The Best Summer Ever!

I absolutely love this time of year...

especially this year.

It might be a tad hotter than my favorite...

the donkeys never complain, but seek out the sunniest spot for their relaxation.
Hubbs and I agree... this has been the best summer ever.

We've had enough rain this summer to keep things from browning.

The flowers are spectacular.

Now you might understand why I have a love affair with these Profusion Zinnias.

By this time of summer they are breathtaking, aren't they?

It's not until the end of the summer that that morning glories are glorious.

I will be sad to see them leave with the frost.

Yesterday's chore times were especially fun,

with the help of a nine-year-old.

Everything is fun to this boy...

he laughs freely and oozes joy from every pore.

We love to mix a little education in with our farm experiences,

so yesterday adventures included gathering water samples from the pond

and from the stream to look under the microscope.

It's amazing the creatures that live in water... unseen by the naked eye...

little one-celled creatures that swim by beneath the lens of the microscope.

Ty was fascinated.

(The world through Muppie's surgical loops.)

We went looking for mushrooms in the woods,

and Tyler took these photos...

Muppie and Tyler went canoeing in the pond...

ultimately resulting in a dip in the pond,

and endless giggles as his toes hit slimey mud at the bottom of the pond.

By the way, we still have our same three pond ducks.

All of last year's mallard ducklings left during mating season.

It will be interesting to see if they return to spend winter on the pond.

A few years ago I applied to be recognized as a Monarch butterfly way station.
I transplanted some milkweed into a second garden, added a butterfly house,
and lots of colorful perennials.
Having an abundance of milkweed has paid off.

This summer we have many milkweed caterpillars munching their way through that milkweed.
Very soon they will tuck themselves away inside a chrysalis and make
that miraculous transformation into a new Monarch butterfly...
just in time to make the arduous journey south to the Caribbean.
I talked to Tyler about how miraculous this earth and it's creatures are...
and how many stories like the Monarchs there are to learn.