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:

Spring's A Poppin'

Our much delayed and much anticipated springtime, once begun, burst upon us like fireworks. These bi-colored Daffodils were among the first signs of real spring:

 The lawn filled with Common Blue Violets:

 The hated and pernicious Japanese Knotweed began to pop up in all the usual places:

A surprise Grape Hyacinth (or a cluster of them) emerged among the Daffodils:

 The second plum tree blossomed and there was a brief couple of days when both plums were blooming simultaneously, giving me hope that they were cross pollinated:

 Plum blossoms are pretty flowers, and a pleasure to have on the property:

 Pear and Cherry blossoms among the still emerging apple trees, with the farm house in the background:

 The cherry blossoms were not abundant, but there were enough of them to provide hope for eating cherries this summer:

 Dandelions suddenly appeared in the lawn and pasture. I know many people hate them, but I think they're gorgeous:

 The pear tree blossomed and I decided these were the nicest flowers of all - at least so far:

The old fashioned Lilac bushes budded, almost ready to burst into bloom and fill the yard with their perfume:

 Wild Shadbush flowers all along every road were almost done for the year, but I found a couple of them to photograph:

Snowy North Field Perimeter - Part 2

I was driving around the outside perimeter of the north field to see and photograph the wintry beauty (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). I stopped when I saw this snowy pine. It looked like a Scotch Pine, though I've never taken the time for a closer look. I didn't do so this time either, but maybe I can remember it in the summer:

There are remnants of a stone wall along the perimeter, though they are so old that it is now difficult to discern:

And there are still piles of old farm refuge - tires, farm equipment, pipes, etc. I removed close to a hundred old tires, but more keep appearing:

I came to the two big Sugar Maples which provide such nice color every autumn:

I own the woodland off to the right in this spot, and it did my heart good to see an Eastern White Cedar growing there:

Some giant rocks were piled along the woods, apparently removed from the field before it could be used. I have heard a story of how the former owner had someone clear the rocks but never paid them. He also never paid for his new silo, so they came and dismantled it - which is why I now have a silo base but no silo behind the barn:

One lone Beech tree still held onto its golden leaves:

This was my path. The north field lay to the left and the woods to the right. I had a narrow path between them, a path which I have to bush hog each summer in order to keep the weeds down. But this photo shows the great beauty I experienced as I drove the perimeter:

In places, remnants of an old barbed wire fence still separated the field from the woods, and Birch trees began to show along the edges:

Another shot of an old, leaning barbed wire fence, with woods just beyond:

The brushy places had such an abundance of small branches that they appeared extra white:

I think these dark, withered berries were those of the Shadbush, sometimes called Serviceberry. They should be blooming again this spring:

I turned left, heading back to the house and barn, with the county road to my right. There is a row of cattails along this section of road:

The most beautiful sight of the trip was this Foxtail Grass. The seed heads were so white from a coating of snow that they looked like extra fancy, hybrid ornamental grasses in miniature. Alas, the photo doesn't do them justice. They were exquisite. They were also my final photo. I put my camera away and began using the tractor to remove the snow which the town had piled at the end of my driveway:

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:

Around The Farm

Things had been chilly, but spring continued to advance slowly. Blue and Jasmine stood together near the stock tank for this photo. Jasmine was overdue for calving. You can see that she's rather big around the middle. I was checking on her several times a day:

I was out in the south field when I took this photo, looking toward the barn, house and the neighbors' red barn. The brown circles are wasted hay from where the bale feeder was located at one point. I moved it with each new bale:

 Dawn in the pasture, with the sun just breaking over the trees:

 Remy and Jasmine on a windy day:


 The wild Shadbush all burst into bloom on April 29 and continued for several weeks, adding beauty to the woodlands everywhere:

 Shadbush in bloom along the edges of a neighbor's field. Also notice the big puddles in the foreground of the photo. It has been a very wet spring:

 Our spring began in earnest and then it suddenly turned chilly and rainy. In fact, it was so rainy that wild ducks began nesting in corn fields. The Mallard drake was right next to the road but became alarmed when I stopped and rolled down the car window to photograph him:

 I returned to the neighbors' sheep farm to see how their lambing season was going:

 This little cutie was hoping I had a bottle of milk for her. I didn't, and she quickly lost interest in me:

 The lambs in this pen were running and playing, angering the crabby old ram. The ewe in the small pen had tiny, delicate lambs and they were being protected from the hustle and bustle in the big pen:

 I was told that they had about 80 lambs this season. I asked about the red marks and learned that they are simply identification, to help the farmers keep track of who was who:

 Lambs sure are cute. It's always fun to visit them: