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This is about as close as one might want to come to a coyote — and possibly a bit closer. This one wandered into the yard next to the cottage while I was working.

It is unquestionably fully summertime, with temperatures in the nineties, full-scale jam operations underway, and lazy afternoons in the pond.

Here is Daisy performing her nightly task of clearing the deer from the field.

This week we had a visit from John Harris and his boys, who, together with their yellow lab Milo, are driving cross country to visit John’s mother in Little Compton, Rhode Island. It is always great to see the Harris family, and Daisy and Milo got along like old friends.

I cannot say it was the most joyous July 4th we’ve spent at the farm, with a B2, an F-15, and a B-52 passing overhead on their way to an air show and our president promising statues, walls, and graves, but Daisy is unperturbed by such matters, and by all other matters as well.

After dinner we put on our masks and climbed Burger Hill to watch the fireworks up and down the valley.

The world is far from perfect, making this weekend’s splendid, cool weather a relief.

Here are the last of the peonies.

Here is Del Wolcott, spotted this afternoon as he was clearing the horse trails. We bought the farm from Del in 2007, when he was nearing eighty and thought the farm would be too much work to maintain. Now he’s in his nineties, still driving the tractor. He stopped by to let me know that the water pipe into the barn had burst.

These days of endless hunkering have given Jen the opportunity to grow her entire garden from seed. We are expecting quite a bounty!

If you are a deer, and you do not respect the apron, you will be chased! Daisy shows really impressive speed here. Because deer seem well aware of Daisy’s electronic fence, sometimes she needs some backup.

Jen woke up too early (or possibly Sarah and I slept too late) for breakfast in bed, but we did make her huevos rancheros and let her know what an A+ mom she is!

Jen and Daisy enjoyed the first really warm day of spring, sunbathing on the lawn. Jen had to get Daisy her own towel.

Everything is starting to bloom, even this aged pear tree.

Herman, our bachelor muskrat, can be seen each evening swimming back and forth across the pond, building his nest.