Autumn Farm Scenes

I wasn't sure how to title this post. It's a collection of photos of many different kinds, beginning with a couple of my own little roasters, cooked with onions. They were delicious:

This baby Cottontail was hopping around my lawn while I was mowing. I didn't want to run him over so I stopped, got off the mower and walked over to him. He hunkered down, apparently hoping I wouldn't see him. I even got to stroke his fur once before he gave up trying to hide in the clover and bolted for the bushes:

Lots of New England Asters bloomed everywhere:

And my little hens (and one remaining rooster) quickly learned that the wild birds dropped lots of seed on the ground below the feeder:

I let the chickens out every morning. They're so tame now that they often (not always) come when called:

And they roam freely, dining on garden leftovers, birdseed, grass and bugs:

Canada Geese filled the skies and the corn stubble in neighboring fields:

The trees around my own north hay field turned a variety of colors:

It was a brilliant display:

Hay and apples grew well this year, and apparently the forest trees were happy also:

Summer's rainy weather cleared up and turned beautiful for autumn:

I didn't have cattle to water yet, but I did have my new, frost-proof hydrants with which to water the new plants I'd put in next to the south hay field. You can also see my new hay bale feeder in this photo. Everything was ready and waiting for the cattle to arrive from Virginia. Well, everything but the interior of the barn - but that's a post for another day:

The Hamlet Of North Lawrence, New York - Part 3

North Lawrence may have been only a hamlet, but it had more houses than I had expected, plus stores, churches and one large factory. I continued on my driving tour:

This picturesque church looked as if it had a bell to ring on Sunday mornings. Do any churches do that anymore? It would be a warm and fuzzy bit of nostalgia for me but an irritation for those trying to sleep in on Sunday morning:

This lovely old home seemed to represent the best of small town life - giant old Maples and a generous, comfortable porch:

Another older home which I suspected had once been a farm home:

This home didn't have a big enough porch for an old fashioned swing, but they solved the problem with a covered swing on their lawn:

A big porch and a field stone facade:

A screened porch and an old barn, now become a double garage:

I suspected that this addition had once been a front porch. I liked the flag against the clear, blue sky:

Another flag, another enclosed porch with a nicely landscaped front yard:

Yet another flag, several porches, a carriage house and the Catholic Church in the background:

A more modern house with flowers and neatly trimmed bushes:

This enclosed porch displayed what looked to be an Amish man's hat. And I liked the blue Adirondack chairs surrounded by pumpkins:

A red house beneath red leaves:

And the last photo of my driving tour was this mobile home to which a peaked roof had been added. This is snow country and a sloped roof is a good thing to have. But my driving tour was over, so I put away the camera and focused my attention on getting home:

The Hamlet Of North Lawrence, New York - Part 2

I continued my driving tour of lovely North Lawrence, passing this interesting house with bright blue carpeting on its steps:

A newer looking home set back in the trees:

And, in keeping with its rural character, North Lawrence presented me with some friendly, curious white face cattle:

A country style home behind a sprawling Cedar:

North Lawrence is home to North Country Dairy LLC, home of Upstate Niagara Cooperative, which makes all types of yogurt and employs over 80 local people:

The Grapevine store and cafe:

And if North Lawrence was big enough to have its own U.S. Post Office, as well as a yogurt plant, I'd say it had a real presence in the rural countryside:

The North Lawrence Supermarket:

A country style home, all decorated for Halloween:

This lovely home caught my eye for many reasons, not the least of which was the bright orange oil tank during Halloween season:

An old fashioned home with lots of elaborate trim, all kept in perfect condition:

A glassed in front porch:

A brick Catholic church:

And an "L" shaped house with a porch for sitting on nice afternoons such as this. But there was still more to see in North Lawrence and I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

The Hamlet Of North Lawrence, New York - Part 1

It was such a beautiful autumn day and I had pretty much done everything I'd set out to do, so I jumped in the car and drove to the hamlet of North Lawrence, New York to take some pictures:

One of the first North Lawrence sights was the lovely Maple Grove Cemetery:

I passed from rural countryside into a populated area with a surprising number of homes. This mobile home had a spectacular hydrangea in bloom:

A large, older home with a small windmill out front:

And a modern, modular home:

Another traditional, country style home:

And the Pit Stop Restaurant, where my sister and I had eaten just the previous week and I had a memorable, delicious slice of maple cream pie:

This looked to me like a former auto repair shop. Or maybe they were fixing it up for some other use as someone had put in a new overhead door and some siding:

This building was no longer used and looked like a former gas station to me:

An old store front, apparently now a home:

The Jug. I guessed this to be a bar:

A nice home with a clever fence, solar panels and a window filled with shelves:

All decorated for Halloween:

A stately home with a red door and a large tree. But North Lawrence had lots more to see and I kept driving and snapping photos. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: