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:

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:

A Season Of Life

The fantail pigeons are all looking healthy and content with their lives, good examples of what I meant when I entitled this post "A Season of Life:"

Furthermore, they seem to be more successful than usual raising babies this season. This pair had two hatchlings in an unlikely spot but they've done a great job of feeding them and keeping them warm:

And the two babies have been wise enough to stay on their narrow shelf. Jumping down to the floor could subject them to pecking by other adults:

The little hens are likewise comfortable and without any stress:

The cherry tree began to show red cherries, and I was immediately drawn to it:

Only the pure red ones are ripe, and even they are not particularly sweet:

But they were tasty, and I truly enjoyed my trips beneath the branches while I was on the riding mower. Each pass by the cherry tree enabled me to stop for a couple of ripe cherries:

We had so much rain that mushrooms appeared in the lawn and pasture. This row was near the cherry tree. Yes, my lawn has almost as many weeds as grass:

The old fashioned rose which I'd saved several years ago (and then drastically cut back this year) finally bloomed, filling the air with its scent. Behind it are the two Ninebark bushes and the old silo base which is filled with Elderberries in bloom:

A closeup of the old fashioned roses:

And a better view of the Elderberries:

Up close, the Elderberry blossoms look a lot like Queen Anne's Lace:

Around The Farm, The All Botanical Version

The fence line is a jumble of wild plants and, in some places, quite beautiful. At this spot, the Wild Cucumber vines were in full bloom and Goldenrod added color to the jumble of wildflowers. The gravel road and north field were in the background:

A few of the Tall Garden Phlox, which I thought had all died, have sprung up and bloomed after all:

The wild Day Lilies bloomed:

And so did the new red Hydrangea:

The Mandarin Honeysuckle I planted last year died, so I planted another one this spring. It has taken off and is growing happily, the secret being to keep it well watered:

Though apples aren't abundant this year, there are still more than I know what to do with. I occasionally pick up a windfall and bite into it:

But I have learned never to do so after first eating the super-sweet plums. The apples are not sweet enough to follow the plums:

The Tree Hydrangea is putting on quite a show this year:

And so it the brand new Morden Sunrise rose bush:

The pink Rose Mallows began to bloom in late summer and were just getting started when I took this picture. You can see the abundance of buds:

The pink variety blooms earlier and has bigger flowers than the red variety:

I have a problem with English Sparrows in my hay loft. They are breeding in there and causing quite a disturbance. They were also gobbling up all the Elderberries, so I quickly snapped a photo before there were none left at all:

Flowers, Cedar Branches And A Roof

Despite suffering from last year's fungal infection, the Rugosa Roses are alive and beginning to bloom:

The new Day Lilies are doing well and I'm still endeavoring to keep them weeded:

While weeding, I disturbed this small toad. He walked to the edge of the grass and then just waited for me to go away:

The heritage yellow Iris began to bloom:

And then burst into full bloom:

But I've been waiting for the store bought Iris I planted last year. Finally, the first flower appeared on a short stalk, almost twice the size of the old fashioned Iris. It was sure dramatic:

The big Mock Orange bush is fixing to bloom any day now:

And the amazing Ninebark's colors have become even brighter than before. The bigger bush is putting out flower buds, so I'll get to see Ninebark flowers soon:

The Elderberries growing in the old silo base take enormous abuse each winter, but they keep springing back. It looks like there will be lots of flowers again this year:

It was time for me to caulk my leaking roof, but I discovered that low hanging cedar branches were in the way. So I climbed up there and used the chainsaw to cut down what I could safely reach:

I threw the cut branches down into the dog yard, covering the dogs' ramp and confusing them. They waited until I moved the branches before coming all the way down in their yard:

I was tired and not wanting to climb up on the roof wearing my leg braces again, so I decided to put off any caulking until another day. Just then, a neighbor stopped by to chat and offered to caulk it for me. He did it quickly and neatly, a much better job than I would have done. I sure have good neighbors: