Pasture Flattened.

8-30-18 VERMONT: Three days of pasture work have turned an unruly pasture almost into a pool table. A lot of scraping, digging, dumping, grading have leveled the upper pasture for a big tent. Actually it is graded to drain to the sides and downhill. One spot will still need some additional fill. The pasture accesses and yard entry were also re-configured to make them more car-friendly. Tomorrow we get haying and seeding of the raw dirt.

We had rain last night and again this morning, which almost filled the pond up, and it me skip watering today.

Today I heard and then saw a Pileated Woodpecker and later a Kingfisher, but sadly, no pix.

September arrives over this, Labor Day, weekend, and summer officially ends in a few weeks. The days are rapidly shrinking, and the darkness begins to take over September 23, when the sun dips below the Equator.

Anticipating Autumn, Judy left for NJ this morning and begins a new pet-therapy season next week. I will be here for a bit longer to finish chores and the pasture prep.


Late August gardens look good even without peonies or daylilies or delphinium.

Hardy hibiscus above and below certainly add to the floral display...

Even if they're obscenely huge.

Salsa echinacea adds some vivid red.

Pasture graded, ready for the next World Cup.

Another angle, actually there is a spot that was very wet after the rain last night. It might need some extra fill.

Veggies Are History.

8-26-18 VERMONT: Friday we had the final dinner party of the season. Donna, Bruce, Jane, Ken, Ann and Roger were here for a Judy spectacular. Judy and I finished the last of the leftovers tonight.

I have taken down the veggie garden in anticipation of grading the pasture for the wedding tent for next year. If I didn’t do it now, there wouldn’t be enough time for the new grass to take hold before the winter and be established for next spring.

First I took down the fence charger and wires, pulled up the grounding rods, saving everything for a possible future revival. Next came the wooden fence. The rails and posts are all stored in the big barn. Two rails went into the pasture fence to replace broken rails there. Lastly, the hardest job was pulling up the plastic mulch for which I had huge help from Judy. That pile of deteriorated mulching is ready for disposal. Eric and EJ arrived late in the afternoon and left a huge yellow grader, shovel, dozer.

Brady the horse has been fenced out of the upper pasture for the work, which will start tomorrow, but still has access to shelter, food and water. I moved the special herbs to a small, new temporary bed. They have lots of flower buds.

New blooms: red turtlehead.


The season isn't quite over yet.

Red turtlehead.

Morning sun on the deck, but not yet flower bed.

A pair of purples, dark monkshood and light hosta.

Hibiscus in Vermont.

8-22-18 VERMONT: There was some rain overnight, which we needed, and by afternoon the sun was out. I did chores in the basement during the rain and a little pruning after the skies cleared. Yesterday I weeded several beds and weed-whacked the terrace and sprayed Roundup on crabgrass that was growing between the terrace pavers in a few spots.

Monday the planting frenzy continued, and I added three Shasta daisies, Leucanthemum x superbum ‘Becky’, to the same part of the bed below the deck where I had pulled the moldy phlox, and a chocolate snakeroot, Eupatorium rugosum ‘Chocolate’, to the bed below the new wall.

New blooms: hardy hibiscus.


Hybiscus flower is the size of a dinner plate.

The white phlox, pulled out of the bed below the deck, and transplanted to the bond bank have less mildew in the new location and add some color to the late summer display.

White star clematis swarms over the deck railing.

Cornish Fair.

8-19-18 VERMONT: Today was the best day in about two weeks, sunny and warm, with no hint of rain. We celebrated the weather by going to the Cornish Fair in Cornish, NH. We went with Shari and Dave, as we did last year.

 It was the usual fair scene, rides and games that we avoided, but we saw border collie sheep herding trials, horse pulls, tractor pulls, 4-H Club cow judging, piglets, a Garth Brooks imitator, a few minutes of a magician. We all got our favorite foods. I had a bloomin’ onion and Judy got pulled pork, we both shared. I will need another bloomin’ onion next August.

 Yesterday I pulled out the rest of the old, white phlox, all covered with mildew from the flowerbed below the deck. We had gone to Brown’s Nursery after the dump for replacement stock, which I planted after the phlox were pulled out and replanted on the pond banks.

 I added two hardy hibiscus, ‘Airbrush Effect’ and ‘Cherry Choco Latte’, two echinacea, ‘Sombrero Salsa Red’, and two Shasta daisies, Leucanthemum maximum ‘Alaska’. I added one new phlox to the phlox bed, Phlox paniculata, ‘Peppermint Twist’. The new phlox plants get almost no mildew.


The mid-way and rides, no customers from our group.

Border Collie trials. The dogs were all pros.

Antique tractor pulls.

Horse pulls.

These horses are running away with this load of almost two tons of blocks on the stone boat.

Birds, Birds, Birds.

8-16-18 VERMONT: There has been more rain, and it’s wearing out Kaley the dog. She hates rain and is terrified by thunder, so she’s been a wreck all week.

Yesterday Judy was driving on our road to Coburn’s General Store and saw a pair of large turkey-sized birds. She didn’t have a functioning camera, so we went back to the spot, but didn’t see anything. Later I went back alone and waited and walked around the fields on either side of the road, and just before I was going to give up, I saw the male. I heard the female, but didn’t see her. I think they are nesting near the road in the brush by and old stonewall. I assume they are a feral pair.

We ID’d them as Helmeted Guineafowl, African natives. [Don’t tell ICE or Trump.] They eat seeds and insects, including ticks, and make a lot of noise. I wonder how they’ll do in the winter.

Later that day I saw a Great Blue Heron on a brief visit to our pond. Later still I saw a baby robin out of its nest, hopping around and squawking. The parents were standing by.

Today I was pruning the apple tree by the deck when I spotted a bird on a distant, dead tree while I was on a break. I got a couple pix before it headed out. I think it’s a Northern Flicker, yellow-shafted female.

Lucy left for NYC this morning on the Dartmouth Coach, and we are out of guests for now.

New blooms: white star clematis, white turtlehead.


Helmeted Guineafowl, probably feral, the white female didn't show herself to me. Judy saw her earlier, but without a working camera.

A local feed store sells eggs of these African birds. They make a lot of noise and are supposed to eat ticks. This pair seems to be at home in Strafford, VT.

Same day as the guineafowl, we had a Great Blue Heron visit.

Cup plant. Notice how the leaf pair are joined to each other at the stem forming a cup, here filled with rainwater.

Goldenrod is attracting a load of pollinators.

Later the same day, a baby robin was out of the nest to the distress of the parents. It can fly a little and squawk a lot. Good luck for the next few days.

Today I thought I saw a bird perched in a distant, dead tree, but couldn't tell what it was until I got a picture. Looks like a Northern Flicker, yellow-shafted female.

Best Seller.

8-14-18 VERMONT: We continue to get lots of rain, I dumped an inch out of the rain gauge this morning. Today is hot and muggy again.

We are all watching the TV news and reading the papers to keep up with the Omarosa doings. Omarosa’s new book, Unhinged, was ghosted by Valerie. The last time we looked, it was number 3 on Amazon’s List.

Back in the garden, there are lots of monarch caterpillars on the milkweed in the pasture. The chrysalis, that we have been watching, appears to be unchanged, but it takes a week or two to fully hatch a butterfly.

New blooms: cup plant, Ligularia dentata.


Ligularia dentata is regarded as a 'foliage' plant, grown for the big purplish leaves rather than the flowers, but I'm fine with the flowers, a orange/yellow daisy-like bloom late in the season.

More deer with the game cam. That's a fawn getting to be almost full sized.

A six-point stag who knows how to pose.

Colder and Wetter.

8-12-18 VERMONT: The weather is cooler, nights are in the fifties. Today is rainy, overcast and cold.

Valerie, Maggie and Lucy all arrived on Saturday, Maggie from Boston by bus, and Val and Lucy from NYC by car. We all watched Meet The Press this morning.

We are overwhelmed by tomatoes, but are keeping up with the corn.

We walked around the pasture yesterday. The milkweed, and ferns and mint, are all regrowing since the since the pasture was mowed in early July. Many of the milkweed leaves showed defects, and closer looks revealed lots of monarch caterpillars on the milkweed. Most of them were small, half an inch long or less, but some were quite big. We found a monarch chrysalis on one of the Asclepias incarnata in the garden.

New blooms: sedum, Joe Pye weed.


Monarch chrysalis in the center, the pod to its left is a developing seed pod of the milkweed.

Sedum, first one to open, the rest will be opening in the early fall.

Joe Pye weed just starting. These are over six feet tall.

First aster, another late season bloomer.

Summer Winding Down.

8-9-18 VERMONT: We took Joe to Logan Airport [BOS] yesterday for the return flight to CA. He starts school in a week or so. The summer is slipping away. After the BOS drop-off, we had dinner in Cambridge with Maggie, and we made it back to VT late at night. There were two T-storms, flight delays, traffic jams, and a malfunction of the GPS, but otherwise it was an uneventful day. Today we are having an Anna visit, who helped with the veggie harvest.

Tonight’s dinner will be mostly corn and tomatoes, the tomatoes in various formats, salad, pie, gazpacho, sauce.

We have had almost daily rain. Today is a bit less hot and humid.

New blooms: aster.


Another shot of Casablanca lily, six inches across and filling the yard with perfume.

Doe and fawn pair at 1 AM.

A different hollyhock, this one in salmon, the other in pink.

Joe and I walked up Lord Brook. It was much cooler by the water and in the shade.

More deer pix from the Moultrie cam, dates and times, temps  and moon phase.

Antlers.

Stag and doe.

Alpacas, Loons and Caterpillars.

8-5-18 VERMONT: We had a long rainy day that left us with at least 1.25 inches that we needed. Thursday Judy and I drove to Logan Airport in Boston to pick up GS Joe, who is visiting for a week. There was a lot of traffic on the way down, but we had planned for delays, and ate at Legal Seafood while waiting for the late flight. The trip back, after dark, was fast.

The next day was mostly rainy, but Joe did get to practice rowing between showers. Bette and Lonnie arrived on Friday for an overnight stay on their way to Maine. We took the group to Cloudland Farm for dinner, excellent meal, but we had to park up the road from the restaurant because an old, huge maple tree fell across the road. By the time we finished dinner the tree was on its way to being chips.

Saturday I did some weeding while Judy and Joe visited the llamas and alpacas at Janet and Bill’s. Joe helped water and feed them. That night we saw ‘Eighth Grade’ in Hanover. Great job of by both the actors in the father and daughter roles. We had to detour on the way home because of another tree that fell across the road. That happened to us one other time in almost thirty years here.

Today Joe and I canoed Grafton Pond. The launch site was packed, but the pond can handle a lot of paddlers. It’s a man-made lake, probably a couple square miles in area, and dotted with islands, which are covered with blueberries and pine and spruce. It was mostly all kayaks today. Our favorite picnic spot was occupied, so we found another little island for our lunch. We saw a loon family group of four, two chicks and two adults, and a solitary loon as well as a cedar waxwing nesting on our lunch island, and a blue heron at a bog on the way home.

Yesterday I was looking at the Asclepias incarnata by the pond and noticed black caterpillar poop on some leaves. A quick check by Joe and me ID’d three monarch caterpillars on that plant, and six caterpillars on the other milkweed by the deck. I didn’t see any chrysalis, or eggs, but will keep looking.

Tomorrow’s activity will depend on tomorrow’s weather.

New blooms: golden rod, tree hydrangea, black-eyed susan, lobelia, Casablanca lily.


Echinacea, dramatic Augustinian, it's hard to get these guys to reliably be perennial.

Joe is taking the boat for some exercise. The boat is grateful for the attention.

I saw some caterpillar poop on a milkweed leaf and bent over to look for monarch children. There are six on this plant, you might be able to fine four in this picture, and at least three on the other plant.

Casablanca lilies are as dramatic as it gets, plus they saturate the air with perfume,

Joe and I canoed Grafton Pond today to see the loons.

We saw at least two chicks with one breeding pair.

Grafton Pond is dotted with island ranging in size from tiny to small, often with granite boulders on the beaches. The islands are populated with pine, spruce and blueberries, and are perfect for a picnic.

That fallen tree makes a nice harbor and dive platform.

Judy and Joe visited the llamas and alpacas at Janet and
Bill's.