A Brief Break In The Rain

Yesterday gave us a window of sunshine in the afternoon,
between a showery morning and evening.
Have I mentioned how much rain we have received this summer?
An unprecedented amount, for sure.

During this time of year when we normally have drought conditions,
we have, instead, been having flooding.
The ground has not dried out in a month.

I took my camera out to the garden during the few hours of sunshine that we were given yesterday.
I had been noticing lately that butterfly season is here.


The work that Hubbs and I put into our perennial garden...


turning it into a butterfly haven...
has paid off.


Butterflies of every type 


flit and float from colorful blossom


to colorful blossom....


gathering nectar.


For a while, during the afternoon, I sat on the front porch just enjoying
the cooler temperatures.
As I sat working on a stitching project...


the birds were busy at the bird feeder...


and Bobby kept a close eye on them.


Any time we are outside, this fellow is right with us... keeping us company.
His only negative quality is the fact that he likes to be right under foot...
and as a result ends up tripping us quite often.


A portion of every day is spent harvesting the garden and preserving that harvest.
Yesterday I picked these two red cabbages 


and turned them into pickled cabbage.


I also roasted more tomatoes to freeze,
and froze several quarts of corn (just cut off the cob and frozen).

I stopped by the young chicken house to take photos of our three new roosters.
This one is so very colorful and handsome!


This one is quite vocal.


And this one?  Handsome and vocal!


Because I usually name my roosters after crooners
 (over the years we've had Elvis, Hank, Kenny, etc...)
these three will be Prince, Freddie, and Bruno (from top to bottom).

PS...
Hubbs moved our lonely white Muscovy from the farm to the duck house at the barn yesterday.
She tolerated the move well and seems to be adjusting just fine.


Life is better with friends!

Comments

Lynne said…
Your hard work “tending” certainly pays off . . .
Beautiful flowers and bunches of “flitting.”
I like your stitchery . . . lovely . . .
colleen said…
I love watching butterfly's flitting about. It seems we've had more this year than usual. The pickled cabbage looks amazing. I was wondering if you ever heard of Back to Eden gardening. our town is hauling us in some wood chips and we are going to give it a try and I'm going to try it in my flower beds also. For sure life is better with friends!!
The JR said…
Beautiful! Love the mermaid. Is that a kit or did you print out your pattern on the fabric? My little niece is a Mermaid at Heart.

Glad your white duck got some new friends. The roos are all handsome.
daisy g said…
Lovely blooms and the pickled cabbage looks amazing!

I'd love to do stitchery like that, but don't know where to find those things.

Glad your "misfit" is fitting right in!
May Prince, Freddie and Bruno live up to their namesakes!
Patsy from Illinois said…
Thank you so much for your gift of one of your precious fairies! I took it right out and showed it to my fairies and they were so excited they rose in the air as one and made a high pitched twittery sound reserved for the ultimate happiness. They said they had a wonderful time at your place and your biscuits and jam were the best they ever had. Also your berries, basil and tomatoes were wonderful. They were late in getting home because they stopped at an amusement park in Ohio and the race track in Indy. They told me all about your visit and were pleased to spend time with your family, animals and grands. They said your fairy gardens were very spacious and they were so comfortable there. Do you have a fairy bed and breakfast?
So thanks again and it is being displayed on one of my bookshelves. God bless.
Unknown said…
Muscovys are my favorite ducks, so quiet after having had Pekins
This N That said…
Prince is vey handsome indeed...More rain today..We have had 20 inches..twice the norm.. need to try to capture a Butterfly photo..I haven't had much luck in the past..Two of my neighbor "raise" Monarchs..They have them in their houses until they go through all their stages and then they are released...Lot's of Milkweed!! Seems to work..Your first picture is frame worthy..
jaz@octoberfarm said…
i have a ton of butterflies this year and i hate butterflies. we finally got a bit of rain. it was not a great tomato season but a terrific pepper season for sure.
An American in Tokyo said…
I love your handiwork! The mermaid is so pretty!
Prince, Freddie, and Bruno are perfect names! ha ha!
I hope the white Muscovy fits into the new group! Birds of a feather! hee hee!