Bush Hogging The North Field

I went out early in the morning to bush hog the north field, but when I got to the barn, I saw these two baby Starlings on the ground, next to the milk room. A Starling nests somewhere up in the insulation below the milk room roof, entering through the eave, each year. I had no way to put the babies back into the nest and could only hope the mother would find them, so all I could do was continue on into the barn and began my day:

 I have been seeing lots of Swallows, more than ever before, and had trouble identifying them. I caught this one on a wire and got a photo, deciding it was a Tree Swallow. I've also been seeing Swallows colored like Barn Swallows but without the long, forked tails. Now that I've got a nest of them, I have identified them as Cliff Swallows. The neighbors say they have Barn Swallows, but I haven't seen the nests. I don't know why the population explosion of Swallows, but I love it! This year there are fewer biting flies than previous years, and I think the swallows' swallowing them is the reason:

 Then I began bush hogging the north field, stopping to photograph wildflowers such as these beautiful Chicory flowers. They are the bluest of the blue. That is Pineapple Weed below them:

 I also stopped to spray paint any rocks which broke the surface of the ground:

 Common Milkweed, a problem plant as far as cattle are concerned, but with perhaps the sweetest perfume of any wildflower. And of course Monarch Butterflies require Milkweeds:

 I had two types of Thistles in the north field. I sprayed most of them with weed killer, but couldn't get them all. Bush hogging (I hope) will cut these off before they flower and produce seed. I searched my field guide and decided this kind was Canada Thistle:

 And this giant, invasive monster was, I decided, the aptly named Bull Thistle. They grow huge and they grow fast:

 

 While I was anxious to bush hog the thistles, I hated to do the same to the white Musk Mallows:

And the lovely pink Musk Mallows. It had to be done, though:

 Cow Vetch is everywhere and grows so low that the bush hog scarcely touched it:

 When I was all done, I removed the bush hog from the tractor and parked them both inside the barn. I was on my way back to the house when I saw a Starling flutter up from the ground. Then I noticed the babies were missing. Did some animal eat them? No, the mother had moved them around the corner, tucking them into the grass between the milk room and a lilac bush. A sad postscript to this story - the next morning, I discovered that a predator had gotten both babies:

Around The Farm, Bush Hogging The South Field

This is Blondie, an Easter Egger Bantam hen. When she was a baby, I was convinced that she was so stupid that she would probably not survive. But now she's fine. I suppose I might have been right about her, but it doesn't take much intelligence to eat, poop and lay eggs:

 These two fantail pigeons keep trying to nest on the board which covers the water buckets. I can't allow that because I need to access the water, so I keep moving their eggs to the nearby board. They are not amused:

 This little lady keeps trying to nest on the floor, next to the wall where the door hits her every time I open it. I keep moving her eggs also. She's more agreeable to my moving her eggs:


 The pigeons seem happy and healthy, though there still have been no eggs hatched:


The Rugosa Roses are finished with their explosive flowering, but they will continue to bloom modestly all through the summer:

Our many weeks of rain finally came to an end and I began bush hogging the far south field:

 The far south field is a small field, surround by trees on three sides, and produces nice hay each September. The herd has access to that field until I mow it. After that, I rope it off (with electrified rope) until it's time to cut the hay:

 The grass (and weeds) was unusually tall for this field, up to three feet high, and mowing it seemed to be a must this year:

 I found several pink Musk Mallow plants in flower and I hated to mow them:

 They are one of my favorites, a relative of the Hibiscus:

I also had to mow the bigger south field but it was such an exhausting and lengthy job that I took no more photos. The fields together are about 16 acres. The herd had spent several weeks across the road in the north field, but I brought them back over to the south field when I was done. Bush hogging cuts down all the tall weeds but leaves 6 to 8 inches of grass and clover, just right for grazing:

Enjoying A Working Summer

We've had beautiful weather, though I am including lots of rain in my definition of beautiful. It's kept the plants growing nicely. The cherry tree is producing fruit that is already edible, at least the darkest red ones, and I grab one whenever I pass beneath the tree on the riding mower:

The Elderberry plants had a tough winter and some died, but those which survived are beginning to bloom. Mostly they just have buds now, but some flower heads are open:

The new Magic Carpet Spirea surprised me by blooming. They are not the big, gaudy sorts of flowers which people will admire from the road, but I like them:

 Lots of wildflowers are blooming also, such as these Maiden Pinks. Those in the lawn are short, but out in the pasture they are about 12" tall:

The two little Ninebarks I planted are changing colors. Their dark burgundy color is turning a brilliant gold. They are also growing well, getting taller each time I check on them:

I moved the herd across the road to the north field so that I could spray the fence line of the south field. This must be done once each year to suppress the weeds from shorting out the fence:


Alas, there is also the problem of trees falling on the fence. I had to cut this one with a chainsaw:

Northern Bedstraw and Cow Vetch make a wonderful combination - and one which is nearly everywhere I look these days:

Red Clover is too big to grow in the lawn, but it sure does well in the pasture. Indeed, it's been a very nice summer so far:

 I have a few Musk Mallows growing in the south field. They come in both pink and white, though all I've seen this year are pink:

 The Musk Mallow is a member of the Hibiscus family, and very showy: