It is hard to believe that it has already been 15 years since I took this image of Sophia in the back part of our farm. We were spreading milkweed seeds with the hope that we would see more milkweed plants - and more monarchs - in future years.
By doing this each year that we have lived at our farm, we have many more milkweed plants now than we did in 1995 when we moved here. We are seeing a positive impact of our actions.
.jpg)
We are seeing now a combination of migratory and local birds now. This morning, in the backyard alone, I saw a White-Throated Sparrow, Black-Capped Chickadee, Nashville Warbler, Lincoln's Sparrow, and Cardinal. These are only a fraction of the birds we see at our farm. Planting hundreds of native flowers, grasses, shrubs, and trees at our farm is truly making a difference and drawing a wider diversity of birds here!
I am enjoying using the Waterlogue app and seeing how taking one of my photographs can be transformed into another digital image. This image was from a photograph I took of a Fjord horse in Grand Marais that was walking through a pasture filled with white flowers.
.jpg)
I was happy to see the swamp milkweed blooming this year. I had put some dormant plants out in the west pasture last year in the spots where there were depressions in the soil left by the horses' hooves. Surprisingly, the plants came up this year and are doing well. The monarchs (and the bees!) are loving the milkweed.
It was also nice to see that there are monarch caterpillars on the common milkweed. Pretty soon, there will be a chrysalis and a new butterfly!
The purple native wildflowers are blooming prolifically! The Ironweed in the west pasture is attracting the Swallowtail butterflies while the Prairie Onions in the gardens are providing meals for the bees.
The pears are starting to grow. In a few months, they will be ripe and delicious. We use no chemicals on the fruit trees - or anywhere on our property, for that matter - so they can be eaten directly from the tree.
There was a sheep and llama festival at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Lake Elmo. In addition to sheep and llamas, there were goats. This one caught my eye.
During the winter we still walk the property to make sure that everything is okay. It's important as caretakers of these ten acres that animals are safe and not hurt anywhere on it. We enjoyed seeing all the activity wherever we walked - tracks, rubbings on trees, and "beds" that the animals made in the grass and weeds.
The dogs were barking incessantly today. When I looked out the window, I saw why: a coyote was right next to the backyard behind the woven wire fence. This bold coyote as well as its companion stayed around for quite a while before disappearing into the west pasture.
The cows were in a pasture along Highway 95 today. It was a beautiful day for them to eat and relax.
The fields are still bare here. Soon, farmers will be out in their tractors planting their crops.
The ducks and great blue herons are migrating north again and spending time in the pond.
