For several weeks I have been seeing a bird that I did not recognize at the farm. I never got a close look, just observed it in flight before it disappeared into the treetops surrounding the pond. It had features similar to a large woodpecker. The pileated woodpecker is known to live in our area but try as I might I could never see any red on this bird like the woodpecker would have.
It wasn’t until today that I realized that this was the same bird that my husband witnessed diving into the pond and coming up with a fish dinner. Today I saw the same. While I wasn’t able to get any pictures of it, I did get a better look. I already knew that it was mostly grey and had a black head and long beak. Today I was able to see some brown markings underneath and a white ring around its neck. I made a mental note of that so I could search for it on the internet when I got home.
Mystery solved! I discovered it is a Belted Kingfisher, and I will say that it lives up to its name. At least six times over the course of an hour I saw it dive from the top of a tree into the pond and come up with a fish. One time it stopped and hovered in the air, wings flapping, then dove down into the water. Each time it came up it would fly to a high branch of a nearby tree, presumably to consume its prey.
You can click on the link below to see photos and learn more about the Belted Kingfisher.
You may remember this mourning dove who had a well-hidden nest in the maple tree just off our deck.
For weeks I’ve been watching this bird sit on the nest. It has probably been both parents that I have seen up there since they share in the job. (I have just not witnessed them changing places.) I was beginning to wonder if there were really eggs and if they would ever hatch. I never heard babies (cheep, cheep, cheep) in the nest nor did I see parents bring food to their young.
When I did my homework, I learned that mourning doves feed their babies crop milk, a liquid high in antioxidants, fat and protein which is produced in their throat. Both parents produce crop milk and share the feeding responsibilities. This explains why there was no scurry of activity with the parents’ bringing food to their young.
Two days ago I looked up toward the nest and instead of seeing an adult bird I could barely make out the small head of a baby. Once I saw it move, I was sure that’s what I was seeing.
Yesterday, I couldn’t see baby and there were no parents around, so I was relieved this morning when my husband came in and told me that the baby mourning dove was on our deck. By the time I grabbed my camera and got out there it was gone. 😦
Later this afternoon I was thrilled to see it perched on a chair in our courtyard. Normally mourning doves lay two eggs so I am not certain if one of the eggs did not hatch, or if for some reason there was only one egg.
Mourning doves can raise as many as six broods per year and in Michigan their breeding season goes into September. Since this nest still seems to be in good shape (at least what I can see of it) they may continue to use this nest to raise another brood or two.
When my husband and I arrived at the farm yesterday morning we decided a garden tour was in order before we began working on our to-do list. It had only been a couple days since I had checked the progress in the gardens (my husband visits and/or works in them daily) but it seems they have grown in leaps and bounds since I last saw them.
The summer heat and intermittent rain has done wonders.
Everything is lush and green and many things are either flowering or fruiting.
So far we have harvested small amounts of Swiss chard a couple times to have with our dinner.
We now have some banana peppers ready to harvest and within the next week I expect to start harvesting green beans and cucumbers.
It won’t be long before the potatoes are ready to come out of the ground, but first we will harvest the garlic and get it drying in the barn.
I Could Hardley Believe What I Was Seeing
We see a lot of interesting and strange things at the farm and I don’t always carry my camera, so I don’t get pictures of everything. This first story is one of those times.
One of my tasks this morning was using our weed-burning torch to burn off some of the weeds around the edge of the pond. It’s quite common for frogs to be hidden in these weeds and jump into the water to avoid the danger, so when I saw/heard the splash I wasn’t surprised. I was however surprised as I watched a small furry animal pop up and begin swimming across the pond. It was a baby bunny, not much bigger than my hand. I didn’t know rabbits could swim. It was a tense couple of minutes, and I prayed “Lord don’t let it drown” as I watched it doggie bunny paddle the whole width (approximately 30 yards or 27.432 meters) of the pond. I lost sight of it for about half a minute when it exited the pond on the other side. Then I saw it scamper off into the woods. I would have felt so terrible if the little critter hadn’t survived. When I told my husband what I had witnessed he exclaimed, “No way!” But it really did happen.
A while later my husband also had an “I don’t believe it event”.
This is the first year since 2013 that we didn’t start off the year with bees in our hives. After losing two more hives over the winter, we made the decision in the early spring not to spend the money to buy more bees.
For the past several weeks I have been hearing my husband express his regrets about not getting bees. We have seen a few honeybees foraging on the farm but not nearly as many as when we have one or more hives there.
The two hives were still set up where we kept the bees last year. The weeds/wildflowers were growing up around them, so my husband’s task was to weed whip around them. When he finished the weed whipping, he announced to me “the bees are back”. “No way!” I exclaimed as I headed toward to hive. Sure enough, bees were coming and going as if this were their home. We’ll know for sure in the next few days if this was a swarm of bees that has decided to use this hive as their new home. Free bees how cool is that?
Hello and welcome! It’s a beautiful morning and I thought you might like to join me for a walk at the farm.
We are seeing new blossoms every day.
The white phlox that we added to the prayer garden last year are flowering.
The primrose are beginning to bloom.
and the roses are blooming.
Our peony has only a single flower this year, but it sure is a beautiful one.
We will be picking strawberries later.
But we won’t be cutting garlic scapes for about a week. The scape is the light colored, curved shoot in the middle. They are just beginning to form.
The wild roses are in full bloom. They are very fragrant – in fact you might have smelled their lovely scent before you saw the blossoms.
Daisies scattered here and there.
A flowering shrub that I have not identified. It does have a light pleasant fragrance.
A short stroll through the woods is shady and lush.
Beyond the woods the sun shines on the neighbor’s yard.
Mixed among the grasses you might notice wild plants such as selfheal (the purple flowers) and black medic (the yellow flowers). Both are edible and medicinal.
Fleabane is a common daisy-like wildflower in our area.
Our gardens are doing well so far. Some of the tomatoes have blossoms already.
Potatoes are also doing well.
Cabbage is coming along nicely. There are also green beans, eggplant and a few other things in this patch.
Our apple trees are loaded with apples this year. It’s looking like a we may have a bumper crop this fall.
Ripe cherries on one of our new trees. I harvest three wonderful, sweet cherries from this tree. Hoping for a bigger harvest next year.
The killdeer quadruplets are still running around. They are nearly as big as the parents so I expect they will be flying off soon.
But in about a week this killdeer and its mate, who decided to nest in the middle of our driveway (forcing us to detour around the area) should have four more babies running around.
And about a week after that these four killdeer eggs, that are being incubated in an unused area of the garden, should be hatching.
In the back field we see clover,
and these yellow flowers birdsfoot trefoil.
Butter cups under the spruce tree.
And look at those pinecones.
We have a large patch of milkweed in the back field. I have seen a couple of monarch butterflies in the area, so they likely have laid eggs as their caterpillars feed on milkweed leaves once they hatch.
Milkweed.
I believe this yellow flower is called common cat’s ear. It is scattered throughout the field.
More wild roses in the wood line. Enjoy their lovely fragrance.
When we arrive back by the prayer garden my husband points out the nest that some birds (sparrows I think) have built in the top of the windmill. That was not there two days ago. Fortunately, it does not interfere with the operations of the windmill.
Thanks for joining me for a spring walk at the farm. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
As a special treat for spending this time with me I am sharing this rare glimpse of the mourning dove who is nesting in the maple tree above our deck. It has been there about two weeks now and I have tried taking pictures many times but mostly I can’t see it through the leaves. I finally got a good photo. I have not seen its mate around, but I read that mourning doves take turns sitting on the nest with males usually there during the daytime and females on the nest at night.
In a previous post I mentioned that we would soon be putting the pump in the pond so we could water our gardens when necessary. I also told you that my husband had said it was my turn this year to put the pump in. Let me start by explaining how this works.
Each spring when it’s getting close to time to put the pump in the pond we have a conversation like this:
My Husband: It’s your turn to put the pump in the pond.
Me: Okay as soon as we have 3 consecutive days of 80-degree F (26.6C) temperatures so the water warms up.
My Husband: Puts the pump in the pond even though the water is still colder than is comfortable.
OR
My Husband: It’s your turn to put the pump in the pond.
Me: No. It was my turn last year.
My Husband: I did it last year.
Me: I know, but it was still my turn last year, so it is your turn this year.
My Husband: Puts the pump in the pond.
THIS YEAR
My Husband: Are you ready to put the pump in the pond tomorrow?
Me: I told my readers I would take pictures and blog about it. I can’t take pictures while I’m in the pond.
My Husband: Puts the pump in the pond.
The truth is while I know how to put the pump in the pond and could probably do it if I had to, it’s one of those jobs that my husband is willing to undertake. (He’s a great guy!)
Dual Purpose Windmill
If you’ve been following my blog for a while you have likely seen pictures of our windmill. Some readers might also remember that our windmill is used both to aerate the pond and pump water out of the pond for irrigating our crops.
Aeration
The windmill works to aerate the pond year-round.
In the above photo the bubbles in the water are cause by the windmill.
In the above photo the hoses attached to the windmill run down into the pond where they are attached to porous devices called stones. We have two stones located in different areas of the pond. When the wind makes the windmill turn, air is pumped through the hoses and comes out the stones and into the water, thus providing much needed oxygen.
Irrigation
We only pump water for irrigation during spring and summer (the growing season). This year we put the pump in the pond on Wednesday, June 4. Below is a picture of the pump that we use in the pond.
Notice there are two valves. The one to the left is marked “To Windmill” (the words are upside down in the picture). A hose attaches to that valve and the other end of it attaches to one of the valves on the windmill. We unhook one of the aeration hoses since we do not aerate and pump water out at the same time.
The valve on the end is marked “out”. That is where the water is pumped out. A different hose is attached to that valve.
That metal piece on the right end has many small holes in it and is where water flows into the pump. The tube attached to the cap-like piece on the top is a vent.
When the pump is in the pond, bricks are placed on top of that long bar attached to the bottom to hold the pump in place.
Both hoses are attached before the pump is put in the pond.
This year the water wasn’t too cold. The pump will be fully submersed in several feet of water
expect for the vent tube.
I regret that I can’t show you, or tell you, how the magic works inside the pump. I just know that when the windmill pumps air in, water comes out. If the windmill is not turning, water does not come out. Also, when the windmill starts turning again a small amount of water squirts out the vent tube in the pond.
The hose that the water comes out of is run to one of our holding tanks. We have three tanks strategically located.
The hose is about 120 feet long, which is more than enough to reach any of the tanks.
The tank is filled through an opening in the top.
My husband installed spigots near the bottom of the tanks so we can attach a garden hose. We can use the garden hose to fill watering cans or sometimes we water plants directly from the hose.
Within a few minutes of having the pump installed water was running through the hose.
How fast we can fill a tank depends on how much wind we get and the wind direction. When we do not get enough rain to keep things watered, wind is the next best thing.
Thanks for visiting.
P.S. My husband just informed me that next year is my turn to put the pump in the pond. Uh, no. This year was my turn. 😉
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