Notes From Around The Farm

I planted three Rose Mallows in front of the house last autumn and they finally began to bloom this year. Bramble watched me from the window as I took pictures of the first flower:

 The second flower was even bigger:

 And the Tree Hydrangea I planted last year is also thriving and blooming:

 The Rugosa Roses bloomed a long time ago and are setting colorful rose hips which Clover pulls through the fence and devours. I've tasted them and found that they are edible, but rather tasteless:

 The chickens have roamed free all summer long and I began integrating the five babies with the adults in short visits, hoping to avoid any fighting. So far, it's been successful:

 This is just a Smartweed which took root in a crack between bricks on the front porch. I thought it was quite beautiful:

 The Goldenrod became such a big problem in the cattle's pasture that some friends suggested I brush hog it. I tried it and it was a spectacular success, leaving no Goldenrod flowers but lots of lush grass, 6 to 8 inches high. I took this picture to illustrate the "before" and "after" difference:

 It's more difficult to see the before and after in this picture, but you can tell that the left side of the photo has not yet been cut. You can also see the barn, house and the neighbors' barn in the background:

 Just down the dirt road from me, I passed this large family of wild turkeys, all different ages and sizes:

 And fifty feet more down that same road, this doe stood and watched me until I got too close:

 I have Elderberries growing in the old base of a former silo, though this year the Wild Cucumber vines are threatening to take over. I saw the chickens climbing all over it and walked over to see what they were doing:

They were eating the unripe Elderberries, though each one required a leap. Here's a 20 second video of one little hen filling herself with green berries while the rooster, crickets and wind chimes provided background noise:

The Beebe Hill Fire Tower

Well, it'd been a nice hike up to the top of Beebe Hill with my four dogs, and very soon we arrived at the restored fire tower. A historic fire tower with a magnificent view less than a mile from the trail head which hardly anyone knows about - what could be better than that?:

And it's a beauty, too:

At the base of it grew Smartweeds in bloom, though I couldn't tell from my field guide which species:

And more Day-Lilies and raspberries:

I walked right to the base of the fire tower and looked up:

And then I tied each of the four dogs to each of the four uprights to prevent them from climbing up behind me:

The view, predictably, was magnificent:

There are four sides to the fire tower cab and views in every direction:

It seemed to me that the towers of downtown Albany should have been visible from up there, but I couldn't find them:

Looking down at little Clover, tied below and waiting patiently for me. I'll post more tomorrow: