More Photos From Around The Farm

Spring finally arrived, and the pear tree was the first to blossom. But spring was short lived and lurched suddenly into summertime. Most of the flowers quickly dropped their petals to the ground. I'll have to wait and see what that portends for fruit production:

The cherry tree only produces fruit every couple of years but it produced blossoms this year. That's a hopeful sign:

And the bigger of the two new plum trees bloomed for several weeks. Not only was it beautiful, but I expect to have lots of plums this year. I also have a smaller plum tree and apricot which flowered sparsely for the first time this year. I can't tell which of those two is which, but I'll figure it out when they produce fruit this autumn:

I was inside the barn one morning when an Eastern Meadowlark landed on a nearby fence post and began singing. Not wanting to frighten it away, I stayed where I was and used my zoom lens to get a photo. I snapped many pictures, but this was the only one (just barely) good enough to keep:

The Daffodils were much delayed and modest in their blooming this year, but I noticed a new variety. These buttery yellow, double flowers put in an appearance. They may have bloomed previous springs, but this year was the first time I really noticed them:

Birds built a large nest in the cedar tree just outside my door and were pooping all over everything. It was only a matter of time before they pooped on me. The dogs were tracking through it. Worse, a baby had fallen out of the nest a couple of days earlier and I found it dead on my porch. Judging by the size of the dead baby bird, I figured the fledglings were out of the nest soon thereafter. I used a long board to push the nest out of the tree while two adult Grackles screamed at me. But I knew there were no eggs or babies in it:

Then I set out to mow the lawn, using the riding mower. When I got to the lawn on the other side of the apple trees, I saw a baby Grackle in the grass with its parents flying around overhead. I think I spotted its sibling, already flying. I switched to mowing on the other side of the house and then ate lunch. Later, when I went back, both the babies and their parents were nowhere to be seen:


The Bush Cherry bloomed copiously this year. It also is a new planting and this will be my first taste of a Bush Cherry. I hope they're good. At least they'll be easier to pick:

The apple trees began budding on a few trees:

And then began opening into flowers. Alas, our late spring and early summer weather meant a short blooming season:

One tree on the far end of the property, however, was in full bloom. This tree was probably a wild seedling but it produces lots of early apples. Oddly, its buds and flowers have very little pink in them. They're almost pure white:

While mowing the lawn, I kept seeing these tiny blue flowers in the grass. I snapped a picture and then looked them up in my field guide later in the day. They were Birds-Eye Speedwell, a member of the snapdragon family:

Spring Romp In The North Field

This blog post was reserved for pictures of the first calf of 2016, but I'm still waiting for the calf to be born, a full week beyond its due date. I'll post pictures of that later, after if happens. But we had a lovely spring day and I took the dogs for a walk across the north field, a wonderful adventure in itself and worthy of a few happy pictures:

I've seen at least four Meadowlarks flying around this field and have found their nests before, so I hoped I might see one today. Alas, I never did although the dogs found lots of small items of interest. I suspected that most of them were imaginary, but they made the dogs happy:

We made our way slowly across the field, the dogs stopping to sniff things or to scan the distance:

Fergus alternated between running ahead like a deer or tagging along at my feet, hoping to keep me happy:

When we reached the fence at the far side of the field (the electricity was turned off), I turned right towards the gate:

I opened the gate and we all dropped down into a gully full of weeds, headed through a narrow strip of woods with another hay field (most of it not mine) just beyond:

I stopped when we got to the creek, but the dogs found it extra fun, and the source of a good, cool drink besides:

But it was time to head on back to the house, so we climbed up out of the gully and back through the gate (which I closed again after we passed through):

Seamus struck a pose to show off his newly svelte body:

While Jack and Daphne went after a Woodchuck which had had the effrontery to dig a hole in the field:

The barn and the farm house were just ahead of us and I began to concentrate on keeping the dogs with me instead of bolting across the gravel road (not that there is much traffic):

It was a spur of the moment mini-adventure, but I returned home with five very happy dogs:

Around The Farm In September

The neighbors had only one cow still due to calve and she was late. Finally, she gave birth to this bull calf. He was extra large and it was a difficult birth. He couldn't stand for a couple of days, so they milked the mother and hand fed the "little" one. He's now fine:

I walked over to see him and, while I was at it, to say hello to his mom. She looks intimidating here, I realize, but she's sweet and gentle, even more so than my own cattle:

My Rose Mallows burst into bloom, beginning in late August:

They are even bigger this year than last year:

My little rooster marches around the property, clearly feeling like the king of the farm:

Amish families have been piling their hay into small stacks. A day or two later, they drive through the field, collecting them and piling them into a much larger mound:

