Late Summer Joys

Our peaches! Heavy, oh so heavy, the young branches bending like a fishing pole burdened. 

The leaves took a beating from Japanese beetles but the fruit.... can you just smell the sweetness?
The mouth watering, aromatic juiciness?

Yum....

The blooms and textures of late summer.  Bumbles everywhere!

Meadow gazing.

Bouquets from zinnias and wildflowers on the farm.

There's nothing like farm fresh peaches!

Mr. Toad....hopped his way right into the pole barn.

Watch out little bee!  Someone has her eye on you!
(Thankful for the preying mantis - especially when they attack the beetles).

Butterflies everywhere!

Sun rays among the wildflowers in late afternoon.

Decaying elm stump with fungal beauty

Prickly nectar

Today's Journey Joys: fresh coffee and encouraging conversation with a dear friend, school starts (all of them!), fall plantings and raspberry picking, peach jam, dinners with new pastors and their wonderful families, bright blue skies, comforting hugs, fresh tilled earth, and colorful farm fresh eggs.

The Summer Heat Continues

Our laying hens catching the morning bugs.

Anyone home?

The zinnias.  Butterfly haven.

I was reticent to post this 'cause I look a frightful mess.  But it is the nature of farming.  One gets sweaty and dirty.

I found them!  The Cheyenne Spirit echinacea.  Buried alive under grass, ragweed and other not-so-nice misplaced plants.  Working hard to rescue them but it is 95 degrees!

I'm not the only one melting.... bees wax in the solar melter.

Tiggie resting comfortably.

Ornamental sweet potato vine in our coal bucket.  It's going everywhere!

Today's Journey Joys:  Air conditioning! Cold lemonade with Ally girl, kitties getting bigger, flowers blooming, yellow raspberries loaded and slowly ripening, wet refreshing showers at the end of a long hot sweaty day.

The Slowing of the Farm

Delicious!

Cattails in the marshy area along with great saw-grass 

The last of the lisianthus for this year.  They were oh-so-beautiful!

Red raspberries.  Oh yum!

Weeding the red raspberries.  Took all day to do three rows but now the picking is much much easier.

Wild flowers and grasses for bouquets.  Lovely all by themselves.

Today's Journey Joys: hard working and cool air conditioning in 95+ degree heat and humidity, chrysanthemums growing, the boys to the Museum of Science and Industry for an adventure, blueberry and raspberry syrup, "Puffy" the calico and long furred kitten, tomatoes ripening, pole beans climbing, pumpkins forming, getting ready for back-to-school.