Around The Farm, The All Botanical Version

The fence line is a jumble of wild plants and, in some places, quite beautiful. At this spot, the Wild Cucumber vines were in full bloom and Goldenrod added color to the jumble of wildflowers. The gravel road and north field were in the background:

A few of the Tall Garden Phlox, which I thought had all died, have sprung up and bloomed after all:

The wild Day Lilies bloomed:

And so did the new red Hydrangea:

The Mandarin Honeysuckle I planted last year died, so I planted another one this spring. It has taken off and is growing happily, the secret being to keep it well watered:

Though apples aren't abundant this year, there are still more than I know what to do with. I occasionally pick up a windfall and bite into it:

But I have learned never to do so after first eating the super-sweet plums. The apples are not sweet enough to follow the plums:

The Tree Hydrangea is putting on quite a show this year:

And so it the brand new Morden Sunrise rose bush:

The pink Rose Mallows began to bloom in late summer and were just getting started when I took this picture. You can see the abundance of buds:

The pink variety blooms earlier and has bigger flowers than the red variety:

I have a problem with English Sparrows in my hay loft. They are breeding in there and causing quite a disturbance. They were also gobbling up all the Elderberries, so I quickly snapped a photo before there were none left at all:

Summer On The Farm

I was just walking to the house when I saw the herd coming in for water at the stock tank. I thought it would make a good photo of a peaceful scene I always enjoy seeing:

I also enjoy walking out in the pasture. I passed by Gracie, who calmly watched me go by. Sometimes I'll pet the friendly cows (like Gracie) as I go by. They don't like the top of their heads touched but a scratch under the chin is usually enjoyed:

Blue and Remy are always happy to get a bit of petting, In fact, Remy rushes toward me so fast that I often have trouble snapping a photo of him. On this day, they just kept grazing:

While I'm outside working, the five dogs lounge about in their fenced yard. Their favorite spot is the ramp. It's not soft, but it has nice shade and they can see the back door from there:

Indoors, they nap in the kitchen corner or, as in the case of Fergus and Seamus, on the yoga mat behind my computer chair:

 

The new Frans Hals Day lilies are putting on quite a show. They truly are even more brightly colored than in the picture:

The red Hydrangea I planted last fall is alive and flowering. I guess that's all I can ask of it this first year:

I have a few wild type Day lilies. They are so gorgeous that it amazes me anyone wanted to breed them in new colors:

I thought all my Phlox had died, but one brave plant has sprung up and begun flowering. I missed them - and so did the Hummingbird Moths (Clearwing Moths) and Swallowtail butterflies:

The fantail pigeons are healthy and producing new babies this summer. I can't clean their room now because there are babies all over the floor. Well, at least that makes a good excuse:

That pigeon in the back is the baby, just a couple weeks old. The bird in front is one of its parents:

The little hens are laying fewer eggs now. That's a blessing for me as I don't have to hard boil them so often, but the dogs will sure miss eating the eggs when the laying season is over:

Around The Farm

This flower sprang up among my Irises, almost directly below where the bird feeders are each winter, so at first I assumed it had grown from a missed seed. On the other hand, it doesn't look like much of a commercial seed producer, does it?

 The baby fantail pigeon continues to grow and appears to be completely on its own now:

 It has even grown a fantail. Its damaged head (from being pecked) still shows, but it is certainly a hardy survivor:

 I have at least one (and probably more) barn chipmunk, probably meaning that the Least Weasels are gone. Otherwise, the weasels would probably have eaten the chipmunks by now:

 Several pairs of fantail pigeons have made use of the cake pan nests I made for then. This bird was busy turning an egg when I snapped the picture:

 Another bird, moving around in its nest. Male and female pigeons both care for the eggs and babies, and it's not always obvious which is which:

 This bird got defensive when I tried to photograph it. A protective parent is a good thing:

 The bantam hens have reduced their egg laying to almost nothing, sometimes only one or two eggs each day:

 The seven bantam Barred Rocks are getting rather old now (as chickens go) for egg laying, so I consider them to be in retirement:

 The four Easter Egger bantams are younger and still laying, though one day I found this miniature egg next to the bigger one. I give the eggs to my neighbors, so I included the tiny egg just for fun:

 This is merely a sprig which fell from the Eastern White Cedar which towers over my back door and porch. I was struck by its beauty and mix of textures and colors, so I photographed it. There is beauty everywhere - one needs only pay attention:

 I thought all my Tall Garden Phlox had died last winter and indeed, most of them did. But a few plants struggled up this summer and, though they stayed short, I at least got a few flowers this year:

Summer Happenings Around The Farm

Someone dropped off a family of cats at my barn during the night. I began trying to trap them and finally managed to get this little black fellow. He was a veritable love sponge but quite unhealthy. I rid him of fleas and treated his eyes with ophthalmic ointment I had from previous pets. I think I'll keep him, but first need to get him to the vet. He's been staying safely out in the barn until I'm sure he won't introduce any health problems to my elderly house cats: 

The baby chicks have grown so rapidly that I often think I can see the increase in size each day. But I have been afraid to let them outdoors because I haven't caught all the cats someone dropped off. Maybe they went elsewhere, but I can't yet be sure:

The fantail pigeons, however, have finally accepted living with chickens. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em:

They are a stunning variety of colors and patterns. Half of them will be cockerels, however, so will need to be eaten. That may seem sad now but won't be when they get old enough to fight all the time and brutalize the pullets:

In the meantime, my remaining Barred Rock hens are enjoying their summer freedom:

Life is good when you have lots of food and water - and no predators hunting you:

I don't know if anyone sees my farm sign, but I notice it when I have to clip the grass which grows all around the base:

It's been a lean year for apples. So far this is all I've found - pretty slim pickins' compared to previous years. Nonetheless, the cows enjoyed them. The horses took them in their mouths and then dropped them:

A fantail pigeon came to the open window and considered taking a flight around the yard:

The first and so far only Clearwing Moth of the year arrived in August and, as usual, went straight to the Tall Garden Phlox:

It was smaller than normal, but still looked like a miniature hummingbird:

I love watching them feeding on nectar with their roll-up proboscis:

Photo Album, Summertime On The Farm

Goldenrod, apparently multiple species, began blooming in mid-August and has been increasingly abundant ever since. Many uncut fields are, by now, looking all yellow:

The Tall Garden Phlox bloomed for about a month and then faded. I sat at the base of them one afternoon for a rest:

 The apples began to fall from the trees:

 The fantail pigeons enjoyed their freedom to come and go at will:

The family across the road threw a big pig roast, inviting everyone on our county road. There was a local country band:

 And all the neighbors brought beer and food to share:

 When my sister came to visit, she carried out apples for the cows:

I think she was disappointed that they wouldn't eat them out of her hand, but she got much closer than anyone else (other than me) has ever gotten:

One of the two plum trees I planted when I bought the farm produced plums this year. I found three small windfalls and ate them. They were delicious:

 I left the bigger plums to stay on the tree a while longer. I wanted them to become as sweet as possible:

New England Asters began blooming alongside many roads, a sure sign that autumn is here and winter is not far away:

My little bantam hens reduced their egg laying to almost nothing. Either that or they've got outdoor nests again which I haven't found. They enjoy full freedom every day during the summer: