Saturday outing

The Monsoons let up for a bit and I was able to get out for a few hours. It is amazing how fast the wildflowers have bloomed given all the water. The Wild Roses are still going strong.

 The Heartleaf Anica is appearing

 The Indian Paintbrush is also out. Its early for this.

 There are also lots of Streamside Bluebells

 Meanwhile the Tree Swallows are still attempting to nest.

My friends the Great Blue Herons are also now in the swamps

Life is good in the boonies!

Garden Progress

So far, the garden has been doing well in spite of the drought. Daily watering helps a lot as does the 100% compost. 

 The garden may not be large, but it is productive. I like potato yield to be 1 potato to feed 4 people. Elaine likes baby potatoes. When you have a small garden, yield is important!

 These are our tomato trees. We have been getting tomatoes daily for the last 3 weeks. A lot get taken by grazing as we walk by.

 The pumpkin patch is starting to take off. Hopefully there will be enough growing time left to get a few. Pumpkin pie! Yum!

 The garden in back is lettuce romaine and leaf plus multicoloured  Swiss chard and a few peas as a trial.

 Next year the potatoes will go up against the fence and the potato bed will become veggies.

Here are the last two shots of the baby Tree swallow. He left yesterday. Maybe we will get a second nesting. If not, there is always next year.

 Cute little gaffer! The wren and chickadee babies have also gone for the year. The parents are still free loading at the feeder.

Hopefully, you are having a good gardening year also.

Camera at the Ready

While working on the roof, the camera is not far away. I caught this Purple Finch while having a rest. This is a first for me. Somehow these folks have avoided the feeder. Can they ever toss back sunflower seeds!

The American Goldfinch also showed up

 He was not as tame as the Purple Finch.

The male and female Tree swallows are standing guard, and also bringing bugs to the nest. It would appear that there are babies around!

 Near as I can tell, this is a female Purple Finch. They arrive together and leave together, so I guess that they are a pair.

Restful Monday

Swallow Friday

It was a sort of rainy day today and when I looked out, this guy was sitting and preening, and sort of looking miserable.

 It was also cool and he stayed mostly fluffed up trying to keep warm.

 We had a major thunder boomer and a fair bit of hail yesterday. Where he went i don't know.

Any body got  a hard hat that will fit?

Have a great day out in blogland!

On the Porch

Coming back from Church today, I decided to do some vegetating on the patio with a book, a cold pop, and my camera. The female Tree Swallow decided to sit on the feeder right by me. It was a +30C day and I don't blame her for being out and about.

 There was no worry present. The dogs were snoozing in the shade by my feet and they have sort of chosen to ignore her.

  The male took the relief watch while she was sunbathing.

 He did not enter the nest, but stuck his head in every now and again.

 Our ornamental crab tree is blooming its head off.

 It is a very pretty tree and has lots of bees flying around it.

 The Individual flowers are pretty, and once they berry out, should attract the Robins and Bohemian Waxwings in the fall. (I hope).

I am very pleased with the camera since I can sit in my chair without moving and capture everything with ease. The focal length ranges in these shots from 1249 to 4995 mm ( 35 mm equivalent). The last flower is at 200 times magnification. It is hard to catch a bee on an individual flower at this magnification. Hence no bee shots.

 This Black Capped Chickadee is also starting to nest in the second bird house, down one from the swallow. She is still a little nervous.

Swallow Bomb

There is some serious nesting going at the front gate. Six swallows were trying to occupy one house. It got very busy!

 Mid air duels

 Precision flying

 Violation of the basic rule of physics: Three bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time

 Wanna bet?

 Now, buzz off!

Belated Mother's Day Greetings!

I missed all the celebrations due to a bad cold (Man Cold.. would have killed a lesser person :-{ ). I slept through Mother's Day, church service and a couple of other days besides. Our youngest son took Elaine out for brunch. Thanks, Mike!

 I felt a lot better today, so got the new pasture seeded ready for the monsoon forecast for Wednesday plus 3.

Western King Bird

 Some of our latecomers are arriving. The king Bird will likely take up residence under our front deck. He has been around for about 5 years.

Things are greening up, but we really need a good rain. Boots is still on duty, watching his herd.

These tree swallows are checking out alternate accommodation. They have living in the martin house for the last 7 years. I think they are the same pair because they just arrive, go to the house, ignore the horses, dogs and people.

 Why would any bird choose a hole in a tree over a condominium? Oops, I see some renovations are needed. Maybe I have been reclassified to "Slum Landlord".

All in all, a lazy week on the old Acreage. (Darn that Boots! I can't take a horse picture without him hamming it up!)