Although not native here, the Siberian Squill has become an invasive plant after brought to this country as an ornamental flower. Its very hardy and cold tolerant traits as well as being untouched by voles and deer has allowed it to infest large areas, even if it is a pretty blue flower.
Blue Taking Over
With a nice small pond in front of the barn, I wonder if there have been ducks and geese visiting the inviting water this spring.
Barn Nestled Near Pond
With the threat of thunderstorms later today, there probably won’t be a colorful sunset to see if the sun is hidden by storm clouds.
Springtime Sunset
The lakes and rivers probably have more visitors this morning as fishermen drop their lines into the waters in hopes of catching the big one on the opening of the fishing season.
Fishing Opener
The giving of May baskets on May Day has disappeared from most of the country in this age of electronics. But the White Trout Lily probably would not have found its way into a May basket for my mom since it can take seven years for a Trout Lily to produce a flower, if the corm ever grows large enough. In the colony of flowers, among the leaves only roughly one percent produce a flower until the corm grows large enough to sprouts two leaves instead of one and blossoms. So I guess my mom gets some dandelions in her May basket instead.
White Trout Lily on May Day
Many birds are busy making nests or even sitting on eggs already in birdhouses I have made so I didn’t appreciate the Northern Flicker trying to drill through the top of one the birdhouses. It wasn’t my fault the wind blew down the dead tree a week ago where it nested in last year so he didn’t need to try to destroy another nesting site.
The Northern Flicker spends a lot of time on the ground looking for insects and I see plenty of ants around, one of its favorite foods, for it is eat and capture with its tongue which can extend two inches beyond the end of its bill.
Northern Flicker Looking for Insects
Over a blanket green, dainty white flowers extend upward on slender stems and tremble in the breeze and therefore is sometimes called Wind Flowers, although the more common name is Wood Anemone for Anemone quinquefolia.
The flowers usually stay open during the day but close during the night to protect the male and female parts of the flower while it is not being pollinated and since I was out late evening, the flowers were closing up but that allowed me to see the pinkish color on the outer layer. Wood Anemone tends to grow in thick mats, spreading via rhizomes. A single plant may take 5 years or longer to flower, so often only a few flowers are seen among the leaves.
Wood Anemone
Traveling only a few feet, you can see large tractors working the fields for spring planting and on next farm the Amish are planting as my grandfather did before getting his first tractor.
Planting with “Horsepower”
The calving season has officially started on my family’s farm yesterday with the first calf born early Sunday morning, even though the trips to the barn checking on the cows have going on for a week already. At least the calf will have a warmer and sunny week instead of snow.
First Calf
On a hill in southwestern Wisconsin, a small chapel built in 1903 overlooks the valleys emerging from long winter as signs of spring begin to emerge. The small shrine was rededicated to Our Lady of the Fields in 1958 by Bishop William O’Connor.
With the spring planting underway, ladies and men are working in the fields and inside the shrine is a statue of Saint Isidore, the patron saint of farmers.
Our Lady of the Fields Shrine
Saint Isidore
