daisy is spectacular:

 And then the Cherry Rose Sunflowers began to bloom:

I planted six assorted Yarrow plants, but I seemed to be getting multiple colors out of each pot I planted. I think the nursery scattered seed in the pots and I actually got more than one plant, therefore more than one color, in each pot. At any rate, they look like they may become one of the best, most reliable, most hardy flowers on the property:

 Some more cut flowers I took to church - This one included red and orange Asiatic Lilies, Gloriosa Daisies and white (wild) Bouncing Bet:

 A second vase included old fashioned roses, pink and red Yarrow, and white (wild) Bouncing Bet:

Around The Farm

Summer is a busy time. Remy has mostly been a good boy, staying in his corral and not causing trouble except sometimes when he balks about returning to the barn in the evening. I don't think he objects to the barn, but sometimes freaks out when we walk through the opening in the electric fence. He doesn't mind going through in the other direction and he doesn't mind if I tie him to a fence post for a minute before leading him through the opening. I have no idea why that helps, but it does:

 Blue is more easily frightened but is also more compliant, so he's always (well, almost always) a good boy:

 They still get lots of hay in their corral and it's time for me to start worrying about the Box Elder tree in their yard, which is covered with (poisonous) seeds. When they start dropping, the horsey boys will have to stay in the barn until it is safe in their corral again:

The Red Poll herd makes frequent trips from the pasture in to the barn because that's where the stock tank is located:

 But mostly they eat grass and lounge around the pasture, always swatting at the pesky flies:

 Violet is timid and easily frightened, despite her large size:

Indoors, Sammy and Bugsy relaxed on one of the yoga mats:

 Clover, Fergus and Daphne napped on the big green floor pillow:

 Daisy hopped up on a chair and rolled over, begging me to pet her. I rubbed her cheeks, which she likes, because I know better than to rub her belly:

Flowers, both wild and cultivated, are blooming prolifically, and I try to bring a vase full of them to church each Sunday. Last week I brought three vases. This one included orange Asiatic Lilies, Blue Sea Holly, wild Cattails, a Ninebark branch with burgundy colored leaves, and white (wild) Bouncing Bet:

 This vase had two colors of Asiatic Lilies, purple Veronica, pink Yarrow and yellow (wild) St. Johnswort:

 This vase contained two kinds of roses, orange Echinacea and white (wild) Bouncing Bet: