A Mother's Day on the Farm

A pleasantly cool day to tour the woods and wildflowers. Starting with the common camas that are still blooming in the arboretum...

 Then, I motored my electric EZ Go (I don't walk so great anymore) into the woods and checked out the little Sitka Spruces I've planted. They're growing! But I didn't take photos this time. Onward into the woods to check the tiger lilies... not yet blooming... the ones that have not had their buds eaten by deer, who seem to love tiger lilies. Hopefully, there will be flowers to photograph next time. Next I found the apparent False Solomon's Seal that I had found on a deer trail not yet in bloom last time I checked. Since then, the deer had found it and chomped off all the flowers... It appears to be a Star Solomon's Seal, Smilacina stellata.

 

Onward to the creek trail where the deer had bypassed this similar looking, but not so glossy-leaved flower, branched Solomon's Seal, Smilacina racemosa...

 

And then, close to Agency Creek, a carpet of bluebells...

 Agency Creek is quite low for this time of year...

 The Bleeding Hearts have been blooming for months, but now have their seed pods below the flowers...

  As I drove out of the woods into the meadow, a deer watched me from her resting place below a tree, unconcerned.

 I went past her into the hay field and delivered my load of brush that I had pruned along the way in the arboretum and along the sitka spruce area for the goats. It is safer to deliver their browse to them rather than let them browse it themselves since they are not choosy. Next time, I'll take photos of the goats devouring the branches that I bring.

A flock of American Goldfinches appeared on the fence line.

 And, for the first time this spring, two Chipping Sparrows appeared, gleaning insects near the manure pile. 

It was a great way to spend a Mother's Day afternoon. But I have more photos from another part of our farm that I'll put in a blog post soon. It's so nice to have a place for my ramblings and photos again.