A Walk to the Pond

It might seem odd, but there are places on our farm we rarely go.  You'd think we'd at least take the time to visit the pond.  But, we get "busy" and seem to forget that we have this lovely habitat which is altogether different than any other on the farm.  We actually have three ponds.  The one at the far east end of the farm we visit a couple of times a year. The tiny one is just above the big pond, and surrounded by heavy vegetation. 

Today, we decided we needed a rest--a "relaxing" day today after herding cows and getting them to market yesterday, getting the bull established with the two young ladies; chasing wee chickens to get them re-installed in their new quarters abd separated from the turkeys; and harvesting what produce had ripened overnight. 

So we headed for the big pond and this is what we saw:

The pond is up for some repairs this fall and because of this we are letting it drain as much as possible.  That means the shoreline is almost like a mud-flat on low tide.  And the butterflies are in butterfly heaven!

Speaking of heaven...Cade is a waterdog Border Collie.  She's a bit crazy as she swims and paws the water furiously. 

And then there were the tracks.  There was a virtual raccoon highway running alongside the water's edge with individual tracks galore in the mud.

The cardinal flowers were in bloom.

And at the very end of the trip, I watched the butterflies dance.