Around The Farm

Along a country road I observed this tableau: Jewelweed, Purple Loosestrife, Queen Anne's Lace and Sundrops, the day blooming version of Evening Primrose. Behind them is a corn field:

Although the dawns are getting later each day, I still often get to see these glorious skies:

I was surprised to find these calyx (sepals) reminders of June's flowering bonanza on the Mock Orange bush. I had not noticed them before. They are not as showy as the actual flowers, but lovely nonetheless:

The aptly named Butter-And-Eggs:

And my own little patch of Orpine, a wild Sedum. Those are windfall apples in the grass at their feet:

The baby fantail pigeon who had been so badly picked on is almost an adult now, and her injured head is nearly healed. I sometimes find it difficult to pick her out when I enter their room now:

The pear tree has resisted whatever disease struck the apple trees, and the fruit is getting bigger each day:

The only two trees which produced apples are the two alongside the road, away from all the others:

And though their fruit is smaller than usual and falling earlier, they certainly produced a lot of them. I fed them to the cattle a few times but then stopped because I want my cows (and horses) to lose weight:

The little bantam hens are down to only 3 or 4 eggs per day, but they are still pretty to look at and tasty to eat:

I discovered another baby fantail pigeon, this one strong and healthy (and not being picked on). I'm guessing it was ten days old when I discovered it and snapped this photo. They do look like they are related to dinosaurs:

The adult birds mob the water fountain every time I refresh it. I don't know if they are just curious or looking for fresher water (they rake shavings and dried poop into it during the day). They also probably would love a bath and I haven't provided one lately. It's time I did so:

Wildflowers Around The Farm

The yard around the house is big, but far from manicured. There are weedy sections everywhere and I delight in them, for they display amazing wildflowers all summer long. So one day I took my camera and recorded a few of the wildflowers which beautify the wild patches. The first is Deptford Pink:

And Sundrops, a day blooming relative of Evening Primrose:

Common St. Johnswort:

Cow Vetch:

A white Aster, species unknown. Feel free to add a comment if you can identify it:

Orange Hawkweed:

Queen Anne's Lace, or Wild Carrot:

Rough-Fruited Cinquefoil:

Yellow Goats-Beard:

White Clover:

Bouncing Bet:

Red Clover:

Bladder Campion. This bloomed profusely all over the property earlier in the season, but there were only a few, sad looking specimens left this late in the summer:

A Bedstraw, species unknown. Do you see those amazing brown seed pods near it? I don't know what they are, but they are fascinating:

Early Goldenrod:

Common Milkweed:

Butter-and-Eggs:

This plant is extremely common and looks to be in the mint family, but I can't identify it. You'd think it would be easy because of its square stems and distinctive leaves, but I've been unable to find it online or in my field guide. If you know what it is, please leave me a comment:

A Wildflower Afternoon At Beebe Hill

I had a day off in the middle of the week and it was very hot. I decided that I really needed to get out somewhere into the woods and take a hike - as long as it was a short hike. I chose my old favorite, Beebe Hill, just south of Albany in Columbia County. The dogs and I began hiking up an old service road with deep forests on each side but lots of sun and wildflowers along the road. I first stopped to photograph the abundant Butter-And-Eggs, Linaria vulgaris. It's an alien wildflower, but a common and lovely one:

We passed by Bartlett Pond and began ascending the hill:

The dogs were, of course, happy and excited. They ran and played and sniffed and had a grand time:

And then I encountered a patch of creamy pink trumpet flowers, a new species for me. I took several photos so that I could identify it when I got home:

I checked my Peterson's Field Guide, turning the pages slowly until I arrived at a picture of Spreading Dogbane, Apocynum androsaemifolium. It was a beautiful flower, striped on its interior with a deep rose color:

And there were, of course, lots of more common wildflowers such as this Daisy Fleabane, Erigeron annuus:

Another common and abundant wildflower was Common St. Johnswort, Hypericum perforatum:

And what hike would be complete without the beautiful and useful Jewelweed, also known as Spotted Touch-Me-Not, Impatiens capensis. There is plenty of interesting lore about this wondrous plant. Maybe I'll do a whole post on the subject some day:

And then I encountered another wildflower new to me. It looked much like the Whorled Loosestrife which I'd only discovered this year, but not quite. I figured it must be related and have since concluded that it must have been Fringed Loosestrife, Lysimachia ciliata:

And another old friend, Sundrops, Onagraceae fruticosa. This plant is pretty much like Common Evening Primrose except that it blooms by day instead of by night. Well, I hadn't planned for this to be a wildflower hike, but it sure was turning out that way:

And another old friend, Bladder Campion, Silene cucubalus. I'll post more tomorrow: