According to almanac.com the dog days of summer run from July 3 through August 11 which is normally the hottest and most humid time of year in the northern hemisphere. Around here every day is a dog day. Just ask Ranger and Trooper. But, yes, the HEAT IS ON and it is accompanied by a dry spell so keeping the gardens watered has been the main focus for the past week or so. If you are curious about how we manage that on our off-grid farm you can check out our off-grid irrigation system here.
In the mean time I put together a collection of pictures that I’ve taken over about the past few weeks to share with you.
This is how Ranger cools off on these hot days. (Did you know beagles can swim?)
and Trooper enjoys laying on the beach after a swim in the pond.
The grandbabies love the water as much as the dogs do.
Dragonflies are yet another creature that appreciate the pond.
This one is drinking water from the sand. Check out the honey bee (on the left) that photo bombed this shot. She too was coming to the beach for a drink of water.
This beauty hung out with us on the beach, for a couple of hour yesterday evening, fluttering about and pausing now and then to rest or perhaps get a sip of water.
One last pond picture because we can never have too much cuteness. LOL.
Speaking of cuteness, here is a double dose – twins.
The lavender is gorgeous this year and the bees and butterflies are all over it.
We have transitioned from strawberry season to blueberry season. On the same day that my husband, and (daughter) Kara, picked the last of the strawberries, I took (daughter) Tina, and Jackson and Addy into the blueberry patch to pick the first ripe berries. While Kara took her 3/4 of a basket of strawberries home. Addy couldn’t wait, so she ate all of the blueberries we picked while they were still at the farm.
Start them off young – that’s my motto. They posed for a group photo then dad took Jackson and Addy, one at a time, for a ride on the tractor.
The garden is flourishing. I have harvested basil and calendula flowers twice so far.
We have green tomatoes, peppers starting to develop, blossoms on the eggplant,
blossoms on the green beans and the corn is knee high.
We cut garlic scapes (check out this post to learn more about scapes) about two weeks ago and will be digging garlic soon.
It seems that every summer our back field is dominated by different plants. This year it is full of clover and birdsfoot trefoil and I think it is just gorgeous. It’s also great bee food.
I’ll leave you with one last photo of this pair who stopped by our deck for a short visit last week. They were kind enough to stay so I could get a photo then they hurried on their way.
Thanks for visiting and remember – stay hydrated, breathe deep and stay well.
I know what it’s like, too often life gets crazy and busy and we just don’t have time to enjoy the simple beauty that nature has to offer. I try to take a least a few minutes each day to just walk and observe our farm. Today I invite you to join me for some views of our pond. If you were with me these are some of the things I would point out to you.
The honey bees have discovered that the lavender is blossoming. Honey bees and bumble bees love lavender.
My husband and I agree that dragon flies are the coolest insects. We see them in various shapes and sizes and many amazingly beautiful colors. After reading more about dragon flies on this website http://www.dragonfly-site.com/ I’m not surprised at our fascination with them.
This website about dragon flies mating was also very interesting, but definitely left me with questions. https://www.thoughtco.com/how-dragonflies-mate-1968255 My questions were mainly who studied this? and how did they study this?
The dragon flies are not only fascinating to watch, they seem friendly, at times, as they rest on a finger or hitch a ride on a shoulder. They don’t bite or sting and they apparently dine on a lot of less desirable insects.
The above photo, which my husband and I had been referring to as a dragon fly, is actually a damsel fly. Closely related to the dragon fly the damsel flies are also welcomed and admired on our farm.
The honey bees are drinking from the pond. This one is coming in for a landing.
Honey bees are our second favorite insect. We have put a lot of money, time and effort into beekeeping and we are happy to know that our bees have a clean water source.
This year the bees are choosing to drink from an area on the edge of the pond, where we placed rocks last fall. In past years I have seen honey bees drinking on the beach and other areas along the shore.
Turtles, if you were with me you would see more. We have turtles of various sizes and ages who live in the pond, and I saw at least three of them on this day. Apparently turtles are camera shy because as soon as they saw me point the camera in their direction they would submerge and swim away.
Not at all camera shy, this handsome frog was the perfect model. No need to turn him into a prince; we love this little bug eater just the way he is.
This is but a glimpse of the things we would see and the things we would talk about as we spent some time enjoying the beauty of our pond. Thanks for taking a few minutes to relax and enjoy.
Not at all camera shy, this handsome frog was the perfect model. No need to turn him into a prince; we love this little bug eater just the way he is.
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