Saturday, June 29, 2013

THE SCENT OF LAVENDER

There has been little excitement on the morning walks. It is perhaps to hot and humid for even the animals and birds to be stirring much even in the early hour of our stroll.  We get a glimpse of the young and mature Eagles, a ground hog scrambling to get back home before being caught by the dogs, rabbits galore and this morning a King bird with young, in one of the ginkgo trees, on a flying lesson. The air is so close.  Thunderstorms pop up putting the dogs in an emotional state, there are short bursts of rain, clearing and then the build up of humidity again. So it is summer.  The barley is still in the fields, harvest delayed by the wet ground.  The gardens surrounding the house, however are really spectacular.  Sitting on the bench in the shade of the Crape Myrtle trees I am happy to enjoy the view all the years of labor have produced, but of course sitting there I also begin to see defects that need my attention to correct.
The Lavender harvest is about 1/2 way done for the year and what a harvest it is.  I do not remember such abundance.  I have had my problems with cultivation of Lavender in the past,  but the plants that I now have, some more than 8 years old, must be satisfied with the location I have found for them, because they seem to be thriving.  This is a laborious task, but not without rewards, for nothing is quite as relaxing and aromatic as the scent of lavender.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

RAINY DAY BLUES

The rains started last night, lightly at first, then it became a really big flash, bang, boom phenomenon. Zoe in her little bed on floor surprised Frank and I by all of the sudden leaping up onto the bed, we were not sure she could do that any longer,but motivation is a powerful thing. She nestled in next to Frank's legs. Parker came creaping out from the closet and hopped up as well, tucking in on my side of the bed, shaking and panting to underscore his feelings about these untoward events. That storm passed, and just as Parker was starting to feel a little more relaxed, another heavy dose of rain, lightening and thunder built back up again. So there we were, two sleeping soundly, one trying desperately to get to sleep and one wondering how the hell we could all be sleeping at a time like this. Morning brought dry skies. Everyone was happy to take their walk under the current weather conditions, so off we went. There were two large trees uprooted and starting their decent to the ground, one moved several feet and made lots of noise just as we past,making the dogs bolt ahead. Back at home, the onslaught began again. Parker took up permanent refuge in the laundry room for the day, where the whirr of the washing machine and dryer must have mask some of the noise, and there are no windows to witness the lighting. Torrential rains have left a pond in the middle of the soon to be field of soy beans. Unfortunate timing for all of this. There is still cut alfalfa laying in the lower field, now saturated with water, and surrounded by muddy fields that will prohibit the machines from doing their gathering for several days. The barley will need to dry out again before it can be cut, and the previous rains have already knocked down a fair amount of the stalks, fungus and mildew are a concern. The ability to groom the field for the soy beans will also be delayed as the ponding will need to be absorbed into the already saturated ground. Oh, sigh! The corn is happy, well at least one thing is right. I of course worry about the gardens with this much moisture. Many of my plants don't really like the water, and some are getting bent over by the heavy rains. It looks beautiful from the window, but the fungus and mildew that comes with all of this moisture is almost worse than what happens when it doesn't rain enough. Wish I were Goldilocks and could find the weather that was just right.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

SISTERS


The rains have once again left us with light wind and sun.  Rain is not alone in leaving.  My sister and two nieces have gone back to their homes as well after a week long visit to the farm.  The house is quiet, no chatter from the sisters both the old and the young.  The conversation between my sister and I is filling in the blanks since last we saw each other.  The young sisters back and forth is in their own language with references to people I don't know and words used in context that I do not understand.  It is fascinating, and I don't mind not knowing everything they say, it is enough to have the words waft about with a feeling it is bathed in the love they have for each other. They step back into our world and have great stories to tell about the adventures they have had and will have.  They poke about the farm and experience it in a new way and I get to watch and get a glimpse into the farm as they see it.  I miss all of them and so, also, do Zoe and Parker.



On the walk this morning we flushed the hen turkey and I saw little chicks scatter.  They are so tiny, they are not flying, and we will avoid that stretch of the walk until they have the ability to fly out of harms way.
The young Eagles are still hanging out close to the nest in between flights and food is still being ferried into to them.  The parents must be getting tired.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

SO EXCITED.

Kate, my niece who is here
visiting the farm, and I went to the river to retrieve the scull in preparation for her lesson on the river later in the afternoon.  We became aware of the unmistakable scream of an eagle.  We walked over to a point where we could look up at the nest that I have been monitoring.  I had been disappointed on the last two morning walks to find no signs of the pair, but today that was turned around.  In the nest was an immature, and and adult.  We watched not knowing what was about to happen, the second parent arrived and landed close by and at that moment, as if that were the cue,  the young eagle  soared out of the nest, followed immediately by both parents lifting off as well.  So all three were in the air  above our heads, what a spectacular moment in time.  As we watched we spotted the the other part of the pair flying above the woods.  The eagles are launched!

Monday, June 3, 2013

RAIN ON THE FARM

/> I went out into the garden this morning, between showers, to gather up a fresh bunch of flowers for the kitchen.  The cooler temperature is welcome after days of hot and humid.  The garden got a needed dose of rain.  There is no replacement for rain in the garden to make it look fresh.
A delightful surprise was discovered in my foray.  A pair of Brown Thrashers were gathering up bits and bobs of dry grass, and twigs, then flying up into the weeping Katsura tree.  I am pretty sure that a nest is in the making.  I will keep observing, but keep my distance, I would hate to foil the attempt by coming in to close.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

PROGRESS AT THE EAGLES NEST

Progressively the young Eagles are moving up the overhanging branches of the tree above the nest.  It is always interesting to see where they might be on our morning walks.  They are the size of the adults or at least pretty close, and I know that they are getting ready to finally fly.  I just don't know when, which does not make me happy, as I would love to see this event.  But alas, they do not have flight times posted.
Heat has come to the farm, and I do mean the hot, humid type,  Work in the garden out of necessity becomes slow and steady with many water breaks and rest periods.  I am hoping for a cool down in a few days, and also looking for some rain.
A small group of Wax Wings has moved into the garden.  I can't help but think they are here testing the serviceberries, waiting the feast to begin.