Dogs And Cats At Home

Summer has been good for the dogs, who got to spend a lot of time outside. But did they appreciate it? No, mostly they wanted back indoors:

Bramble has spent most of his time lounging around:

Draco, sadly, developed pneumonia and stopped eating. I began tempting him with special foods and hamburger. But his appetite continued to decline:

He became so ill that I rushed him to the vet. The first antibiotic didn't work, so we tried another. That seemed to be effective, but his recovery was so slow that I had to put him through another week of it. He was not happy about that:

Seamus and Jack in their back yard run:

Fergus, Clover and Daphne:

Seamus knows where to find a bit of shade:

The Rugosa Roses began blooming and filled the air with a wonderful, sweet scent:

The dogs always have their eyes on me - at least when they're not busy barking their fool heads off at passing cars and especially at Amish wagons:

Jack's belly bands were such a success that I ordered two of them for Fergus also. Oddly, Fergus seemed to enjoy wearing his, and he looked kind of cute with the pirate motif:

When it's time to make dinner, I have everyone's full attention:

Jack doesn't like his belly band much but he has no choice. He can go up stairs with it on but at first couldn't get back down the stairs without assistance. He did learn, however, and now can go both up and down the stairs while wearing a belly band:

Remy's And Blue's Excellent Adventures

Remy always was the extrovert of the two, strutting his stuff wherever he went:

Blue is shy and likes to hang out with the placid Red Poll girls:

But the two little horses play together, often vigorously. In fact they are seldom separated:

One rainy day I could find neither cows nor horses. Worried, I walked out into the wet pasture to find them. I found the cattle, hiding beneath some trees. But there were no horses. I began to worry:

But a few more steps revealed Blue and Remy, both soaking wet, standing behind the cows:

I tried to coax Remy back into the barn, knowing that Blue would follow, but he wanted no part of it:

And one day the vet arrived to geld (neuter) both boys and give them their vaccinations. Remy was first, requiring extra sedative and flying backwards, landing on his back when the anesthetic took effect. He required more sedative to keep him unconscious, but the vet got the job done:

Then it was Blue's turn. He required very little anesthetic and it took him longer to come out of it:

Afterwards, they were a sorry looking pair:

I kept them indoors for the first night. Since I didn't have any hay left, I hauled in armloads of green grass:

Both horses refused to eat any grain with antibiotic powder on it. Even with maple syrup on top, they still refused. Eventually, though, all was fine. Now I own two geldings instead of two stallions:

Around The Farm

The pigeons got a double tub bath. It's fun to watch them splash and play:

They continued to be shy about going outdoors, but sometimes just can't resist:

The chickens continued to roam the property. Under the giant Mock Orange bush was always a favorite place:

And occasional forays into the cows' pasture for bugs and dropped grain:

Sunning themselves in the Iris bed:

They have always enjoyed being in the middle of whatever is going on:

Alas, I began losing chickens. First one hen disappeared and then, eight days later, another hen plus the rooster disappeared. I found no telltale pile of feathers but some predator must have eaten them. I began locking the pigeons and the remaining chickens indoors all day. They don't like it, but I hope whatever predator has been after them will give up after a week or so and go elsewhere. It worked last year with the fox:

The big excitement in these parts was the painting of new stripes on the county road. Most places, that would not be worth a photo, but here it was an occasion:

Tiger Swallowtails hatched all at once and began to brighten the property:

They are beautiful butterflies. The Giant Swallowtails, if I have any this year, hatch later:

The Mock Orange began blooming in mid-June:

Rutland Trail, From Hallahan East

I'd finished my chores early and decided to take the dogs back to the nearby Rutland Nature Trail. We began on Hallahan Road as we usually do, but this time headed east instead of west:

Both sides of the trail are marshy and I could hear Green Frogs calling, with their voices which sound like a banjo string being plucked:

The dogs were more interested in smells and having fun:

This pink fuzz intrigued me, so I took a photo and hoped to identify it when I got home. Alas, I can find nothing online which even resembles it. I suspect it's of insect origin, but I really don't know. Does anyone out there recognize it?:

An old track bed for the Rutland Railroad, this trail is level and straight, elevated above the marshes:

And the views were stunning. Luckily, it was too cold for bugs to be out:

The dogs ran and played, sticking closer to me than usual. I barely had to yell at them at all:

This wonderful rose was, I figured, a Pasture Rose. But when I got home and looked it up, I learned that it could have been a number of species and I hadn't included in the photo the necessary details for identification. So let's just call it a wild rose:

 My knee and both ankles were painful so we didn't go far. I told the dogs we were turning around and they did so joyfully (but of course they do everything joyfully):

Pretty soon there will be a lot of delicious blackberries along this trail:

Seamus and Jack stopped to be sure I wasn't falling behind:

And then we walked the short distance back to our car:

Small Town Charm

I left my walking tour of the lawn display at Martin's Greenhouse (previous two posts) and began driving State Route 11C between Winthrop and Brasher Falls, New York. The houses were lovely and the general aura was of an incredibly pleasant place to live, so I snapped a few pictures:

Nearly all the houses had wonderful front porches. Even brand new homes in these parts usually have porches:

And there were American flags, trees and flowers everywhere:

Many homes were quite large and many had old carriage houses out behind them:

This home had flowers, front porch, trees and carriage house:

A big house with a turret. If I remember correctly, it also sat on the banks of the St. Regis River:

A wrap-around porch with chairs for sitting and chatting:

Two rocking chairs on this porch:

A lovely home, again with an extensive porch:

Elaborate ornamentation with an impressive barn out back:

See what I mean about front porches? What's not to like?:

The last house of this series was in wonderful condition. Its porch was smaller, but still big enough for small town afternoons and evenings: