Life In The North Country

Just when I thought all the different varieties of Daffodils had bloomed, these small white flowers opened:

They look much like orchids and are perhaps my favorites of all the varieties:

Alongside a nearby road, I saw large, wet areas filled with Marsh Marigolds in bloom:

This road is rife with wildflowers every spring, so I make sure to pay it a visit. Here's a close-up of a Marsh Marigold plant:

And on the same road each spring, I also find huge quantities of White Trilliums, officially and accurately called Large-Flowered Trilliums:

They are spectacular, including some with a pinkish hue:

The town or county had mowed the edge of the road this year, yet there was still a band of Trilliums along the side and beyond the mowed strip, creating quite a spectacular display:

Back home in my lawn, Wild Strawberries began to bloom in abundance:

A new species of Violet appeared in my lawn, this one with smaller leaves and pale, smaller flowers. I went to my field guide to identify it but was unable to do so. I'll just call them the small, pale Violet:

Winthrop, New York is so small that it doesn't qualify as either a town or village. I guess that makes it a hamlet, but a new Dollar General store just opened there and local wags call it "The Winthrop Mall." I noticed the other day that they have several designated parking spaces for Amish buggies, complete with horse manure (AKA road apples) to prove they are being used:

The fantail pigeons are happy and healthy. They still have not produced babies, but I have all the birds I need and am not anxious for more:

This lady, however, is trying to have a successful nest:

The Drive Home - Part 2

Since I hadn't found many wildflowers along the shore of Clear Pond, I was watching along the access road on our way out from the White Hill Wild Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). It was a bit late for Shadbush in bloom, but I found some:

And more Red Trilliums:

Clover watched out the window as we slowly drove past a beaver pond, causing startled Painted Turtles to slide off their logs and back into the water:

While Clover watched out the window, Daphne watched me:

We got back on the main road, but I knew another nearby location for two more species and I headed that way. The first one I came to was Marsh Marigold. They were growing and blooming in abundance:

  Marsh Marigolds like to grow in shallow water, among the cattails:

I stopped by the side of the road, beside wetlands filled with Marsh Marigolds. The dogs, of course, had to wait in the car for me:

And just up the road was a patch of Large-Flowered White Trilliums. Like the Marsh Marigolds, they bloom here every year:

They really are spectacular:

And they grew all along the road, occupying the mowed area between the forest and the blacktop. By this time we were almost home, so I put my camera away and headed back to the farm:

Springtime On The Farm - Part 2

I ordered two Ninebark seedlings and planted them in compost where I removed the old, rotten stump last year. Ninebark is a cold hardy shrub with red leaves, white flowers and mottled bark. I have great expectations for them - and the little fence will hopefully keep me from mowing over them:

The Shadbush began blooming at the end of April and was almost finished, so I decided to get a few photos of their lovely blossoms before it was too late.

And I returned to the country road where the White Trilliums bloom by the thousands every year. They were reduced to only one small patch this year, but my timing was good and I got some photos:

Trilliums are truly a beautiful flower:

These tiny blooms are from my Bush Cherry, and will produce many miniature cherries later on. Alas, the birds got all but one cherry last year - and I had to eat the last one before it was fully ripe or I'd never have gotten to taste them at all. It was very good, though:

And my full sized cherry is blooming abundantly. This looks to be only the second cherry crop I've had since I moved here:

Need I add that Dandelions are everywhere, great oceans of them across the lawns and pastures. Some people hate them, but I think they are both attractive and useful:

We had so much rain that the drainage ditch by the barn was filling in. So I used the tractor bucket one dry day to reopen it:

And Wild Strawberries are blooming all over the pasture and lawn:

I also opened up the far field for the herd, which made them very happy. Those are the last of the Shadbush in bloom behind them, not to be seen again until next spring:

Notes From All Over

The fantail pigeons and chickens have been enjoying our beautiful weather. One hen disappeared, however, and I never found out what happened to her:

 The other chickens continued to spend all day, every day, picking and scratching, searching for edibles:

 I have three bait stations for mice in the barn, but I keep them under plastic "cages" so the livestock can't get at the pellets. I even added a rock atop each one for added safety. Any mouse has to be small enough to get through those small openings to eat the pellets. It's a good thing I don't have big rats (I hope):

 I returned to a local roadside which has an explosion of white Trilliums every year and it didn't disappoint me this year. It was quite a display:

 

 They are a beautiful wildflower, often living for 50 years or more. I puzzled over the pink ones but finally decided that they turned pink as they aged, just before the petals fell to the ground:

 These are Large-Flowered Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum:

Even a bit of roadside trash couldn't diminish their beauty. In fact, I thought it made for an artistic arrangement:

 Like so many flowers this year, the "Prairie Rose" Flowering Crab bloomed late and sparsely. Furthermore, its bud stage, usually the best part, was almost nonexistent, the flowers opening quickly:

 I photographed them while I had the chance. I knew they wouldn't last for long:

 But the old fashioned Lilacs did not disappoint:

 As beautiful as ever, and their fragrance filled the air:

 Every old farm should have an abundance of Lilacs. They are super hardy, able to withstand the harshest winters, and require no care whatsoever:

Spring Has Turned To Summer

The fantail pigeons have been getting bolder about going outdoors. Our beautiful weather (finally!) has helped, I'm sure:

The pigeons sometimes pick around in the gravel or the grass, much like the chickens do:

And speaking of chickens, my little flock of bantams is out and about all day, every day now that the weather is pleasant:

This hen was sunning herself, lying on her side to feel the sun's warmth. They also like to take dust baths:

I had a weed and rock patch in the middle of my side lawn. I put the rocks in a big circle and then planted a hardy Magnolia in the center. Around the young tree, I planted Iris, Rugosa Roses and Rose Mallows. If they all grow, I may have to move some things. Notice the chickens in the background:

Here's a little weedy patch - weedy but beautiful. Ignoring the blooming white Narcissus when I snapped the photo, I focused on the wild Dandelions and Violets:

The first of the Flowering Crabs began blooming just as some of the apple trees were beginning to flower. The second Flowering Crab had not yet begun. Both quickly burst into bloom and then it was all over. Spring was both late and brief this year:

I used to have a gigantic stump in the middle of my lawn. It was perhaps ten feet high and six feet in diameter, so covered with vines that it looked like a haystack. It occurred to me that it might be so rotten by now that I could simply knock it over with the tractor and haul it away, so I gave it a try:

Knocking it over was easy, but hauling it away was a lot of work. Nonetheless, I finished the job and will have an easier time mowing from now on:

I saw this hillside covered with white Trilliums along the road and pulled over for a closer look:

They were spectacular, with huge, white flowers:

This species, Trillium grandiflorum, is sometimes called  Large-Flowered Trillium. It's an appropriate name: