Early September

Hello dear friends it has been a little while since I stopped by with an update on activities around the farm....not because we havent been busy-we have been very busy indeed!!-but because I want to share photos when our farm is looking its' best.  That is of course a relative term, we have a very large old property and it is a lot of work to maintain it.  Are you ready?  Off we go!

This post started out as a mission to find our gold fish,  We have a small waterfall pond at the house and each year we buy shubunkins to add to the lower pond.  They are very pretty to look at and help to eat the mosquito larvae that are found in ponds.  In the fall we move the fish to Lake Ophelia.  I have tried several times to photograph the fish in the little pond when we feed them but havent mastered the art of taking a photo without getting all of the reflection on the water.  So you will have to trust me when I say we really do have fish in the pond.

Here is Lucy relaxing on the lawn so I snapped a quick picture of her.  She is our "youngest" dog and is now 6 years old.  Lucy wanted to come with us but as it wouldnt be fair to take one dog and not the others we left her in the house.  The walk to Lake Ophelia in the heat is getting too much for the older dogs so we let them have their naps on the furniture.

Here is Frau Hen.  We have 13 hens and to be honest I cant tell them apart.  During the day they wander around an enclosed area picking away in the dirt looking for bugs and young weeds.  We feed our hens grain but they also receive grass clippings, weeds from the gardens and assorted scraps from the house.  Stale bread is very popular.

This variety of rudbeckia has done reasonably well with the hot and dry summer we have had here in our region.  Although we recently had 80 mm of rain it is not enough to undo the stress many of our plants have suffered from our drought-like conditions.

Hildegarde is content in the shade in one of the gardens.

I have finally finished painting the garden shed.  These old windows were the original windows from our stone house which we replaced many years ago.  I found little valances at a thrift shop so we used them to decorate the windows.

We heard many frogs while we were walking around Lake Ophelia.  The water levels are very low and the bullrushes have been aggressively taking over the banks.  We walked all around but couldnt see any signs of our goldfish.  In previous years we have had a resident heron but I have not seen it this year.  We are sure that the fish are taking cover in the bullrushes.

We have thistles growing all over the farm.  This one is going to seed and looks beautifully fluffy.  The goldfinches like the seeds.

This old water trough was in this spot when we first moved to the farm over 20 years ago and is a fixture.  We dont actually use it for anything but I like the way it looks.

There is our old farmhouse in the distance.

My favourite old lantern.  It is still not hooked up although we have all of the required wiring safety installed in conduit.  If not this year maybe next....

An early morning cobweb.

Some of the fruits of Frau Hen's labours!  There is nothing better than fresh eggs.

We have had some cool evenings and now there is the faint smell of fall in the air.  I for one am happy to lose the oppressive heat and humidity that we have been experiencing all summer.  Many trees have shown signs of heat stress and as a result we expect that the leaves will just turn brown and drop.  Many years our maple trees provide us with a glorious display of colour.

One of the crab apple trees is laden with little apples,  Another crab doesnt have any fruit at all.

This sage plant has been thriving in the hot and dry conditions.  It is time to make a butternut sage lasagna which is a nice treat in the autumn.

I hope you have enjoyed this quick little tour.  Wishing everyone a lovely week.

~thank you for visiting~