A Halloween Visitation

Ghosts, Goblins and Ghouls galore,
This fire fighter will send them out the door:

This gospel singer is looking quite handsome,
Ever since she decided to dye her hair platinum:

Mary Ann from Gilligan's Isle,
Has come to stay and make you smile:

A shark came to frighten this poor little Poodle,
And bit him right on top of his noodle:

This butterfly flew in on purple wings,
With all of the cuteness his presence brings:

A real cool guy with a baseball hat,
Would have chased you if only he wasn't so fat:

Orange-beard the pirate has come to alarm,
She'll frighten you badly when she scratches your arm:

A firefighter came to put out the flames,
She'll kick butt and then she'll surely take names:

"Howdy, Tex," is what you will say,
When this cowgirl rides in to chase you away:

This senorita came to give you a scare,
She'll make you afraid and she'll do it with flair:

There's nothing so frightening, not even a Troll,
As the nonsensical sight of a jester in a bowl:

 Yukon Sam ain't just a schmo,
He's ready for winter and all of its snow:

Farmer Brown already frightened two guys,
They ran when they saw his very blue eyes:

Autumn Activity At The Farm

The baby chicks, pretty much all grown up, began roaming the yard but since 13 out of 18 of them were roosters, I knew things couldn't continue on like that. They were crowing, pooping, fighting and soon to begin bullying the hens:

So I took 12 of the 13 roosters to a Mennonite farm to become miniature roasting chickens. What I had left was one rooster and five hens plus my older Barred Rock bantams:

I picked up twelve little roasters the next day and was shocked at how tiny they were. They looked like long legged pigeons:


Two easily fit in a small roasting pan with potatoes and carrots. I could have fit four, but two at a time was enough. There wasn't much meat on them but they tasted good and made wonderful soup with wide egg noodles:


The cows and horses are fat, shiny and friendly. I began running out of apples in mid October:

I planted some Iris, Fritillaria and Tulips in October for flowers next spring:

The cedar trees on my property produced tiny cones and the old leaves turned a beautiful gold color. Then the old leaves and cones began falling, covering my back porch every day:


I often get glorious sunsets and sunrises but this western sky at dusk was one of the most spectacular. I wish the camera could pick up the mysterious inner glow of such sights. They are breathtaking:

My high school fiftieth class reunion was in October. I couldn't go, but a former classmate and her husband drove out to visit after the reunion was over. We fed apples to the cattle:

And also to the miniature horses:

It's hard to believe we haven't seen each other or spoken (except via Facebook) in fifty years:

My classmate was a former horsewoman and knew just how to win Blue's heart. He's generally shy and standoffish but quickly warmed up to her:

Santa Clara River Access - Part 2

The dogs and I were exploring the shoreline of the St. Regis River in Santa Clara, New York, an Adirondack site only 18 miles from home. It's become one of my favorite places:

Blackberries lined one side of the trail with their brilliant red fall colors:

And every time we went down to the river's edge, the dogs reacted with joy as if they hadn't just seen it several minutes earlier:

Clover and Daphne went into the water but I doubted Jack would do so. I've seen him fall into the water but not go in voluntarily:

But in he went. He seemed to consider it great fun:

And he clearly felt proud of himself as he came back out:

For my part, I was happy to stand still and survey the Adirondack beauty:

But as always happens, it soon came time for us to return to our parked car:

We made one very brief side trip into a grove of White Pines:

And then continued on our way:

Jack bolted as soon as our car came into view, but the other dogs were mostly well behaved:

As for me, my damaged ankles were painful but otherwise I was as happy as the dogs:

Santa Clara River Access - Part 1

We had a gorgeous, sunny autumn day and I didn't want to do any work, so I drove the dogs south into the Adirondack Park and stopped at the St. Regis River Access at Santa Clara, New York:

We parked near the boat launch and piers, where I stood and quietly scanned the beautiful river:

The dogs, however, were certainly not quiet, running around the piers, up and down the hill and seemingly everywhere:

I knew they were anxious, so we all set off for the trail along the river:

It begins in the woods, where I'd hoped to see some blue Gentians in bloom. Alas, I was much too late. Nothing was in bloom any more:

There was a lot of beauty though, as with these mosses and Reindeer Lichens:

Lowbush Blueberries were common, sporting their finest autumn red leaves:

We hadn't gone far when we saw a trail down to the river. Of course we took it:

Seamus was the first dog in the water, though he didn't go in any deeper than this:

We walked along the water's edge and I was grateful the dogs didn't notice this dead Bullhead:

Then we walked back the other direction. Well, I walked, but the dogs ran full speed:

Daphne went into the water. We were having a wonderful morning, but we'd just gotten started. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Coveytown Road In Burke, New York - Part 2

I was driving Coveytown Road in rural Burke, New York (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). All along the length of it were family farms and large fields. Both the barns and the fields were larger than commonly seen around here, and they certainly were scenic:

A sugar house, with a small family vegetable garden beside it:

A smaller family home:

Another country home:

An old fashioned, large barn - or series of barns:

Another large barn, with silo and grain bin:

A colorful herd of dairy heifers:

This wonderful house caused me to stop and admire it. The pink flowers, the clothesline out back and the two tiered front porch were exceptional:

Another old country home with drying laundry and a big front porch:

A horse pasture (I guessed), set back from the road and bordered by colorful autumn foliage:

Farm house and barn, both the old fashioned green color which once upon a time was the style in these parts, with autumn leaves, pasture and bird house beside it:

Another view of the above house, this one showing a new barn under construction and a red (not green) barn in the background:

Coveytown Road became narrower, unpaved and more sparsely populated as I continued westward, but I stopped to admire and photograph this big barn in excellent repair:

My last photo of the day was this country home, built in what I call the New England style, with all the buildings, including the barn, connected for easier use in winter weather: