Full Summer On The Farm

I already had 200 small square bales in the hayloft, but then the big round bales I'd ordered began to arrive - 80 of them, 28 at a time. I unloaded them with the tractor and bale spear:

They will feed the herd for 6 months of winter. Paying for them was difficult, though, and I now have trouble seeing the horses from the house because the bales block my view:

The dwarf Red Delicious apple is producing fruit nicely, though they're still only babies now:

I found a dead mole in the north field. It looked like a Star-Nose mole but didn't have the star nose. I looked it up and discovered that it was a Hairy-tailed Mole (Parascalops breweri):

I flipped it over on its back and could see its bare nose (without a star) and its tale, which gave it the name, Hairy-tailed Mole:

Two big sections of apple tree had died over the winter, so I used the chainsaw to cut them off:

Then I used logging chains to drag them behind the tractor, across the gravel road and hay field, into the woods:

The Magic Carpet Spirea did well over the winter and began to bloom:

They are pretty flower clusters but apparently this variety doesn't get as big or bloom as heavily as the Bridalveil Spirea:

The tall Cedar tree near the county road needed to go, so I scored its trunk with the chainsaw and then pushed it over with the tractor, thereby avoiding the electric wires overhead:

I used the logging chains to tow this tree into the woods, just as I had the apple tree sections:

I left the trunk sticking up. I've learned that I can't cut them low enough to mow over, and then the grass grows up around it so I can't even see where it is:

An Autumn Walk Around The Farm - Part 1

Most of the pretty autumn leaves had fallen, but one chilly, windy day I walked outside to look around and decided that there was still an abundance of autumn beauty everywhere I looked. I began in front of my house, looking past my mailbox and across the county road to the corn field and pasture belonging to neighbors:

My Bridalveil Spirea was turning bright red:

The pink Rose Mallows had two blossoms which had begun to unfurl until a nighttime freeze hit them. They won't open any farther now:

The super hardy Morden Sunrise rose, however, was still blooming. It was beautiful but alas, this was the best photo I could manage to get:

A witch, ghost and devil now hang above my front door, moving constantly with the wind:

The peony leaves were turning red:

In the apple grove, windfall fruit was thick and difficult to walk across:

Some fruit still clung to the branches, and it was exceptionally lovely:

I walked out into the south field to check on the horses' muzzles. To my surprise, they were fine and I didn't need to put them back on - so I just took some photos:

I looked back toward the gravel road, a wonderful autumn scene:


The Canada Thistle managed to spring back twice after I cut it down, some of it still blooming and producing seed for more &#$%# thistles next year:

The view from the south field back toward the barn and house. I still had more walking to do, though, and will post Part 2 tomorrow:

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:

Summertime On The Farm

It's midsummer and life on the pasture is relaxed and comfortable:

I saw windfall cherries all over the ground beneath the cherry tree and thought this year's crop was lost:

 But then I looked up and saw lots of baby cherries still on the tree:

 There are many green baby pears on the pear tree:

And a few red baby pears also. I don't know why some are turning red so early, but I'm pretty sure this happens every year:

 The plum tree is loaded with baby plums:

 And the unmowed places near the road are filled with Northern Bedstraw, Mullein and Butter-And-Eggs:

 A close-up of Butter-And-Eggs:

 My favorites were this Deptford Pink, surrounded by Northern Bedstraw:

 The apple trees in the grove are mostly without fruit, but the two trees on the other side of the house have lots of baby apples:

 I saw this patch of Lesser Stitchwort, a kind of Chickweed, in a spot next to the barn door where I couldn't mow:

 Lesser Stitchwort, up close, is really quite attractive:

Notes From Around The Farm

Most of this year's apples never developed but two trees near the road seemed to be the exception until these quarter-sized apples began falling off one day. I collected about two thirds of a bucket of them and fed them to the cattle. Of course I drove out into the field on the tractor because I didn't want to be out there on foot with the bull:

And when I started to drive back to the barn, this is the lovely scene which was displayed before me. I am blessed to live with such beauty:

And the morning skies seldom disappoint, a combination of pink and baby blue:

As the sun begins to peek up over the horizon, a golden yellow starts to infuse the pink and blue morning sky:

A pair of pigeons is using one of the new nests I made out of cake pans. They seem to like it:

Ladys-Thumb Smartweed, a member of the Buckwheat family, is growing abundantly near the barn door and the dogs' ramp. It usually has a dark triangle on each leaf but these show only a slight darkening instead of the triangle:

Wood-Sorrel also grows by the dogs' ramp, but beneath the Rugosa roses, where it has lots of shade:


The baby fantail pigeon who was so badly attacked by the adult birds is alive and growing rapidly:

The top of its head still looks terrible, as if there is no skin left there at all. I hope it will heal, but will be happy as long as the bird can live a normal life. So far, things look hopeful:

The bantam hens have reduced their egg laying to about four eggs per day. That's not many, but they were laying more than we could use before, so this is better:

The giant Rose Mallows seem even more giant than usual this year, perhaps because we've had so much rain. I counted 15 stems, each topped with about 7 flower buds. If things continue as they are now, it will be a magnificent display. They are so tightly packed that I think it may be time to split them up in the spring and replant them in more compost:

My Tree Hydrangea lost a limb over the winter but seems to be doing well in spite of it: