Life In The North Country

Just when I thought all the different varieties of Daffodils had bloomed, these small white flowers opened:

They look much like orchids and are perhaps my favorites of all the varieties:

Alongside a nearby road, I saw large, wet areas filled with Marsh Marigolds in bloom:

This road is rife with wildflowers every spring, so I make sure to pay it a visit. Here's a close-up of a Marsh Marigold plant:

And on the same road each spring, I also find huge quantities of White Trilliums, officially and accurately called Large-Flowered Trilliums:

They are spectacular, including some with a pinkish hue:

The town or county had mowed the edge of the road this year, yet there was still a band of Trilliums along the side and beyond the mowed strip, creating quite a spectacular display:

Back home in my lawn, Wild Strawberries began to bloom in abundance:

A new species of Violet appeared in my lawn, this one with smaller leaves and pale, smaller flowers. I went to my field guide to identify it but was unable to do so. I'll just call them the small, pale Violet:

Winthrop, New York is so small that it doesn't qualify as either a town or village. I guess that makes it a hamlet, but a new Dollar General store just opened there and local wags call it "The Winthrop Mall." I noticed the other day that they have several designated parking spaces for Amish buggies, complete with horse manure (AKA road apples) to prove they are being used:

The fantail pigeons are happy and healthy. They still have not produced babies, but I have all the birds I need and am not anxious for more:

This lady, however, is trying to have a successful nest:

St. Regis Flow With The Dogs - Part 1

I walk along the path by the St. Regis River in Santa Clara, New York every year to see and photograph the Cardinal Flowers, but this year there were none. Furthermore, most of the other flower and tree photos I took were not usable. But the dogs sure had fun and the scenery was lovely, so I'll share the photos I have:

I was taught to call these Spatterdock but my field guide says that is a southern species which holds its leaves above the water. What we have in the northeast is Bullhead-Lily, and its leaves float on the water. It sure is beautiful and the frogs love it, just like in the cartoons:

We investigated the shoreline by the boat launch, then headed back toward our car and turned left into the field to find the trail which paralleled the St. Regis River:

Common Milkweed was just beginning to bloom, but already the air was so perfumed that everywhere smelled like a florist shop:

And the sandy Adirondack soil grew an abundance of Wild Strawberries and Lowbush Blueberries. The blueberries were just ripening, but there were enough ripe ones to snack on. There was also a lot of Reindeer Lichen:

We hit the main trail and turned toward the river access. The dogs knew where we were going and broke into a run:

That brown patch on the right was Haircap Moss with its brown colored fruiting bodies, producing spores:

Daphne, Fergus and Seamus stopped for a moment in the shade:

And then we saw our first river access point and the dogs once again began to run:

Seamus and Jack went right in. They didn't hesitate:

Daphne got wet right up to her chin and looked silly. But we were just getting started. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Annual Pink Ladyslipper Walk - Part 1

Time seems accelerated this year, and I'm racing to keep up with everything. One day it occurred to me that it was time for my annual Pink Ladyslipper walk along the sort-of trail I discovered in the Brasher State Forest. I parked along the road and let the dogs out. There were no Ladyslippers there, but I knew they'd be found back in the forest, beneath the pines. But there was an abundance of Wild Strawberries by the road:

And one lovely Blue-Eyed-Grass:

The dogs cared for none of that and ran joyfully for the forest. The mosquitoes were out in force and hungry, so I was too busy swatting them to worry much about the dogs. They got to run more freely than I usually allow:

Besides, I knew there would be no other people anywhere near - and the dogs behaved pretty well without me carping at them:

Then I began to find many Starflowers, a lovely spring wildflower with both leaves and flowers in a star pattern:

And Canada Mayflowers, sometimes called Wild Lily-Of-The-Valley:

And then I began to see Pink Ladyslippers, our native wild orchid. They were exceptional this year:

There were so many that I came home with 104 photos. I whittled them down to 31, which I'll present in two blog posts. How could I not take pictures of such wild beauty?:

Clover wasn't concerned with orchids. For her and the for the other dogs, this was just a romp in the forest:

A close-up:

Two Ladyslippers, just a few feet apart:

A tall specimen at the base of a small tree:

We began in a White Pine forest, but it changed to mostly Red Pines as we got deeper into the woods. The dogs seemed to find something putrid, though I didn't notice it at the time. I sure did notice it when Seamus vomited in my car on the way home. They were all fine, though, whatever it was they got into:

A patch of tiny lichens, including British Soldiers (with the red caps) and Pixie Cups (like tiny goblets):

Seamus went ahead into the deep forest, and I followed. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Here And There, Around The Farm

The fantail pigeons seem happy, healthy and thriving. They haven't yet produced any babies this year, but that may be a blessing. I have 27 birds and really, that is enough:

 But some of them keep trying:

 Little Elvis gets fed a big bottle of milk twice each day. He has grain, hay and water available at all times but hasn't yet tried them. Well, he has stepped in his grain bowl and spilled it, but that doesn't count:

 I weeded the new plantings (the old plantings have to fend for themselves). This Dandelion came up in one piece, its taproot clearly illustrating why they are so difficult to eradicate:

 Wild Strawberries have filled the lawn (along with the Violets and Dandelions). I usually miss the opportunity to eat the fruit, but I'll try to be more watchful this year:

 The wall by my back door began to wobble whenever I entered or exited, so I removed the interior chipboard and discovered everything inside was soaking wet and rotten. The studs were so deteriorated that they crumbled when I touched them. I climbed up on the roof and found 6-8" of Cedar needles and cones, which had been damming the water during rainstorms. I removed all that, but caulking the roof and rebuilding the wall remains to be done:

 The two apple trees on the north side of the house began to bloom, but the trees in the orchard weren't doing so well. This was one of the two trees:

 And the other. They sure smelled nice:

 Two neighbors rode by while I was working out in the yard. They rode their horses over to chat for awhile:

 I covered the exposed roots of the Magnolia and returned to photograph its one and only flower:

 Just about the same time, I noted that the Lilacs were about half open. I figured they'd be fully in bloom and perfuming the yard very soon:

 Two farmer neighbors, an uncle and nephew, have been very helpful to me and one day, they introduced me to their three little bottle fed heifer calves named Rose, Mary and Thyme: