Healthy Harvest
Our blueberry harvest is well underway and an abundant harvest it is. My husband and I picked about 5 quarts last Thursday, then on Sunday my sister brought her grandkids out and they picked another 5 or so quarts. The berries are still ripening so I hope to have my grandkids over this weekend to pick some as well. Blueberries are Addies favorite.
We have also been picking and enjoying Swiss chard and green beans.
Too Much of a Good Thing
In the last several weeks we have had more than enough rain. The ground is saturated, and our brassica vegetables are suffering because of it. You might remember as we wrapped up June our gardens were looking great, especially the cabbage.
They are no longer looking good.
Some of the other plants are showing signs of stress as well like yellowing leaves (squash), slow growth (beets) and split fruit (tomatoes).
On the Wrong Side of the Fence
This fawn was on the inside of our fence.
and was not sure how to get out.
While its mother was on the outside of our fence apparently wanting to get her baby out. I’m not certain how the young one got inside our fence. I don’t think it was born on our property because it looked to be at least several weeks old and I think we would have encountered it before now. I don’t think it jumped over the fence because it didn’t seem to know how to jump back over. In the evenings, when the dogs are not at the farm, we sometimes leave the gate open, so a likely case scenario would be that momma brought the baby in when the gate was open and we unknowingly locked the baby in.
That evening we again left the gate open hoping the little one would find its way out and back to momma. We haven’t seen it around since that day so we are assuming it found its way out.
Pollinator Paradise
The prayer garden is abuzz with bees. Honeybees and bumble bees among other pollinators are heavily foraging the lavender, thyme, oregano and tickseed.
But our back field also has lots to offer pollinators. Perhaps we should call it a”Field of Pollinator Dreams”.
The field is blanketed with white clover as is most of our farm. It is a favorite of the honeybees.
Clover is a very common flavor/ingredient in honey.
Over the years this birdsfoot trefoil has spread throughout the field. We have witnessed a lot of honeybees collecting nectar/pollen from its blossoms.
Canadian thistle also attracts bees and other pollinators for its nectar. As it goes to seed I expect we will see goldfinches in the field as thistle seed is a favorite food of theirs.
Milkweed is another plant that is prevalent in our back field this year.
Milkweed is sometimes known as the monarch butterfly plant because these butterflies lay their eggs only on milkweed plants and their hatchling caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed.
We often see the monarchs fluttering above and around the patch of milkweed. There are many.
Monarchs are not the only ones with an appreciation for the milkweed as I also witnessed a honeybee on a milkweed flower and caught a quick glimpse of a hummingbird darting around the patch.
The most northern part of the field is filled with sweet clover this year. This biennial is another blossom that is loved by honeybees.
This monarch is not on a milkweed plant but perched on another plant near the milkweed patch.
I think of this field as ‘nature at its best’. It has had very little human intervention. It just grows wild. We keep some paths mowed around and through it during the summer for walking and riding the 4-wheeler and each fall after the vegetation dies we mow the field. This mowing helps to spread the seeds of plants like the trefoil, clover, thistle and milkweed so over the course of a few years what started out as just a couple of plants has become large patches of that plant.
Fun Pictures
Cattails swaying in the breeze.
Balloon flowers in bloom.
Daylilies and a hidden damselfly.
A closeup of the damselfly.
Believe it or not this is a bluebird house. Over the years we have seen different birds make their homes in the life preservers near our pond. A few days ago my husband mentioned seeing a bluebird fly out of this life preserver. Since then I too have witnessed the bluebird flying out of there. It doesn’t seem to have eggs inside so perhaps just using it for shelter or a playhouse. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you are having a great July!
Don't Eat It! Soap and Skin Care 
What a great post Ruth, thanks for sharing the update 🙂 Although l am late to the party, story of all gardeners l feel 🙂
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Thanks Rory! I hear ya. During gardening season reading and writing get put on the back burner. 🙂
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Yes precisely Ruth, my blog has to reflect that – there are busy days and busier days now.
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I hope Addie got her blueberries Grandma.
Everything looks as it should, except, of course, for the over watered vegetables. However next week’s heat should take care of that. I know that heat is drying everything out around here. Thank for sharing the pictures. 🙂
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We had a rainy afternoon so we cancelled blueberry picking. Hoping next weekend will be better. Next week’s heat is coupled with several day of potential rain/storms so I don’t know how much drying we will get.
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I am sorry to hear that. We just keep getting heat, although it only got to 98 yesterday, which was a welcome change. The monsoon (afternoon rains) that we all look forward to, and farmers and ranchers need, have not come yet. Maybe next month will be better.
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Hearing about your weather makes me thankful for ours. I hope you get some relief soon.
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The constant rain here killed some of my balcony plants—we had to keep tipping the pots to drain the water off the top. On the upside, the grass has never been greener at this time of year! That faun was beautiful—happy it found its way back to mama!
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Oh yes the grass and the weeds are loving the rain. Getting the grass to dry out enough to be cut is the trick. 🙂
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Same here—gotta get that John Deere out!
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Thank you for the lovely tour of your farm, Ruth. Such restful photos (while you do all the work)! I wonder at what age deer are able to jump fences. I’ve seen them easily clear the top from a dead standstill–no running start necessary! I’m sure you have too.
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So glad you enjoyed the farm tour, Nancy. We sometimes refer to our farm work as “play”. We do mostly enjoy it and it’s the life we choose.
I read that at two months old a deer can jump a 4-foot fence. When I saw this little one bound across the field I thought it may be able to make it over the fence. That is possibly how it got out.
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Wow–just two months old? That’s amazing!
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“Nature at its best ” 💞
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Indeed!
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Happy farm, Ruth! My milkweed grows in its own special spot. It’s fun to watch the insects that go to it. I also have pollinators in my garden. I love the tall, ‘wild’ field you mow paths in. We do that here with our fields to! Looks like you’re having a great summer. Sorry about the hard rains—we are dry, dry!
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Other than the storms that we have been having it is a great summer. So far we haven’t had any damage from the storms but some communities around us have been hit hard.
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God’s beauty surrounds you. The bees and butterflies love your fields and gardens! I’m happy for your wonderful blueberry season and pray the rain lets up for you.
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Indeed, Nancy! Thank you for the prayers. I know He is listening and even if we don’t get the answer we want, He’s in control and has never let us down yet. 🙂
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Amen!
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I hope your gardens are not waterlogged after this torrential rain and hail we had tonight. Did the hail harm your blueberries still on the bush Ruth? I had some hail here, but nothing like the tennis ball-sized hail I saw in pictures online – yikes! Your pollinator gardens are lovely – bees and butterflies are clearly in their glory!
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The gardens are very waterlogged, but we were fortunate that we did not suffer any hail damage. The hail we had was minimal. We went out after the storm and picked some berries and green beans and will be picking more berries tomorrow morning.
Yesterday when I was in the prayer garden there must have been at least 20 bumble bees on the lavender plants. It is good to see so many native bees.
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I’m glad your hail was minimal – here too and I checked this morning and saw no damage to siding. I have metal rolling shades but we had hail damage to them several decades ago – they were okay though. All bets would be off if it was the tennis ball-sized hail. I heard there were people at the E.R./Urgent Care after getting hit on the head with the huge hail. The windy day today will help dry out everything hopefully. I heard this morning our temps will sear to 90 again next week and we will have a stormy rest of the Summer. I’m ready for Fall. That is good about the bees – too many people are still using pesticides and killing our bees and butterflies.
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Glad you didn’t have any damage, Linda. I talked to a friend who lives in Port Huron and she said their fire chief told her they think 2 tornadoes came through there. They had a lot of damage in her neighborhood but not to her house. She said she heard the train sound as the storm was going through so likely was tornado. At least there weren’t any injuries reported.
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Wow – I didn’t know that. I was looking a pictures of the sky and it looked like funnel clouds in a few places. Also, there was a waterspout. Not looking forward to the rest of the Summer being stormy as is predicted. Thankfully the only injuries anywhere are the heavy-hitting hail on people’s heads.
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The poor baby faun! I’m glad it made its way out and back to its mama!
You’ve got a lot of cool plants and flowers!
😀
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We’re happy about that too. That mama was worried about her baby and quite angry – growling and hissing at our dogs from the other side of the fence.
Yes, we are blessed to be able to observe so much of nature and how it interacts. 🙂
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