The dahlias started to bloom last week; I was even able to include a few in a couple of the special order bouquets which I delivered last Thursday. It was a first for me to overlap peonies and dahlias in a mixed bouquet.
The last photo is of our antique mock orange which a master gardener/horticulturist friend identified as being at least 70 to 80 years old. While it needs a good professional pruning, it still puts out loads of heavily scented blooms which we eagerly await each summer.
We have had an incredible, gentle and steady rain all day today which I’m grateful for. The farm is more lush at the start of July then I think I’ve ever seen it.
Our newly adopted female deck, Athena, hatched a dozen gorgeous ducklings a week ago today. They are growing up fast and are such a delight to watch as they learn to eat the seed heads of dandelions, forage for insects and even though they are twice the size that they were a week ago, tuck under their mom for warmth in the cool of the evening. The violet-green swallows have set up their nest in one of the swallow houses again this year and we can hear the hungry chirps from within as we walk by from the dahlia field.
The mama coyote continues to hunt in our pasture, tormenting our two Great Pyrenees which are contained within our orchard. All three of us agree that it is an honor to share this space with all of these creatures.