Around The Farm

There are still three baby fantail pigeons in nests, though it won't be long before they join the rest of the flock as adults. These two are in a high nest, away from the squabbling birds on the floor:

 This youngster was born and raised on the floor and knows how to defend itself by slapping an attacker with its wing. Its parents are still feeding it but it will soon be on its own:

 The bantam hens have reduced their egg laying to almost nothing at this point, which I admit is a relief to me. I simply can't use many eggs and hard boiling them for the dogs is a hassle - although the dogs love the results:

 Their coop needs cleaning, but all the bedding must be hauled out through the pigeons' room and I won't do that until the pigeon babies are fully raised and on their own:

 This is the eastern version of "big sky country" and I am constantly amazed as I watch the heavens above. This mackerel sky might have indicated rain on its way and, in fact, that's just what happened:

 Sunrise in the northeastern sky:

 I walked around to the other end of the barn for a better view and the sun had just broken above the treetops when I got there:

 With the grass in the far south field mowed and baled, I had no excuse left not to replace the kill-switch for the electric fence which had broken. It was an easy job. That's the new one, all connected on the left, and the old, broken one on the right:

These tiny flowers were growing right next to the barn door. I saw them last year and got the genus name but couldn't identify the species. This year, I noticed the hairy stems and pegged it as Galinsoga ciliata. Notice the five three-lobed "petals" with spaces between them:

 And I've long believed I had two or more species of Smartweed by the barn door. This year, I noticed that some had white flowers and knew they were not the Smartweed I was familiar with:

 I took a close look and decided they were Pennsylvania Smartweed:

 The more showy, red flowered kind with a black smudge on each leaf is Lady's-Thumb Smartweed. All Smartweeds are members of the Buckwheat family:

Flowers Galore, Flowers Everywhere!

Just when I thought the flower season was about over, the pink Rose Mallows burst into full, gigantic bloom:

And then, about five days later, the red Rose Mallows began to bloom also:

They are planted up on a rise and next to the county road, where they draw a lot of attention by passersby:

And right next to the Rose Mallows are the two new Morden Roses. This one is Morden Sunrise:

And this one is Morden Blush:

Wildflowers bloomed too, including these Common Mallows at the south end of the barn:

And Lady's-Thumb Smartweed, also at the south end of the barn:

All other Day Lilies seem to have quit blooming, but these wild type are mixed in with my Peonies and are blooming with astoundingly vivid colors:

Not all flowers, however, are welcome. In spite of having been cut down twice, Many Canada Thistles are flowering in the pasture and along the fence line:

I was working on the electric fence and kept seeing these odd wildflowers. They were minuscule flowers with long "fingers" at the top of the plant:

I got a closeup of the flowers and buds to help me identify them when I got back to the house. At first I gave up, finding nothing like them, but then changed my mind and restored them from my Trash file to an active photo file. I finally identified them as Willow-Herb:


Unfortunately, I could tell which species - until I realized the obvious by looking at the bottom leaves. These were Purple-Leaved Willow Herb, a plant I'd never noticed before:

Around The Farm In July

My little garden continues to fill in, and I hope that all the crowding will keep down the weeds. I have seen evidence of some animal sitting on them during the night, but at least whatever it is hasn't been digging in there or eating the leaves. The yellow Asiatic Lilies are left over from the woman who lived in this farm house before me, though I've moved them several times. Moving them seems to cause them to grow stronger and to multiply:

I have several Chipmunks living around the house and barn:

Since it's summer, I go out extra early to do the morning chores. I turn on the lights inside the barn while I'm in there and sometimes, if it's going to be cloudy and rainy, I'll leave on the lights for the pigeons and hens:

And many times I enjoy the spectacular morning skies. On this day, the colors were muted but still beautiful. This was due north:

And looking southwest:

 Northeast:

But one day I was feeling down and discouraged as I mowed the lawn. Then I noticed that I was being watched by a vulture on a fence post. I thought that perfectly summed up my mood:

The bird let me snap a couple of photos before it flew away, apparently deciding that eating my carcass would raise its cholesterol too much. That bit of humor and the beauty of the wild bird helped lift my mood:


And the town put down fresh gravel on the road. Thankfully, they graded it and carefully pulled the stones off of my lawn - unlike what they did last time:

What is this, you may wonder - Sadly, it's a cornfield after several months of excess rain. Not all fields are this stunted and wet, but some are. The farmers who don't have enough money to install drainage systems are more influenced by the wet weather:

The old fashioned rose I saved has continued to bloom, though its June extravaganza is now past:

And wildflowers spring up everywhere. Here by a post, where the mower couldn't reach, Black-Eyed Susans and Oxeye Daisies sprang up to brighten the yard:

Enjoying A Working Summer

We've had beautiful weather, though I am including lots of rain in my definition of beautiful. It's kept the plants growing nicely. The cherry tree is producing fruit that is already edible, at least the darkest red ones, and I grab one whenever I pass beneath the tree on the riding mower:

The Elderberry plants had a tough winter and some died, but those which survived are beginning to bloom. Mostly they just have buds now, but some flower heads are open:

The new Magic Carpet Spirea surprised me by blooming. They are not the big, gaudy sorts of flowers which people will admire from the road, but I like them:

 Lots of wildflowers are blooming also, such as these Maiden Pinks. Those in the lawn are short, but out in the pasture they are about 12" tall:

The two little Ninebarks I planted are changing colors. Their dark burgundy color is turning a brilliant gold. They are also growing well, getting taller each time I check on them:

I moved the herd across the road to the north field so that I could spray the fence line of the south field. This must be done once each year to suppress the weeds from shorting out the fence:


Alas, there is also the problem of trees falling on the fence. I had to cut this one with a chainsaw:

Northern Bedstraw and Cow Vetch make a wonderful combination - and one which is nearly everywhere I look these days:

Red Clover is too big to grow in the lawn, but it sure does well in the pasture. Indeed, it's been a very nice summer so far:

 I have a few Musk Mallows growing in the south field. They come in both pink and white, though all I've seen this year are pink:

 The Musk Mallow is a member of the Hibiscus family, and very showy:

Around The Farm

The pigeons are social animals, and the 21 of them in their room have a busy society with lots of activity and interactions. I guess that's why they aren't interested in going outdoors:

 The chickens would like to go outdoors but I won't let them because we have so many hungry foxes:

 The Rugosa Roses are still blooming:

 And the horses and cows are living a summer of leisure:

 Remember the stray kitten I presented a couple days ago? His brother, looking like an identical twin, showed up at the door two days later. Luckily, the Potsdam Shelter was so pleased with the first one that they were happy to take kitten number two also:

 And wildflowers are blooming everywhere. This is Common Cinquefoil:

 Catnip by the barn door. Last year I harvested most of it for my cats, but this year I'll at least wait until it drops seed. It'd be nice to have more Catnip around:

 Heal-All, a member of the mint family which grows in the lawn:

 And White Clover, also abundant in the lawn:

 Northern Bedstraw, one of our most abundant wildflowers. In this case, it was draped over an old tree stump so artistically that I thought a photo was in order:

 Pineapple-Weed, which grows in the gravel driveway or where concrete is cracked - basically where nothing else wants to grow. It really does smell like pineapple when stepped or driven on:

 The tiniest yellow flowers are Least Hop Clover. You can judge its tiny size by the White Clover and Pineapple-Weed also in the photo: