What's Happening Around The Farm

The little bantam hens are only laying three or four eggs a day, but even that is more than I can eat. I've begun bringing eggs in for a friend at church each Sunday, which so far seems to be a perfect solution:

I still don't let the chickens outdoors, though I hope I can do so in the fall. Though our fox population seems down, I now have seedlings and new plants all over - and I remember when I first got the chickens and the little hens raided my garden, first eating all the tomatoes, then eating all the plants:

The two baby fantail pigeons are amazingly healthy and smart. They jump down from their nest to join the flock and explore, then jump back up and peep for their parents to come feed them:

Their nest is on a ledge, just above the food barrel and someone else's nest on the floor. The babies frequently jump down and get friendly with the bird on the floor nest. I expected a defensive reaction from the adult, but so far everything has been friendly. The babies hang out with the nesting pair on the floor, then socialize with the flock, then hop back up on their ledge and call to be fed:

When I first moved here, there was a woven wire fence stretching halfway across the middle of the south field. It was dilapidated and of no good use, so I began removing a couple of sections each summer. This year there were only two left, but I hadn't had the energy to dismantle them. Then one day I was cleaning out the barn and saw there were only two sections of fence, so I drove the tractor over there:


Instead of the slow and careful dismantling I did previously, this time I used the tractor bucket to pull the fence and posts up out of the ground:

I got them all firmly held in place on the bucket and drove them out the gate and around by my work area:


I carefully removed the fence from the posts, then folded up the wire into two sections, put them in empty feed bags and dropped them in the trash bins. Now that awful, useless and potentially hazardous section of fence is gone forever:

The little garden I made where I'd removed most a giant stump was looking hopeless, but it improved a lot as the Yarrow and Chives began to grow. There appears to be some Globe Thistle coming along, and the Heliopsis, Delphinium and Veronica I bought at end-of-season sales are helping make my little garden look like it might work:

The stretch of Sunflowers is growing so fast that any photo I take is obsolete in a couple of days. Many of the plants along the fence are already over four feet tall. There are much smaller seedlings in the front of the strip, but they get the most sun and are therefore still likely to do well as the summer progresses:

And then one day, the first Daylily bloomed. I couldn't remember the variety name, so I looked up my last year's order. It is called "Chicago Arnie's Choice" and it appears as if there will be a lot of them. By the way, I've been calling them Day Lilies (two words), but it appears as if the correct name is Daylily (one word). I will try to remember to use the right word in the future:

What is this mess, you may ask. It's the northeast corner of the barn, where the traffic cones I used to use when the cattle crossed the road are nestled in giant Burdock and Ragweed. It's a good thing I don't have allergies:

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:

Around The Farm - Part 2

The Daffodils in my lawn have outdone themselves this year. The first to bloom were the white and yellow variety:

Then the pure yellow variety:

Then the yellow ones with the orange center. All three varieties were then blooming together, putting on quite a display:

My internet went out and we had a warm sunny day. So, while waiting for a repairman, I tackled another big project:

I had an old stump in my lawn, four or five feet in diameter and covered with wild, thorny shrubs and grape vines. It had been too solid for me to remove with the tractor a few years ago, but I decided to try again:

Most of the giant stump broke into pieces, some of them nearly as big as the tractor bucket. I drove all the wood and brush across the north field and into the woods, where I dumped them on a brush pile:

Furthermore, as you may have noticed in the preceding photos, there was a cedar tree growing there which blocked much of the sun for the flowers I was planting. Cutting it down was problematic as it would have hit the power lines, but just then my sheep farmer neighbors stopped by with a better idea. He used my tractor to push it over, snapping the trunk. I then dragged the entire tree behind the tractor (using a logging chain) across the north field and into the woods:

I cut the cedar stump lower and then used the tractor to smooth off the ground. I filled the bucket with more brush and the cedar stump, then made one final trip to the brush pile:

But I wasn't done yet. I then used the tractor bucket to back-drag the gravel which road crews had pushed up onto my lawn. I moved it back out onto the road so I could safely mow. The grass was growing rapidly already:

And then I added more garden bed along the dogs' fence. I now have about 35 feet of garden bed, 4 feet wide and filled with 2 year old compost, in which to plant all the flowers I've purchased for this year. I also intend to plant where the old stump and cedar tree were removed:

And speaking of new plants, I have been hardening off the baby roses and Begonias by carrying them outside on nice days so they will get used to the sun, wind and temperature fluctuations. Then I bring them back indoors to where the seed trays are:

Wintry Weather In The North Country

Winter usually comes early to the north country, but autumn stayed late with us this year. I had only a few apples and pears, but the herd enjoyed those few:

Remy and Blue were lonesome after I moved the cows across the road for a period of grazing in the north field:

But they quickly got over it:

And soon, their family of cows returned to the south field:

I began feeding hay, and that's where I could usually find the herd. Remy, however, nearly always runs over to see me when I enter the field:

On cold, snowy days the cows sometimes (but not usually) want inside the barn. If I call them in for grain, however, they've been resistant. I guess it has to be their idea:

Only the horses have access to the barn. That chain keeps the cows from pushing the door open, a trick they quickly learned:

The hardy Magnolia I'd planted in the little rock garden was clearly going to be too big to stay there. The Cooperative Extension horticulturist said to transplant it after the leaves fell, but they stayed on and stayed green, right into winter:

When a hard freeze finally shut down the leaves, and we had a day warm enough to thaw the ground, I transplanted the Magnolia:

I moved it to a spot near the new, red Hydrangea, which seemed to need more shade anyway:

I filled the hole with compost and began dreaming of what I could plant where the Magnolia used to be. You can see the Hydrangea and Magnolia in the background - just what I need, something else to mow around:

But our weather warmed up again for awhile, and the herd continued to enjoy the extended autumn. It's over now, of course, but winter was delayed this year: