Even with all of the modern technology, the weather is still a big guess for farmers trying to get enough dry days between cutting and baling hay when the forecasts are often wrong. With rain predicted tonight and for the upcoming days, I’m sure there was a scramble to get as much hay baled as possible before the storms.
Baled Before the Rains
There have been some leftover fireworks going off this week lighting the sky at night, but during the day the wild bergamots look like miniature exploding in the road ditches with their frizzy looking blossoms. Wild bergamot was considered a medicinal plant by many Native Americans and used most commonly to treat colds, and was frequently made into a tea.
Frizzy Wild Bergamots
The young orioles are now as big as their parents but they still sometimes want to be fed instead of going to the feeders themselves. The feeders get a bit crowded when several families try to eat at the same time and this young one is perched on a branch while waiting for its place in line.
Waiting in Line
The summer weekend may have included some outdoor family time, but fun doesn’t have to cost a lot as these children had plenty of fun with just gunny sacks.
Gunny Sack Race
The milkweeds are blooming and it is a complex flower. From a distance, they appear as pink globes, but on closer inspection more components of the blossom appears. But the insects don’t care about the names of the flower parts, just that they are attracted to its nectar.
Milkweed Blossom
This 1893 Light Concord Stagecoach didn’t come equipped with air-conditioning so it would have been a hot ride when the temperatures hover around 100. Developed by J. Stephen Abbot and Lewis Downing in 1827, the Concord stagecoach was built for use in rugged terrain and on long-distance hauls.
Leather thoroughbraces act like shock absorbers which suspend passengers who are in constant motion while the stagecoach is moving and allow the stagecoach to travel over very rough roads.
Old Concord Stagecoach
There were different butterflies flying across the field while I was mowing today and many monarch butterflies were hanging around the milkweeds and the wild raspberries.
Monarch Hanging Around
The political importance of Independence Day may have declined as the 4th has become more as an occasion for family parties, barbecues and fireworks.
Fireworks on the 4th
Some of the lilies remind me a little like fireworks appearing to explode outward, but they are much quieter, with only the hum of bumblebees, than fireworks going off all week.
Lily Exploding
I normally consider the Northern Cardinal as a winter bird, even though they hang around all year, but the red color of the males stand out against the winter’s white snow. The cardinals are coming to the feeders more right now even though they feed their young mainly insects so I figure they are eating more seeds for themselves as they give the bugs to the babies.
Cardinal Waiting for Lunch
