Blackberries (with new pictures)

The blackberries are here. The blackberries are here. Very exciting indeed --- and there seem to be LOTS of them growing on two sides of my agility field and down toward the pond. The vines seem to be producing even more (delicious) fruit than they did last year, although I see several spots where the honeysuckle and Virginia Creeper have taken over and blackberries are no longer visible at all. I may have to start pulling down the non-berry vines before next summer if I want to keep picking blackberries --- and I certainly do.

Player Piano

This is only indirectly related to the farm itself, but exciting nonetheless. I have always loved player pianos and the old QRS player piano music roll system. Was surfing craigslist.com recently and found an Aeolian Sting II Player Piano in need of a new home, and promptly "adopted" it. It arrived at the farm yesterday and appears to works perfectly. Michael the piano tuner will come on Friday, so it may sound even better after that. Thank you Dan for making this transaction so easy and straughtforward. I promise to take good care of your mother's piano and enjoy it for many years to come.

Click > below to hear a little Scott Joplin. :-)

Down By the River

I often forget how cool it is to live close to water --- and probably don't fully appreciate the James River, which is practically in my backyard. The shot above was one of those pull-over-the-car-because-the-sun-is-fading-NOW shots. I really wish I had pulled over a few minutes earlier, as all of the buildings were bright orange. As the crow flies, my farm is probably about 1/2 mile from the river, but I get to drive next to this spot both coming and going. My resolution will be to find time to do more stuff on or near the water this summer --- be it photography or maybe even a boat ride. I will certainly keep you posted.

Sunflowers

What may be the first of many sunflowers appeared today along the fenceline where the bird feeders live. Hmmm. Lots of sunflower seeds for the cardinals may translate into lots of sunflowers too. What a fun and colorful surprise.

Coming Attractions

One of my favorite parts of farm life is picking wild blackberries along the fencelines through most of July. Just noticed that the tiny blackberries are starting to appear. Very exciting.

Small green tomatoes are starting to appear as well. There are at least five varieties planted this year (Big Boy, Champion VNFT, Patio, Cherry, and Mr. Stripey), so there will be no shortage of tomatoes this summer. I can hardly wait. Will start looking for my Tomato Pie recipe soon.

Hay

Summer heat has arrived and it has been over 100 degrees the past few days. Yuck. I am happy to have lots of projects indoors in the AC. Did sneak out this evening to let the dogs run in the field for awhile --- and then allowed them to flop around in the baby pool afterwards, which they love. The field next to mine was being mowed completely yesterday and today was being baled for hay. Really fun to watch the super BIG equipment at work --- although I'm sure the operator was very warm by the time he got done.

Ladybugs

One of my favorite parts of life in the country is finding splashes of color amidst all the green --- and usually when I least expect it. The ladybugs always surprise me with their rich deep red color and perfect polka dots. This little gal was quite the acrobat too. I had vertigo just watching her climb.

Turtles

Eastern Box Turtle

..Eastern Slider

The farm appears to also be great place for turtles. I often see the Eastern Sliders basking on logs in the pond --- and after all of the recent rain, there appear to be even more of them. It may be that the pond is just bigger these days and so are the turtles, so they are easier to see. The Eastern Box Turtle at the top was "galloping" across my field toward the woods (moving at a very rapid turtle pace), but froze like a supermodel when I arrived with my camera. I love all the polka dots on his legs.

Flowers

In a burst of enthusiasm, I finished planting flowers in all of my containers yesterday. Most of the pots were here last summer --- and lots of the foundation plants (ivy, vinca, pansies, Dusty Miller, etc) were still going strong even after the winter months. Some were not doing well though and the pots needed attention badly. Weeded, dead-headed, trimmed and filled in with new flowers as needed. Everything looks colorful and healthy for now --- and my fingers are crossed that they stay that way. The bees were out in great numbers, so they are certainly going to do their part to keep everything blooming.

Very Happy Vegetables

Romaine

Arugula

Basil

Herbs

Parsley

Thyme

Lettuce and Spinach

Wow. What a difference a few weeks makes. As you can see, my lettuce has gone crazy --- and tomatoes and herbs look very happy too. Lost two small basil plants (probably due to lots of rain), but everything else looks great. I think there are a lot of salads in my future. :-)