Around The Farm

I had twenty white fantail pigeons when the season began. Two died and no babies were born. Then two babies were hatched and began to grow. Then this mama bird built a nest on the floor next to a bucket of water. I'm still waiting to see if her eggs hatch:

The first of the previously mentioned babies (not from the nest on the floor) successfully left the nest and learned to eat pelleted food:

The second baby was a couple of weeks behind, but it too has now left the nest and is on its way to becoming a healthy adult. Now I'm back up to twenty birds and hoping that the floor nest will produce a couple more success stories:

They all looked pretty ratty in early October but I think they were molting, getting ready for the long, cold winter. Now they're looking better again:

The New England Asters bloomed all along the roadsides for a month. They seemed to be getting more intense color as time went on but are mostly only a memory now:

Even the old fashioned Peony plants turned vivid colors this autumn:

My little weasel family must be gone because I now have a large population of chipmunks. They are as destructive as mice but much cuter:

I made a regular afternoon routine of giving apples to the horses and cattle. Little Tabitha has developed a powerful curiosity about what kind of strange creature I am:

And the fly population has dropped sharply. The cool and colorful afternoons are quite lovely as the animals graze:

The little roosters (13 out of 18 chicks) developed into lovely birds and began to explore the yard around the house, moving farther each day:

One morning they moved out under the apple trees and discovered the joys of eating apples:

They seemed to be everywhere and I enjoyed seeing them. Of course I can't keep so many roosters, but I enjoyed them while I could: