Pigeons, Chickens And Lots More Flowers!

Things have been happening fast this spring. The Snowball Bushes, sent to me by a friend several years ago, are already blooming:

I caught my fantail pigeons hanging out with a wild Starling atop the barn roof. I'll have to speak to them about the company they keep:

The Lilacs bloomed and then faded, but not before I photographed this black and orange butterfly on one of the flower clusters:

The Bleeding Heart bloomed profusely. I plan to move it when it is finished blooming:

Normally taller, this clump of Blue-Eyed Grass was kept short by the lawn mower:

The Lamium is blooming:

And the chickens finished the spring egg laying rush and then slowed down. Sadly, one hen has disappeared. I never found a pile of feathers, a sign that she'd been killed by some predator, so I just don't know what became of her:

I dug up Iris and Asiatic Lilies when we built the generator shed, planting them in a new location this spring. But one small bulb was trying to grow from under the shed's corner. I dug it up and planted it with its relatives:

I gave the fantail pigeons an all day bath, and they splashed and played like toddlers in a kiddie pool:

Several years ago I cut the ancient Spirea down to the ground. It came back up nicely the following spring, but only this year did it begin blooming again. I see now why it is sometimes called Bridal Veil Spirea:

Our springtime is always late and it was even more so this year. My Iris is one of the first plants to push up through the earth each year, and the chickens eat it back down to the ground until there are many more plants to eat. But the Iris keeps growing and finally began blooming:

Paul Smiths College Adirondack Visitor Interpretive Center

Please click on the link at the top of the page to go to the farm website. I need some traffic so that my website will come up in Google searches. But read this post first, because the farm website will open in the same window. Thank you.

When I was traveling between Albany and the farm on a regular basis, I used to pass by Paul Smiths (they seem to leave out the apostrophe, so I will also) College Visitor Interpretive Center almost every trip. But I never stopped to investigate because I always had a carload of dogs. So one recent snowy Tuesday, I drove down to find out more. I parked my car and walked toward the main building, passing this Butterfly House on the way. In the summertime, it's covered in netting and filled with butterflies:

The main building was behind some trees, and I headed in that direction:

I passed a map of Paul Smiths trails, some of which I've hiked in days gone by:

And I walked past the "Bird's Nest," a play area for children (in warmer weather):

Once inside the building, I was impressed by its beauty and grandeur. All the walls were hung with Adirondack art. There was no charge for admission, no greeting from staff. I just walked in and began to explore:

I found an interesting hall, but no displays. I think this hall contained classrooms and labs. Here too, the walls were filled with Adirondack art:

There was, however, one room filled with Adirondack interpretative displays. I was immediately drawn to the children's table, and especially to the skunk and other furs:

The walls were covered with displays explaining the glaciers' effect on the area and the different types of Adirondack environments, such as bogs and swamps:

And forests:

Mountain slopes and summits:

There were several displays of Adirondack pottery:

And, near the exit, a terrific photographic display about the Adirondack Park. I didn't spend much time there, but I was glad that I finally saw the VIC. I plan to come back to see the Butterfly House some time when it's warm outside:

Scenes From Around The Farm

Daybreak as I looked across the road at my neighbors' fields:

And daybreak with the rising sun lighting up my neighbors' barn. Their animals were still sleeping in the barn:

I was working on the fence line shortly after the north field had been hayed and captured this glimpse of the new bales with the barn and house in the background:

Wild grapes grew everywhere, causing much trouble with my brush clearing. They were beautiful, but terribly, terribly bitter:

I was working hard but enjoying it greatly:

I said "Howdy" to a Praying Mantis:

I'd sprayed the perimeter of the field to kill the weeds but they hadn't fallen down, so I had to weed-whack the entire perimeter of both fields. The entire operation from brush clearing, fence repairs, two sprayings, weed-whacking and hanging warning signs took nearly the whole summer:

Another view of the north field, this time from the woods:

The chickens finally began coming out and going back in on their own, but spent most of each day on that step. Well, you can imagine what happened when walking in and out of that door and the messy, poopy shoes which resulted. I got three sections of garden fence at Home Depot and solved the problem:

I netted 35 bales for feeding my cattle this winter. Of course they won't arrive until later this autumn, but I'll be ready for them when they get here:

I got to know a bit more about grasshoppers this year. This one, I believe, was a male although I don't know what species:

And this lovely creature seemed to be keeping me company in the field as I worked. I later looked it up on the internet and submitted photos to the Butterflies And Moths Of North America site. It was identified as a Bronze Copper, Lycaena hyllus:

And here's the page redording my sighting:

And lastly, a short video of my Bantam Barred Rocks waking up and coming outdoors for the morning:

Giant Butterflies On The Farm

I was working around the farm when I saw two extra large butterflies flitting about my Tall Garden Phlox. I walked over to take a look:

They were indeed very big, the biggest butterflies I've ever seen. They were black and yellow and resembled Swallowtails, but not quite. They had oddly green legs:

The two of them didn't seem afraid of me and appeared to be traveling as a pair. I kept snapping photos, hoping that some would turn out well enough to be used to identify them:

Their wings were black with yellow spots on the top and mostly yellow on the bottom, with stained glass spots of brighter colors:

I searched the internet and got a suspected ID on their species, but there were no recorded sightings of that species in St. Lawrence County. So I submitted my guess and some photos to Butterflies Of North America. Within an hour, I had the species confirmed and they had been added to the resident species of St. Lawrence County. They were the Giant Swallowtail, Papilio Cresphontes:

I watched the pair for quite awhile and at one point they began interacting in midair. Whether that was a mating ritual or a fight, I will probably never know:

These last several photos show both the tops and bottoms of their wings as they fed on the phlox:

Their "tails" were not at all pronounced, but that, apparently is normal for the species:

They certainly were big and beautiful:

You can see some of the stained glass color patches in this photo:

A good look at both the top and bottom of the wings:

And one last photo. It always pays to stay alert and pay attention to one's natural surroundings. The natural world is one of great beauty and wonder. All we have to do is be mindful. I have to tell myself that frequently during the day as my attention tends to wander: