Category Archives: Wildlife

Fall is in the Air

Bees, Black-eyed-susan, Chickens, Fall, Nature, Reflections, Ruby, Sunflowers, The Farm, Wild Flowers, Wildlife, , , ,

Fall is in the air but the temperatures this week were more like summer.

We’ve seen a lot of skies that look like this lately – deep blue with fluffy white clouds. How about joining me for a walk at the farm?

Ruby will join us, but since she likes to move faster than we do she will probably lap us a couple of times. Don’t worry if you hear something rustling in the weeds or the woods behind us it’s probably her.

I love these Black-eyed Susans that we planted along the fence two years ago.

Such a brilliant splash of fall color.

It was tempting to cut down this thistle, but the flower is so pretty. Maybe I’ll cut it just before it goes to seed.

Some of the chickens are enjoying their day foraging near the pond.

Maple trees are beginning to show their fall colors.

There are lots of bees in the golden rod.

Asters are beginning to bloom

The white ones as well as the purple.

And purple loosestrife is still in bloom.

This butterfly posed for a couple pictures then fluttered nearby as we walked the back field.

The oak trees are loaded with acorns this year.

Some have begun to fall.

The hickory trees have fewer nuts this year than last but still enough to feed some squirrels.

This Norway spruce is loaded with pinecones.

I wonder what kind of pinecone craft I can come up with. Do you have any ideas?

Oh my gosh! Elderberries! I’ll come back and pick these after we finish our walk. This is my first year picking elderberries. The first few years after we planted them I would wait for the berries to ripen but before they were ripe the birds would eat them all. I then discovered that the elder flowers are as good or better than the berries for making syrup or tincture, so I began harvesting the flowers in the spring. This year I forgot to harvest the flowers and while there are not a lot of berries here there are enough to make a small batch of tincture. 🙂

We’ve already seen a lot of the bees are foraging in the goldenrod and I’m sure some are in the sunflowers as well. One thing that you might notice, if the wind is just right, is the smell of honey drifting from the hive. This time of year, when the bees are in the goldenrod, is the only time that we smell honey while at the farm.

We still have a lot of sunflowers in bloom.

Some are so tall they are having a hard time holding their heads up.

Colby Jack (above) and Bernard (below) are waiting for some treats.

Should we give them some apples?

Somebody grabbed my camera while I wasn’t looking (and took my picture). You wouldn’t do something like that – would you?

Colby Jack and Bernard say, “Thank You for the apples”

I hope you enjoyed your time on the farm. Thank you for joining me.

Now Who’s Eating Our Cherries?

Cherries, Reflections, Wildlife

A couple weeks ago when the cherries first started to ripen we noticed the robins stealing them, so my husband brought the big (fake) owl out of the barn, and we put it near the cherry tree to ward off the robins.

I’m not sure how well it worked because I still saw a robin now and then swoop into the tree or one on the lawn eating a cherry.

Thursday evening I picked about 3 quarts of cherries and decided that along with the seven or so quarts that are already in the freezer that I had picked enough, so my husband took the owl back to the barn. The birds can now have all the cherries they want.

But who invited this guy?

In case you can’t tell that is a baby racoon staring at me from the cherry tree.

I hope it enjoyed its meal.

Farm News and Views

Bees, Birds, Blueberries, Deer, Flowers, garden, Nature, Pollinators, Prayer Garrden, Rain,, Reflections, Summer, The Farm, Wild Flowers, Wildlife

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.

Cauliflower after too much rain.

They are no longer looking good.

Cabbage after too much rain.

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.

If you grow it, they will come.

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!

Our Little Piece Of Earth

Apple Trees, Bees, Birds, Companion Planting, Dandelions, Flowers, garlic, Reflections, spring, The Farm, Wildlife,

Several blogs that I have seen this morning have reminded me that it is Earth Day. In fact it is the 50th year that this day has been celebrated. It is really just a coincidence that I have prepared a post with lots of pictures of our little piece of this earth but I invite you to have a look around.

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Even though we lost all of our bees over the winter we still have two hives that have some honey in them. On the days that are warm and sunny they are being visited by what we assume are wild honey bees. Since there is little available for them to forage this early in the year these bees are eating the honey that remains in the hives. It is good to know there are still honey bees in the area.

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Daffodils are blossoming and the bushes in the background are forsythia just beginning to bud out. We have never had the forsythia blossom so fully. Last year we decided not to prune them but to wait until after they are done blossoming this spring. It seems to have worked.

Yellow is a happy color. 🙂

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It shouldn’t be long before the forsythia is fully blossomed. I think it will be a stunning backdrop for the pond.

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These small daffodils and white hyacinths were planted 5 years ago in memory of my husband’s mother. My husband had bought them for her to brighten up her room when she was in the hospital. After she passed away we brought them home and planted them in the prayer garden. They are the first daffodils to blossom every year.

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The garlic is doing well. I love seeing them come up in neat, orderly rows.

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These small red shoots are a peony bush the I planted last year in memory of my Aunt Shirley. I am so happy to see it coming up.

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I spotted the first dandelions to open. They were growing in the middle of my oregano patch so I will likely dig them out. Personally I love to see dandelions in bloom they just don’t belong in my oregano patch.

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Above are cosmos and below are primrose. Both were added to the prayer garden last year. They were given to my husband by a lady whose home he was working at while he was working the landscaping job.

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The cosmos continued to flower all last summer and were not touched by the deer, but the top growth on the primrose died off after being transplanted. They then formed new leaves but did not flower. I guess I will find out this year if they are deer candy or not.

 

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A cardinal was visiting the chicken yard. This is not unusual. Many birds (and rabbits, and squirrels and even deer) visit that area since there is always food available.

 

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Blue berry bushes are beginning to bud out as are apple trees (below).

IMG_6435We witnessed something we have never seen before on Sunday. Honey bees were foraging in the daffodils.

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We have had daffodils growing since before we began keeping bees and if you have been following my blog for very long you know that I always watch to see where the bees are and what plants they are foraging.

 

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This is the first time in eight years that we have seen the honey bees collecting daffodil pollen. Since I am not skilled enough as a photographer to get a picture of the pollen attached to their bodies you will just have to take my word that they were collecting pollen to take back to their hive.

As I was working at the farm on Monday I noticed this egret land near the pond. He or she quickly swooped up a tasty treat. I’m not sure if it was a frog or a fish.

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It then continued to make it’s way around the edge of the pond.

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It was about 45 minutes later that I saw it fly away so I can only assume it left with a full belly.

Not everything that is happing at the farm is as passive as this appears.

On Sunday I decided it was time to start preparing the ground around the apple trees for the companion plants I am going to put in.

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Since my husband was working in a different area, we put Ranger on a tie near where I was working. When he saw me digging in the dirt he decided to come and help. I have to admit that he was much more efficient digging with his paws than I was with a trowel. Unfortunately after digging for a short bit he sniffed the area and realized there were no mice hiding in that ground, so he was done.

I finished removing the grass and top layer of soil around the base of the tree – only six more to go. I will then be planting chives which are said to ward off insects and prevent apple scab and nasturtiums which are also reported to repel insects. We won’t know until summer if these methods are working but lets all hope that I’ll be posting pictures of beautiful apples later this year.

Now this post is getting long and we’re heading out to work in the asparagus patch (it should be coming up soon) so I’ll save the information about the work we are doing there for another post.

Thanks for visiting and until next time be well.

How are you celebrating earth day?

 

Staycation and My Favorite Things About Summer

Pond, Reflections, Summer, The Farm, Wildlife, ,

I am really not in to trendy words, or a trendy lifestyle for that matter, but I think the word staycation really does describe our summer recreation. In 2012 when my husband said he would like to vacation somewhere “where we could just sit on the beach with our dogs and relax,” I chuckled, “they don’t allow dogs on public beaches, honey. Why don’t we put in a pond with a beach,” I suggested.

We knew it would be costly to have a pond dug, but we agreed that the money we saved on vacations away from home would easily pay for the pond in a few years.

The farm has many other features that you might find at a campground in the country. We have a campsite/ picnic area with a fire pit for cooking or just sitting around a campfire in the evening. We have both field and wooded areas with paths for walking or riding the 4 wheeler. There are hundreds of species of wildlife that live on or visit the farm and it is a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. Thus we find it perfect for our staycation or summer recreation.

Our staycation is different than most as we do not have a week or two off from a job and cram all of these activities into that time period. Instead our recreational activities are interspersed throughout the day(s). It might be taking time out for an afternoon swim, spending an evening sitting around a campfire or inviting friends or family over for a day of fun. What I really love about our method of (v)(st)acation is that I don’t have to stress about it. We don’t have to make travel plans. We don’t have to do things according to schedule. We don’t have to pack what we think we will need for our time away. We don’t have to find people to take over our responsibilities at home (dogs and chickens) while we are away, and one of the most important parts for me is that I can sleep in my own bed at night.

With all that being said I wanted to share some of my favorite things about summer. They are not listed in any particular order; it is the combination of these things that make our summer enjoyable.

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Gardening – Planting, weeding, water, – there is something therapeutic about having our hands and knees in the dirt. The results of gardening are also very rewarding (see flowers and fresh produce below).

Riding the 4 Wheeler – A slow scenic tour around the farm, wielding my way though the winding paths through the woods or opening it up on the straight away, this is just pure fun!!!

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Swimming in the Pond – The best way to cool off in the heat of the day.

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Wildlife – The sights and sounds of wildlife create an environment that is peaceful and serene. While I am certainly not the best photographer I love trying to get photos of the wildlife. You can see more of the wildlife on our farm here.

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Flowers – No doubt they beautify their environment but there is so much more. You have probably heard the phrase “stop and smell the roses'”, well roses are not the only flower that deserve this recognition. By stopping and smelling, I have discovered that Canadian Thistle flowers have a sort of sweet scent and the Purple Irises have a spicy scent. This year I discovered that milk weed flowers have a pleasantly fresh fragrance.

While the flower may first draw my attention I will probably observe closely to see what type of foragers it may attract, and if I am not familiar with the plants I will likely try to identify it along with it’s potential usefulness.

Fresh Produce – We are currently picking and enjoying many fresh vegetables, among them are green beans, potatoes, Swiss chard, beets, carrots, celery and tomatoes. The flavors and textures of fresh picked produce simply can not be found in a grocery store. Even if you haven’t grown your own garden I encourage you to find fresh locally grown produce to enjoy this summer. Shop at a farmers market or a roadside farm stand and support your local farmer.

Campfires – Dinner always tastes better when cooked over a wood fire, and sitting around a campfire in the evening, listening to the frogs sing, and watching the moon and stars appear in the sky is far more entertaining than anything you may find on TV.

Visitors – This could be the elderly neighbors who dropped by Friday night for a tour of the barn and gardens; it could be the kids and grandkids coming to celebrate a holiday or a group as large as the family reunion we hosted last weekend. Regardless it is always a pleasure to share the farm with company.

Going Barefoot – Even though I put these in no particular order I did save my favorite for last. I love to take off my footwear and walk barefoot in the grass or on the beach.  According to this article there are many health benefits to going barefoot. I personally don’t care whether they are scientifically proven or not. Walking barefoot in the soft grass or digging my toes into the sand on the beach just feels good. While it feels good physically on the feet and has the potential to relieve other aches and pains, the emotional benefits are probably the greatest. I find walking barefoot to relieve stress – even more than that when I walk barefoot I feel young and carefree. It’s amazing that taking your shoes off can also take a load off your mind.

Now it’s your turn my friend. What are your favorite things about summer? How do you make time for them? When was the last time you stopped and smelled the roses or kicked off your shoes and connected with the earth? If it’s been awhile – I challenge you to make some time to do it this week. You won’t regret it.

Happy Summer! 🙂