What's Happening Around The Farm

The little bantam hens are only laying three or four eggs a day, but even that is more than I can eat. I've begun bringing eggs in for a friend at church each Sunday, which so far seems to be a perfect solution:

I still don't let the chickens outdoors, though I hope I can do so in the fall. Though our fox population seems down, I now have seedlings and new plants all over - and I remember when I first got the chickens and the little hens raided my garden, first eating all the tomatoes, then eating all the plants:

The two baby fantail pigeons are amazingly healthy and smart. They jump down from their nest to join the flock and explore, then jump back up and peep for their parents to come feed them:

Their nest is on a ledge, just above the food barrel and someone else's nest on the floor. The babies frequently jump down and get friendly with the bird on the floor nest. I expected a defensive reaction from the adult, but so far everything has been friendly. The babies hang out with the nesting pair on the floor, then socialize with the flock, then hop back up on their ledge and call to be fed:

When I first moved here, there was a woven wire fence stretching halfway across the middle of the south field. It was dilapidated and of no good use, so I began removing a couple of sections each summer. This year there were only two left, but I hadn't had the energy to dismantle them. Then one day I was cleaning out the barn and saw there were only two sections of fence, so I drove the tractor over there:


Instead of the slow and careful dismantling I did previously, this time I used the tractor bucket to pull the fence and posts up out of the ground:

I got them all firmly held in place on the bucket and drove them out the gate and around by my work area:


I carefully removed the fence from the posts, then folded up the wire into two sections, put them in empty feed bags and dropped them in the trash bins. Now that awful, useless and potentially hazardous section of fence is gone forever:

The little garden I made where I'd removed most a giant stump was looking hopeless, but it improved a lot as the Yarrow and Chives began to grow. There appears to be some Globe Thistle coming along, and the Heliopsis, Delphinium and Veronica I bought at end-of-season sales are helping make my little garden look like it might work:

The stretch of Sunflowers is growing so fast that any photo I take is obsolete in a couple of days. Many of the plants along the fence are already over four feet tall. There are much smaller seedlings in the front of the strip, but they get the most sun and are therefore still likely to do well as the summer progresses:

And then one day, the first Daylily bloomed. I couldn't remember the variety name, so I looked up my last year's order. It is called "Chicago Arnie's Choice" and it appears as if there will be a lot of them. By the way, I've been calling them Day Lilies (two words), but it appears as if the correct name is Daylily (one word). I will try to remember to use the right word in the future:

What is this mess, you may ask. It's the northeast corner of the barn, where the traffic cones I used to use when the cattle crossed the road are nestled in giant Burdock and Ragweed. It's a good thing I don't have allergies:

July In The North Country

The Red Polls spend their days and nights in the pasture, and sometimes I don't even see them. But they come back to the barn regularly to drink from the stock tank and lounge on the hay they wasted last winter:

Blue and Remy have had their yearly vaccinations and their hooves trimmed again:

 They are looking good, and staying inside their corral (so far):

 The small chicken door I originally made was simply a square, cut from the barn wall. It finally got so rotten that half of its guts just fell out, leaving it mostly hollow. I brought it into the barn so I could try to repair it:

I'm certainly no carpenter and was distressed at the poor job I was making of the repair, but when it was finally done, it at least worked for its intended purpose:

 And it closed more or less tightly. I may want to add some kind of weatherstripping in the winter, but all in all, it serves the need:

 The strip of sunflower seedlings is growing faster each day, to the point where I can sometimes see a difference from one day to the next. As the sunflowers get taller and leafier, the dogs are losing their view of me when I'm working around the front of the barn:

 The little rock garden began to glow with bright yellow Asiatic Lilies:

And the two Blue Sea Holly plants are so huge that they threaten to take over the entire space. They seem on the verge of becoming "The Beast That Ate Cleveland:"

 But they are fascinating, an odd plant with an odd flower:

 The red and orange Asiatic Lilies, the first to bloom, finally petered out with this final burst of color:

 The six multicolored Yarrow plants are beginning to take off, and one of them is sending up a flower spike. The buds look white, which I hope is not the color they're going to be when in flower. Just to the right of them are the Chives, one of the only seeds which grew successfully. Behind the Chives are unknown plants which might be weeds or might be Globe Thistle. Only time will tell:

Gardening Gone Gonzo

All of my spring planting was finally finished, and the spot where I removed the big stump (well, most of it) has been a great spot to plant things:

 And what did I plant there? Oriental Poppies, Bachelor's Buttons, Yarrow, Chives, New York Asters, Globe Thistle and Gaillardia:

 The big stretch of garden I prepared along the dog fence has also been planted:

 I broke it up into sections to help me keep track of what's there. From left to right are last year's day lilies, this year's day lilies, Begonias/lilies/Peonies, Sunflowers (four varieties) and Armenian Basket Flowers:

The two new Bleeding Heart plants are blooming extravagantly:

 And because they did so well, I also planted Morning Glories there also:

 I had no trellis to use for the Morning Glories, so I put tomato cages there. If they grow more than that - well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it:

 And while planting the Morning Glories, I found a mutant Bedstraw plant with variegated leaves. I find such sports to be fun and interesting:

The two Flowering Crab trees and Golden Delicious apple trees put on a spectacular display, then faded away:

I put branches from the pink Prairie Rose flowering crab and Lilac blossoms in a vase to bring to church. In another vase, I put the common weed, Yellow Rocket. It is also called Winter Cress and is a species of wild Mustard:

 The Lilacs were great this year, but now I'll have to wait another year to see and smell them again:

Busy Around The Farm

It came time to begin planting and I couldn't put it off any longer. I began in the spot where I'd removed the giant stump (well, most of it anyway), adding a bit of compost to get me started:

The Globe Thistles were the biggest seedlings, so I began with them:

Then the tiny Chives. Alas, I had to quit at that point, determined to finish planting the other seedlings as soon as weather permitted:

The fantail pigeons began nesting in earnest after I gave them some hay for their nests:

And one new baby was hatched and seemed to be doing well:

The farm was filled with aroma of lilacs and apple blossoms until one day when a skunk got killed in the road. I left it overnight for the coyotes, but when they didn't want it I picked it up by the tail and tossed it into the brush by the side of the road:

Mowing the lawn beneath the apple trees was like passing through a tunnel of flowers:

And the brand new lilac seemed happy with its new home:

The little rose which was supposed to climb up the old farm sign frame, however, needed more sun. So I got out the chainsaw and lopped off many limbs from apple, pear and cherry trees. Then I hauled them to the brush pile in the woods:

The two Flowering Crabs and the wild seeded Golden Delicious apple tree put on a glorious display:

Here are the red Flowering Crab and the apple tree blossoms:

The Prairie Rose Flowering Crab was taking its time to flower but had an extreme abundance of buds. I knew it would be spectacular when they began to open:

Growing Things In May

The bantam hens can't go outside anymore, but they seem happy and content in their room inside the barn:

They have not yet totally soiled the pine shavings I put down when I cleaned their room:

The fantail pigeons are paired off and making nests, but nothing yet has come of their efforts:

They have soiled their pine shavings more than the chickens have, and I have to clean my shoes each time I leave their room:


But on to cleaner topics - One of the plum trees suddenly put out buds:


And then just as suddenly, the whole tree burst into bloom:

I cut some branches and put them in a vase, which I brought to church. It was so tall that I had to set it on the floor next to the pulpit:

And my PJM Rhododendron put out buds:

And then the flowers began to open. This was the first open flower, but I hope to have pictures in future posts when the entire bush is in full bloom:

Seed tray number one, with my two new Begonias at one end. The seedlings, from top to bottom, are  Gaillardia apricot, Gaillardia red, Gaillardia sunset, and New York Asters:

Seed tray number two, top to bottom. Bachelor's Buttons, Rose Mallow, Chives, Globe Thistle. Sadly, the Rose Mallow seeds again did not germinate:

A new variety of Daffodils was the last to bloom, this one white with a pale yellow center: