Best of June at Serendipity (2023)

Colorful things that come from my garden.

Big turtles that lumber across the yard.

Gigantic squash and zucchini leaves.

Morning visits from the neighbors who we love...
as long as they respect the fences around the garden.

This random sunflower (that I didn't plant)
that grew and stood guard over my whole garden.

Happy hens in the yard.

Chickies learning from their momma.

The sycamore stump coming back to new life.

Filling my little harvest bucket every day or so.

Spring Chicks

I love watching a mama hen teaching her little brood about all the things a chicken needs to know about the world.  

She's fiercely protective, endlessly patient, and smarter than you'd think a chicken would be.

I slipped these little ones under her one night three weeks ago.  They've been a happy family ever since.

 

Our Dogwood Tree

When we were building our house in 2001, the builders asked us we we wanted them to take down the scraggly tree beside the back porch.  It had been scuffed up and they said it might not make it anyway.

The next spring it surprised us with its big white blooms. 

 It did survive that winter and put on its show every spring.

 We loved our dogwood that stood right outside our backdoor with a birdfeeder on its limb.

It flowered every April.

Every May there would be a windy day that causing snowstorm of white petals that would litter the ground below it.

But it had been scuffed up during the building process.  Each year we wondered if it would make it another year.

Our beautiful dogwood gave us its spring show for 20 years.

We'll miss you, Scuffed Up Dogwood Tree.

Serendipity... :)

 

Busy Chickens

 

It's so peaceful to watch them peck around.

Hostas Are Blooming

Such delicate little blooms.

After thinning the hosta bed at my dad's home about four years ago, I brought home some raggedy little plants and plunked them in my front bed with hopes they'd survive.

They have completely exceeded expectations.  

Herbs

Although I'm fairly new to growing herbs, I've enjoyed feeling some success. 

 

Daily Harvest

 

My harvest isn't huge, but it's so satisfying to see it each day.  I nearly always snap a photo.  I just can't help it.  I think it's so pretty, then I scroll through my phone and see that I have a dozen pictures of daily harvests that all look pretty much the same.

Catching a Possum

Our woods have many possums, I'm sure.  

But, this one was much too interested in the chicken coops.  

 We wish him the best of luck in his new forest home!

Lots of Deer

They like the meadow just on the other side of the pond.  

As we come around the hillside, they always freeze and stare at us.  Then one will make a sneeze-like sound, and they scatter.

 

Bell Peppers

My red peppers and yellow peppers have decided to stay green. That's okay. 

Big Snake

 Sssssome forest friends are not as welcome as otherssss.

So Many Tomatoes

The counter may be full of cookies in December, 

but I'll choose the July counter when it's full of tomatoes.