The Summer Begins.

6-16-22 VERMONT: We’re here for the summer, hopefully, no emergencies until September. Yesterday was hot, and we had a little rain overnight, 0.2 inches. There was 2.75 inches in the gauge when we arrived—not bad for two weeks. 

Yesterday was unloading the cars and looking around, unpacking, opening the house, etc. Today we ran errands, shopped for food, bought bird seed, picked up two little vases Judy bought at auction, collected the mail. 

After we got home, I did some urgent weeding and watched the birds. We still have the Baltimore oriole here and the usual feeder birds and a sapsucker pair in the willow tree, lots of robins. The robin nest with the two eggs hatched the morning we left NJ. The hatchlings are the most dependent-looking babies, it’s hard to believe that they will be flying around in a couple weeks. I also saw two new butterflies.

New blooms: valerian, anemone, buttercup, stephanandra, weigela, irises—flag, Siberian, bearded, knapweed, centaurea—blue, white, meadow rue, Itoh peony, peony, chive, geranium, astrantia, roses—on the fence and in the terrace beds, Asian lilac, bridal wreath spirea, tradescantia, lady’s mantle, goat’s beard, dianthus, thyme. 

Itoh peony 'Cora Louise' was planted last summer and bloomed now. Most of the others we planted this year are yellow.

Conventional peony, not bad either.

The lupin seem to like their new spot on the pond bank.

Blanca has tired of harassing the frogs in the pond and collapsed on the dam to admire the brook filled with primrose and more.

The terrace beds with pink rose bushes.

The pasture fence with rose bushes starting their show.

Butterfly named 'Red-spotted Purple'.

Turns out that this buttrerfly is a moth 'Virginia ctenucha'. That is not misspelled.

Eastern Phoebe, newly fledged, after a bath.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, male, the female has less red.