June

 Cows begin to shine during the month of June and so do people. There is so much beauty to experience. 

Fireflies

Lupines

Strawberries

And so much more that nurtures and renews us. It's the best time of the year.

shine

 On Friday we picked up Erin and her family at the airport. They are visiting for the first time in over two years. When we got home, the cows were being deposited in one of the back fields. They stay here for the summer which is a win for us and a win for the farmer. When they get here, they are very dirty. I don't know if that's from living in a barn or in muddy circumstances. Our fields are not heavily used, and it doesn't take much time for the cows to lose their muddy appearances. After a couple of weeks here, they truly start to shine.

 

peonies

 In the stillness,

Between the arrival of guests.

The peonies.

Buson

mysteries

 Yesterday I walked a section of the Ira Creek looking for Japanese Knotweed, an invasive species that has established a beachhead here in Ira. It was grueling work, walking over rocks large and small. Much of the time I was walking in the stream. The rocks in the stream were covered with moss and were very slippery. I fell a few times and got pretty wet, banged up one of my elbows pretty good. Allyn found sand in my pockets when she washed my clothes.

So I was pretty bedraggled as I headed back home along the road which follows the stream. When I was almost home I noticed something in the grass.

What a beautiful flower and one I had never seen before. My Plantnet app said it was probably Alpine Columbine, native to European mountains, but not here. As happens sometimes, I was filled with an emotion I could feel but could not name. It was something like awe and deep questioning. Where did these come from? They were partly in a roadside ditch. Did someone plant them somewhere upstream, and did some of the seeds end up here? I'll never know.

It was very similar to the feeling I have when I am up in the woods behind our house in November when I am putting up No Hunting signs. There are stone walls there that once provided a separation that no longer exists, no longer matters to anyone.

This back breaking work was done by people lost to history. There are stories buried here that will never be told, just like the beautiful purple flowers in the ditch along the road. I'm glad I live in a place where secret histories are revealed, but never explained.

What's up with that?

 One of the things about doing a blog like this is that you're not only aware of phenomena in the natural world that are returning/emerging, but also the ones that are not. False Solomon Seal are back.

But I'm not seeing the Columbine that usually appear on the big rock in the field in the back.

There were plenty of Bellwort plants to be seen, but none of them bloomed. What's up with that? Happily the thrushes have returned, but I haven't seen any Redstarts. They look like a miniature version of Orioles.

Viburnum are in bloom. 

So are the Black Locusts, but they seem very late this year. Saw some blooming for the first time yesterday.

What is so rare

 As a day in June.

Red Osier Dogwood

Orange Hawkweed

Herb Robert

tractors

 High school baseball game observed at Otter Valley UHS. First cuts taking place in fields and pastures. Winter is never very far away here.

Tractors prevalent on country roads. They can slow down the speed of traffic considerably, and because of twists and turns in said roads, it can be hard to get by. On the one hand, it's kind of a pain, but on the other hand it's nice to live in a place where there are tractors on the roads you regularly use.