Wednesday wildlife, our green friend

Found among the blackberries:

I enjoy the small things like these frogs and hope he fills up on those Japanese Beetles this year. The neighbors have been spraying to try to control those devastating pests and they decided to congregate on my corn instead.

Drought warning for August, 2017

With barely an inch of rain since June 1st, this is the result:

 

 

What likes the Grand Canyon, this is an example of what the hay ground looks like. This is the 5th summer out of the seven that we've had the acreage where rain has been way below average. This week will be spent on pump repairs. And weed cutter repairs. Oh, and work on the mower. You get the point. (It's been one of those summers.)

Legacy trees, pin oak and red maple

A good friend of ours retired earlier this summer and as a tribute to Bill and his wife, Kathy, we decided to plant a couple of trees in their honor. Bill picked a picked a pin oak and Kathy chose a red maple. Interesting choices in that we have a plentiful supply of seeds and acorns and typically transplant young sprouts each year although not close together.

That changed as I planted several pin oak seedlings in the row next to the hay ground in the same row as red maples that were planted a couple of years ago. Space was available after we lost several due to our ongoing battle with rabbits.

Here's a look:

Pin Oak

 Red Maple

I've known Bill and Kathy for over 35 years and our paths have come together and diverged at least a dozen times in that period. I know that they've supported us behind the scenes throughout the years. As an honor of them and our friendship, these two seedlings are a reminder of their legacy here in Iowa and I think of them each time I haul water, cut weeds and other work.

Just a small token of appreciation for a couple of people that made a difference in our lives.

Friday is buck day, June buck

This guy is in a hurry

June brings berries

Very low yield for our first year of strawberries. After almost three weeks of no rain and with a pump breakdown, we only got about 5 quarts. You can't expect much without moisture and starlings taking their toll.

Flavorful and low numbers, but still enjoyed.

Wednesday wildlife, a little protection this week

I kind of like this doe:

 

She's not taking crap from a rabbit:

Friday is buck day, young buck

Those antlers will grow in someday.

Wednesday wildlife, a little late for Mothers' Day

After several summers of seeing twins, we have just the one this year.

What's going on here?

Let's see...

As a couple of you know, a new chapter will be beginning next week on the employment front. That is, so long as I survive the first day of work in a new environment. I hope this will be the last place I receive a paycheck from until our our small enterprise takes off.

The planting of our cash crop this year is nearly complete in between a couple of strong storm systems and a frost last week. The tiller has proven itself as a good investment and I have plans for later this year (if time permits.)

The war on rabbits continues as I'm updating the fencing this spring. I watched one vault over the 2 foot chicken wire and through the electric fence in one leap. We'll see if my improvements are just a waste of time.

In an effort to make up for missed pictures, here is one of the best of the pheasants:

This hen-pecked rooster can't step out without being checked up on.

I don't have much time to be standing around:

Time to get back to work!

Friday is buck day, snowstorm chase