The Fullness Of Springtime

The north country may seem as if it's all snow and cold, but springtime and summer are glorious. My PJM Rhododendron began to drop its flowers but the old fashioned Iris right behind it were getting ready to bloom:

I found these wonderful wildflowers, called Bird's-Eye Speedwell, in my lawn:

They are showy and hard to miss:

Growing all around it was its miniature relative, Thyme-Leaved Speedwell:

My red Flowering Crab, which is intertwined with a wild Golden Delicious apple, put forth buds:


So I clipped some off, put them in a vase and took them to church:

The Lilacs not only began to open, but also to perfume the yard. Some of them also went to church:

The little chickens are happy and healthy:

And very friendly:

The first apple in the grove to bloom was the tree in the corner, next to the power pole:

Apple blossoms are surely one of the greatest joys of life on the farm:

And then the whole grove began to bloom. I took this photo from inside the horses' corral. The farm house is on the other side of the grove:

Spring Now In High Gear

My north field is filled with Bobolinks and Meadowlarks this year, but especially Bobolinks. They sit on fence posts and telephone wires, singing their loud, happy, bubbling song. This photo is from the internet because I couldn't get a good close-up:

I could, however, get a video of a male singing on a fence post. That's my north field behind him, and the tree in bloom in a Shadbush. The Bobolink is facing the camera and you can see the flash of gold from the back of his head every time he looks to the side or toward the ground:


 One of the Plum trees and the Apricot tree both burst into bloom:

 The Apricot tree, planted six years ago, has never bloomed before. I'm hoping to taste my own apricots this year:

 The Plum tree has bloomed before but never borne fruit because it is not in blossom at the same time as the other Plum tree. This year, however, its flowers coincided with the Plum trees across the road. Maybe there is hope yet:

I collected the last of the Daffodil flowers, put them in a vase and brought them to church:

And while I was at it, I clipped off some PJM Rhododendron branches, put them in a vase and brought them to church also:

The fantail pigeons are nesting but so far there have been no babies (except one dead one):

The bantam hens are laying eggs, but (I am happy to say) at a much slower rate than in the past:

They seem happy and content in their room inside the barn:

I have only 11 birds left and don't plan to get any more when they are gone:

Spring Planting!

It finally began warming up here and my attitude was "Better late than never." I resumed planting, beginning with two Bleeding Heart plants, a gift from a neighbor:

My PJM Rhododendron bloomed nicely:

And then it became even more beautiful:

I continued to put the Begonias, seed trays and baby roses out on nice days. They seemed to benefit from it:

And then one day I planted five of the six baby roses in the front yard, next to last year's hardy roses:

The sixth baby rose, a vigorous climber, got planted beneath the old sign frame. I'm hoping it will grow up over the whole frame. I'll cut off some of the cherry and pear limbs to give it more sun, but I want to wait until after they bloom:

Violets bloomed all through the lawn:

And Grape Hyacinths sprang up next to the bicolor Daffodils:

At close range, it's evident how this plant got its name:

And a new, fourth variety of Daffodil began to bloom, this one with small, buttery yellow flowers:

My neighbor saw me mowing my tall lawn grass and stopped to see if he could rake up the clippings for his cows. Of course I said yes:

He and his uncle raked grass clippings while my dogs watched. Only Fergus continued barking after they saw who it was. Fergus just can't help himself:

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:

Spring Is Bustin' Out All Over

I'd already planted Day Lilies and Morden Roses - and then three Variegated Weigela plants arrived. They were bare root and didn't look very impressive, so I planted them immediately and began hauling buckets of water from the barn so I could keep them watered:

 I went out to the barn one day and found a baby Swallow fluttering on the ground. I remembered that last year I'd had Cliff Swallows and their nest was nearby, so I scooped up the baby to put it back in the mud nest. Alas, the nest wasn't there anymore:

 I saw Cliff Swallows coming and going from the eaves of the milk room, but any nest must have been inside the "attic" where I could neither see it nor reach it. I left the baby on the ground near where the Swallows seemed most active, hoping they'd keep it fed. The next morning, it was still fluttering in the lawn. By evening, it was gone. It was almost ready to fly, so perhaps it survived:

 The bi-color Daffodils bloomed first, then the solid yellow ones:

 Our fine weather inspired the cattle and horses to lounge around, enjoying the sun and growing grass:

 If I remember correctly, the small leafed Rhododendron just outside my door has never before bloomed, but it finally began to flower this year. I wasn't much impressed with them, though:

 But that's because I was too early. The next day, the flowers began to open and I think I've identified it as a PJM Rhododendron:


 A surveyor was working in the large cornfield across the road so I walked over to chat, thinking the owner might have sold the field for someone's new home. No, it was simply being surveyed for the people next door to know their correct fence line:

 The automatic poultry waterer broke one day and I scrambled to find something with which to give the pigeons water until I could buy a new one. I temporarily used two trough-type chick feeders with the tops open. Of course the pigeons love to bathe and were splashing wildly in it within a few minutes, but enough water to drink remained (even if it wasn't very clean). I got them a new waterer the next morning:

 Ah, spring. It leads to thoughts of love and.....um, other things:

 I planted two plum trees when I first moved to the farm and one has borne fruit each year. The other, however, has not. But this year, it flowered early, so I am hopeful:

 The other plum tree and, in fact, all the other fruit trees, had not even a suggestion of blooms yet, but this new plum tree was going all out. I hope the fruit is early also: