Liatris

This clump of Liatris in the Pinelands field is quite attractive to the swallowtail butterflies.   There are several black ones on these clumps of flowers.

South West Pinelands

We are working on clearing the south west pinelands field so that it is easily mowable.  Jeffrey used the batwing mower to cut down most of the brush.  I used the Fiat with tree cutter to get the small pine trees too big for the mower.  With new, sharp blades it was working really well.  I  tried making a few more passes with the John Deere and mower,  but got stuck.   Fiat could not pull it out.

The International was down, getting the cooling system rebuilt.   This morning after Jeffrey's return from San Antonio and Jason's bachelor party,  we got the International back together.   Pulling in two different directions,  John Deere remained stuck.   Switching to a third direction, almost downhill and further into the brush, the John Deere with mower on the back broke free and we were able to tow and drive it out.  Quite a relief,  taking the mower off would have been a substantial job and pain.

Sunset

Sunset over the oak tree field.

Southern Pine Lily

The first day back from vacation, we were surprised to see several clumps of southern pine lilies on the west side of the pinelands field.  They are found in Mississippi only in the southern, near-coastal counties.

Getty Villa

Today we toured the Getty Villa near Los Angeles, a reconstructed Roman villa that had been buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.   Mr. Getty built it, in part, to house all the ancient art and antiquities that he collected.  Lots of statues, beautiful urns and a fascinating architecture.

We fly home tomorrow.

Visiting Santa Barbara

Today we drove to Santa Barbara via San Marcos Pass.  Stopped at a lookout near the peak looking back into the Santa Ynez valley.  Went on to the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate where Joy bought a couple of orchids.  Then drove to Woodland Hills to stay overnight.  Had veggie burgers at Boulevard Burgers next to our motel.

Travelling California Highway 1

Today we drove along California Highway 1 from Carmel to San Simeon, where we got a motel for the night.  Here are some pictures.

Platanthera ciliaris

Mississippi and southeast US native orchid Platanthera ciliaris is blooming now. These grow on the side of a roadside ditch on the farm. This is a good year for them. In addition to this cluster of about a dozen orchids, there are several smaller, first time blooming, plant clusters to the right and left extending the range of the orchid along the ditch side. My job for this winter, once the plants are dormant, is to clear out the encroaching brush to help minimize competition for the orchids.

Herbicide

This afternoon, while there were scattered clouds it didn't look too threatening for rain and the radar looked good, so I decided to go ahead and spray herbicide along the string electric fence in the swamp area of the oak tree field.

I made up 100 gallons of triclopyr broadleaf herbicide in the Fiat spray rig and pumped 12 gallons into the ATV sprayer mounted in the Gator.  Earlier I had sprayed those portions of the fence where the Fiat could go without sinking.

I  was about 3/4 done when the fuse blew on the electric sprayer pump.  By the time I was back to the barn,  a stray thunderstorm cell had bubbled up and it started raining.   Well, I found a fuse that solved the pump problem, then went up to the house to sit out the rain.  Maybe some of the herbicide will stick, I got stuck like this once before and the herbicide seemed effective,  depends how much gets absorbed before the rain hit.

Kratos and Anneika

The ewe flock is finished with the cowpeas in the south field.   Anneika has stayed with them and Kratos quite nicely over the past week.   This morning I combined the small group of "more feed" ewes back with the main flock and put them all in the middle beaver field to finish the cowpeas there.
Kratos and Anneika went with them of course.   The dogs were still huffing and puffing from the run around with the sheep, so did not want to come out in the sun for a picture with the sheep.