My front yard, with wildflowers (Butter-And-Eggs), Tree Hydrangea and Rose Mallow:

The apple trees have been littering the ground with windfalls and the New England Asters have been in full bloom:

Some trees have produced abundantly and some have not:

My little bantam hens keep making nests at the base of the bushes where I can't find the eggs. Egg production has been reduced because of the season anyway, but it's even lower because so many eggs are hidden outdoors. I'll find them this autumn, after the leaves are all fallen:

The pear tree has produced a bumper crop this year:

Do you remember the dead Meadowlark I found by the barn? I'd forgotten about it but one day found its skeleton, back by the barn where it'd begun. It's fascinating to see what lies beneath all that skin and feathers. A few yellow breast feathers still clung to the skeleton:

Hot Summertime In The North Country

It's been a busy summer here in the North Country, but love continues to bloom inside the pigeon coop. These two white fantail pigeons, for instance, cuddle, coo and raise babies:

The neighbors' barn was getting decrepit so they hired an Amish man to remove that section on the right. He began by completely severing the two parts of the barn, from the concrete floor to the steel roof - all by hand. You can see his carriage and lumber wagon parked in front:

And while I was taking pictures of their barn, the two oldest boys went for a climb on the hay wagon:

My Tall Garden Phlox began blooming, at least one of the colors. I believe the other color will bloom later:

The apples are growing but look a bit diseased. That's OK, the cattle will still love them:

The Rugosa Roses slowed their blossoming, yet will continue throughout the summer:

And the chickens are everywhere, atop the fence for instance:

And beside the barn, next to the blossoming Elderberries:


On the driveway, between the barn and the house:


And giving Seamus something to watch:


I have lots of Meadowlarks, but they are shy and only seen at a distance, recognized by the two white stripes on their tales. They always looked plain brown, and I've wondered about the pictures of them with lovely yellow breasts. Well, I found one dead, just outside the barn door one day - and the pictures of the yellow breast were true. Furthermore, the brown, black and white pattern on its back was an intricate lacy design, surely as beautiful as the yellow. Notice the two white tail stripes:

Every now and then on a hot day, I'll put down two birdbaths for the fantail pigeons. It sure makes them happy:

Birds And Flowers, Flowers And Birds

The old fashioned roses in the side yard began blooming in June, and especially this brightly colored gem. This rose was almost killed by a large maple tree and then, when the maple was cut down, mowed over for many years. One day I discovered a 6" shoot sticking up out of the ground with a small, red rosebud on it. I mowed around it for several years and now it is at least 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide, growing more beautiful every year - and hardy to below -30 degrees:

This year it had an abundance of buds. I'll surely be posting photos of the whole plant in bloom soon:

Likewise, I discovered Peonies which had been mowed over for many years and allowed them to spring up. Only one has bloomed before, so I don't even know what color the flowers will be on the newly revived plants. But as a bonus, this yellow Day-Lily sprang up from inside a clump of Peony:

One day I couldn't find the cows, so I set out walking across the north field to be sure they were OK. A Meadowlark flew up at my feet, startling me. I realized that there must be a nest near my feet. I checked down in the grass and found this "cave" of woven grasses, much like a Robin's nest turned on its side - with newly hatched, baby Meadowlarks inside:

Here's a close-up. You can most plainly see the bottom center baby, upside down with its beak pointing toward the upper right and its feet curled up at the bottom left:

The yellow and purple Iris bloomed profusely, perhaps because I top-dressed them with composted manure. Alas, a downpour ruined the yellow Iris, but the purple ones must have been made of sturdier stuff:

I drove the tractor out to the far end of the south field to close some gates to keep the cattle out. I noticed what I thought were Snowball Bushes blooming in the hedgerows and went over for a closer look:

I knew enough botany to notice the opposite leaves, parallel veins and four petaled flowers. I decided this must be in the Dogwood family, so I came back into the house and Googled it. I concluded that these huge, profusely blooming bushes were Cornus drummondii, or Roughleaf Dogwood. It was originally from the Midwest but has spread, via hedgerows, into New York state:

Here's a close-up. You can see the Dogwood resemblance in the tiny, individual flowers. In the familiar, large flowered Dogwood trees, the "petals" are actually bracts, a specialized leaf - but these are really petals:

And large patches of Ragged Robin in bloom, mixed with Buttercups. I especially liked this photo because it also shows the dirt road, the fence line and more of the hay field:

A close-up of the Ragged Robin. This photo also has a meaningful background, showing my house and barn as well as the neighbors' barn:

And now that I've mentioned birds, lets include the chickens. They invade the barn every time a door is left open, however briefly. I shoo them back out when I can, but they love to scratch in the hay for seeds and eat spilled grain from the cattle stalls: