Summertime On The Farm

It's midsummer and life on the pasture is relaxed and comfortable:

I saw windfall cherries all over the ground beneath the cherry tree and thought this year's crop was lost:

 But then I looked up and saw lots of baby cherries still on the tree:

 There are many green baby pears on the pear tree:

And a few red baby pears also. I don't know why some are turning red so early, but I'm pretty sure this happens every year:

 The plum tree is loaded with baby plums:

 And the unmowed places near the road are filled with Northern Bedstraw, Mullein and Butter-And-Eggs:

 A close-up of Butter-And-Eggs:

 My favorites were this Deptford Pink, surrounded by Northern Bedstraw:

 The apple trees in the grove are mostly without fruit, but the two trees on the other side of the house have lots of baby apples:

 I saw this patch of Lesser Stitchwort, a kind of Chickweed, in a spot next to the barn door where I couldn't mow:

 Lesser Stitchwort, up close, is really quite attractive:

Plants And Birds

Wild Blackberries burst into bloom everywhere I was unable to mow - or were they Black Raspberries? I went to the internet for some ID pointers, but found them scarce and difficult to use. Then I found a website which was wonderfully helpful and easy to use. It confirmed that I have Blackberries, not Black Raspberries. I highly recommend this site:

My north field was getting very tall and my neighbor decided it was time for its first cutting:

 It was so thick and heavy that it was slow and difficult to mow:

 This was some seriously tall, thick, lush, heavy hay! As of this writing, the first part of the field has been cut and will be turned over to dry (tedded) today. About 3/4 of the field remains to be cut:

 My Rugosa Roses suffered badly from a fungus last year, along with the apple trees and one of the Ninebark bushes. But this year they continued blooming faithfully:

 So far, I see no fungus except on the one Ninebark which was affected last year:

 The Variegated Weigela was a dead looking stick a few weeks ago. Now it is blooming!

 The white Peonies (and one new red one) are building up to a flowering frenzy:

 And the Snowball bushes are doing extraordinarily well:

 I had no Cliff Swallow nests under the milk room eaves this year - until now. I found two adjacent mud nests, filled with birds. As soon as I snapped this photo, 6 to 8 birds burst from those holes and flew around, scolding me. I hope they keep the biting flies in check. The cows and horses (and I) will be grateful:

 In the lawn and pasture are many of these tiny white flowers, each petal split into two. They are Lesser Stitchwort, a kind of Chickweed. The grass head is Redtop:

 And of course the big, beautiful Red Clover. 'Tis the season:

A Summer Walk In The South Field

It was a hot morning and I'd just done the few morning chores I have in the summertime. I decided to walk out into the south field and enjoy the beauty. Of course both Blue and Remy came with me, though their attention was quickly diverted to eating grass:

Remy too was munching grass until he heard a noise from the neighbors' property. It interested him, and he stopped, looked and listened:

There were lots of tiny white flowers in bloom, Lesser Stitchwort and Northern Bedstraw. There were also lots of Red Clover and Buttercups, though only their leaves show in this picture:

Buttercups and Cow Vetch:

Buttercups and Red Clover:

Cow Vetch, Northern Bedstraw and Buttercups. There was a lot of Ragged Robin in bloom also, though I neglected to get a picture of them this time:

The cows lifted their heads to see what was happening. There must be some reason I was out, walking around the field:

Gracie, however, didn't care. I walked right up and brushed the flies off her face. Then I stroked under her chin:

Jasmine, another hefty lady, was comfy under the trees and didn't want to stand up if she didn't have to. She also got a bit of attention:

Buttercups and Oxeye Daisy (with a bit of Northern Bedstraw and Lesser Stitchwort thrown in for good measure):

The four standing cows began walking toward the shade of the Box Elder tree near the barn:

Gracie followed them, with Jasmine not too far behind. Cows are herd animals and don't usually want to be left behind when the herd moves on. Remy and Blue, however, had been there all the time, munching on grass:

Early Summer On The Farm

This is an assortment of photos from around the farm and from the nearby roads. Only a few days after rescuing a Wood Turtle from the road, I encountered this massive Snapping Turtle in the middle of another road. I hesitated, but decided to help it across the road if I could do so safely. It was a nasty animal, trying hard to bite me, but I managed to get it across the road to safety:

Our long winter and spring drought severely hurt local hay crops, but farms with well maintained fields have been haying for several weeks now:

I've seen only one farm baling hay so far, but lots of folks are cutting their fields for silage:

My Rugosa Roses showed their first buds on May 31:

By June 1 they were blooming nicely, and I expect them to continue doing so through much of the summer:

The chickens collected at the barn door, hoping I'd open it for them so they could go in and look for grain. I didn't:

A closer look at the wildflowers in the hay fields revealed some old favorites, such as this Cow Vetch:

And Ragged Robin. Mine looked pale and scraggly, but I've seen other local fields which were almost a sea of purple:

Lesser Stitchwort, a Chickweed:

A Bedstraw, and I think it was Rough Bedstraw:

Common Fleabane and the ubiquitous Buttercups. There were lots of other flowers also, but they'll have to wait for another day:

A short video of the three calves frolicking as the cattle came to the barn for some grain. At 25 and 26 seconds, you get all four calves (including Rosella) lined up in order of age, from oldest to youngest, left to right - Rosella, Annie, Gladys, Loretta:

Around The Farm, A Midsummer Update

I ring a cowbell once each day to summon the cows in for grain. Sometimes they come, sometimes they can't be bothered, an indication of how well fed they are on green grass in the field. But the chickens always respond to the cowbell, racing over to the barn for a feast of spilled grain:

One pair of fantail pigeons seems to have bonded but don't appear to have an active nest:

One female seems to have an active nest but I never see her mate sharing nest duties with her. Or perhaps I just can't tell them apart. At any rate, I am hoping for babies soon:

And speaking of babies, the five little Barred Rock Bantams have been growing like weeds. Their water bottle, as you can see, got so filled with algae that I had to bring it into the house and scrub it clean:

They began passing out of the cute, baby chick phase and into the homely, vulture phase:

Outdoors every day, rain or shine, the adult chickens roam far and wide, picking up bugs and seeds and tender greens:

All in all, it has been a fine summer so far and now I remember why I wanted to retire here. Last winter I began to doubt the wisdom of my choice:

The chickens like to hide beneath the roses and take dust baths in front of that gate:

They are attractive and peaceful hens, a pleasure to have around the house and yard (except, sometimes, for the inconveniently placed poop). The rooster, however, is not so pleasant and I have had several run-ins with him:

I have tried to stay out of the north field to allow the hay to grow, but I had to drive across it once and stopped, mid field to take a closer look at the wildflowers. The purple flowers were Cow Vetch, of course, but what were those white flowers?:

I looked them up when I got back to the house and learned that they were Lesser Stitchwort, in the same genus as Chickweed:

The cattle knocked around their mineral feeder rather badly, but so far, at least, have not ruined it. The chickens discovered it and decided that they like to eat the minerals also: