Pets At Home

The house pets have been happy at home - and totally relaxed, as Caspar and Bugsy demonstrate here:

 Seamus is aging and his back legs are giving him more trouble. He finds it difficult to stand or maneuver stairs. And of course the reason for the yoga mats is to help him walk without slipping:

 Jack is still not totally housebroken, and I suppose he will always need to wear his belly band when I leave the house. But he is happy and totally sweet:

 Each morning the dogs and cats help themselves to dog food and water. In this case it was Clover, Bugsy, Sammy and Daphne. They never argue:

One morning I scrambled more eggs for them, putting it atop the dry dog food. Most of it was not eaten, but removed from the bowls and left on the floor for me to clean up. Later in the day, Jack got sick. I've learned my lesson now and will no longer feed eggs to the dogs or cats:

 But life is good, as when the dogs sunned themselves on their ramp while the aroma of apple blossoms drifted across the yard from the apple grove:

 And they love to keep me company when I'm at the computer. In this case it was Daphne, Seamus, Fergus and Jack:

 Little Caspar isn't so little anymore but he sure is sweet:

Fergus, Daphne and Clover:

 Sammy:

 Seamus and Bugsy:

 Each night before bed, I let the cats chase the laser pointer, running them in big circles around the stairwell. They get so wild that they're knocking paint off the walls. They sure look forward to it, though:

Gardening Gone Gonzo

All of my spring planting was finally finished, and the spot where I removed the big stump (well, most of it) has been a great spot to plant things:

 And what did I plant there? Oriental Poppies, Bachelor's Buttons, Yarrow, Chives, New York Asters, Globe Thistle and Gaillardia:

 The big stretch of garden I prepared along the dog fence has also been planted:

 I broke it up into sections to help me keep track of what's there. From left to right are last year's day lilies, this year's day lilies, Begonias/lilies/Peonies, Sunflowers (four varieties) and Armenian Basket Flowers:

The two new Bleeding Heart plants are blooming extravagantly:

 And because they did so well, I also planted Morning Glories there also:

 I had no trellis to use for the Morning Glories, so I put tomato cages there. If they grow more than that - well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it:

 And while planting the Morning Glories, I found a mutant Bedstraw plant with variegated leaves. I find such sports to be fun and interesting:

The two Flowering Crab trees and Golden Delicious apple trees put on a spectacular display, then faded away:

I put branches from the pink Prairie Rose flowering crab and Lilac blossoms in a vase to bring to church. In another vase, I put the common weed, Yellow Rocket. It is also called Winter Cress and is a species of wild Mustard:

 The Lilacs were great this year, but now I'll have to wait another year to see and smell them again:

Busy Around The Farm

It came time to begin planting and I couldn't put it off any longer. I began in the spot where I'd removed the giant stump (well, most of it anyway), adding a bit of compost to get me started:

The Globe Thistles were the biggest seedlings, so I began with them:

Then the tiny Chives. Alas, I had to quit at that point, determined to finish planting the other seedlings as soon as weather permitted:

The fantail pigeons began nesting in earnest after I gave them some hay for their nests:

And one new baby was hatched and seemed to be doing well:

The farm was filled with aroma of lilacs and apple blossoms until one day when a skunk got killed in the road. I left it overnight for the coyotes, but when they didn't want it I picked it up by the tail and tossed it into the brush by the side of the road:

Mowing the lawn beneath the apple trees was like passing through a tunnel of flowers:

And the brand new lilac seemed happy with its new home:

The little rose which was supposed to climb up the old farm sign frame, however, needed more sun. So I got out the chainsaw and lopped off many limbs from apple, pear and cherry trees. Then I hauled them to the brush pile in the woods:

The two Flowering Crabs and the wild seeded Golden Delicious apple tree put on a glorious display:

Here are the red Flowering Crab and the apple tree blossoms:

The Prairie Rose Flowering Crab was taking its time to flower but had an extreme abundance of buds. I knew it would be spectacular when they began to open:

The Agony And The Ectasy

This is the northwest corner of my lawn, with two clumps of Lilacs and two apple trees in bloom. A cedar tree and the neighbors' barn show on the left. Views like this are part of the ecstasy of farm life in the north country:

The pink Prairie Rose flowering crab still had only buds, but it is glorious when in bloom:

The agony would be jobs such as cleaning the barn. The tractor is not good at scooping up the urine soaked, poopy bedding hay, so I have to fork it into the bucket by hand:

Then I have to haul it off to the manure/compost pile:

This year's compost pile is on the left. 2017's compost pile was where that brown spot now is. I've used it all up on plantings:


Last year's compost pile is already being used, and I scooped more of it up to use for planting when I was finished with cleaning the barn:

The red flowering crab buds opened fully and the Golden Delicious apple tree with which it is intertwined bloomed also:

A spectacular display, another one of the ecstasies:

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And then to my surprise, the newly planted Bleeding Hearts began to bloom:

Hardy, easy to grow, tolerant of shade and beautiful. It's no wonder that generations of gardeners have loved this plant:

I found a Lilac seedling growing by my back door when I moved here, so I dug it up and planted it at the end of the barn. Then I realized that would not be a good place and moved it again the next year. Now it's doing well and blooming nicely:

To my surprise, it is a different color, more blue than any of the other Lilacs on the property:

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: