Around The Farm In Autumn

It's been a beautiful autumn thus far, and this double rainbow over the north field is a good example:

And the fantail pigeons are healthy, happy and breeding rapidly. This photo was taken from inside the barn, looking out their window:

One pair has produced all the babies this summer. They have raised four babies in three nests and are currently working on a fourth nest. One parent sets on the eggs of the new nest while the other parent feeds the babies from the previous nest:

In the early morning light when I first open up the barn and let the birds out:

New England Asters bloomed profusely, all along the roadsides:

This handsome caterpillar looked like one I'd read about and I vaguely remembered that it had poisonous spines. I photographed it but didn't touch it. Then I went indoors and looked it up. Indeed, I am pretty sure that it was a Yellow-Spotted Tussock Moth caterpillar and they do indeed have bristles which are irritating and some people are allergic to them:

The Mountain Ash leaves turned bright yellow, contrasting nicely with the red berries:

The bantams covered every inch of the yard. The bigger of the two roosters was looking for his hens in this photo:

Here are two of his hens, pecking around at the old silo base:

Another was giving the lawn beneath the apple trees a good going over:

I was on my way to the feed store when I passed a neighbor's hay field, backed up by trees in autumn color:

Indeed, it's been a wonderful autumn thus far. Now we are all hoping for a mild winter. After what we endured last winter, we deserve a break: