Springtime On The Farm - Part 3

A dead horse? No, a lazy horse. Remy likes to sleep inside the barn or, in this case, outside the barn on the soft, old hay wasted during the winter:

But most of the time, I can find the cattle and horses in the south field, grazing:

Jasmine has passed her due date so clearly was not pregnant. Nonetheless, she is so sweet and gentle that she's one of my favorites:

I bought these two odd perennials at Walmart and planted them. The roots did not look impressive, so I don't expect much from them. Nonetheless, they'll sure be eye catching if they do grow:

And speaking of growing, my new Tulips have blossomed so fully that the flowers look almost like Peonies. Their red color is so brilliant that the camera seemed unable to capture it:

And they were asking people to take home the leftover Easter Lilies at church. There were so many needing a home that I took two of them. Everyone assures me that they survive our rugged winters, but I'll believe that if and when I see it:

And wild Violets are in bloom everywhere in my lawn and gardens. My mother loved Violets so much that she had a small garden full of them just outside our back door. When we were kids, we used to buy fancy, domesticated varieties for her birthday or for Mother's Day - but it was always the wild violets which thrived and bloomed:

A neighbor told me that there were three baby foxes living in a collapsed shed, just a couple hundred feet down the road from me. He wisely suggested I drive down to see them as the car would be less likely to cause them to run away. I had to drive down multiple times, but I finally got to see two of the babies:

They were about the size of cats and incredibly cute. Now that I've given up on my war against them and committed to keeping my hens indoors, I hold no grudge against foxes:

One kit was shy and hid in the rubble, but the other continued to sit still:

And the curious kit watched me while its sibling peered out from the rubble:

I never saw the third kit, just the bold one in the front and the skittish one in the rubble. Nonetheless, it was a wonderful sight. By the way, they are still killing someone's chickens, for I saw the wing of a Rhode Island Red next to the kit in the foreground:

The Farm In June

I arrived at the farm and found the tenants (and their dog) away and my hay fields all mowed. So as soon as the car was unpacked and the dogs settled, I took a walk out into the south hay field. There were 35 bales of exceptional size. That's far fewer than last year, but  the bales were larger and the hay was cut earlier. I suppose he's hoping for a second cutting. I will be sure to insist that he spread manure in the autumn as promised. This photo was taken out in the south hay field looking back toward the barn and house:                                                                                                            

I walked back to the house and made sure the dogs were happy and safe inside their fence:

The weeds had been growing lushly alongside the milk room:

These yellow lilies were all that remained of the domestic flower plantings of past years:

But the Milkweed was also lovely, and smelled heavenly besides:

Inside the base of the old silo, a forest of white flowered something-or-other was blooming profusely:

I walked over for a closer look and a photo which I could identify later. Alas, I could find no obvious match in my field guide. This plant grows everywhere, though, so it is apparently quite common. It looks a bit like Elderberry but I never saw any berries last year. Anybody know what this is?"

Near the fish pond I found Blue-Eyed Grass and Fragrant Bedstraw:

And the old-fashioned roses which were almost dead because the Maple trees had been choking them out were not only growing, but beginning to bloom:

I walked out into the north hay field and found 23 extra-large bales all lined up:

These bales were easily twice the size of those the other farmer had made last summer:

And Motherwort was blooming nearly everywhere. Summer had come to the farm and I was looking forward to the day I can be here to watch nature unfold every day in all seasons: