Peru Street In Winter - Part 3

I was nearing the end of Peru Street and still photographing the rural beauty of upstate New York. This giant old barn appeared to be no longer in use:

But it was part of a farm, so maybe they were still farming. With everything closed down for the cold winter weather, it was hard to tell:

A field full of snow covered farm equipment, sitting idle:

A hay wagon and a hay rake, with extensive fields stretching out behind. Even farms which have discontinued other activities often continue making hay:

I passed this log cabin in the woods:

And another giant old barn, this one set behind a stone wall:

A wonderful old home with a giant stone fireplace chimney and a front porch of incredible beauty:

This old farm house was set behind the trees and looked very "New England" to me:

An old auto garage and tow truck, which looked as if they'd both been sitting idle since the 1950s:

Sheds and gazebo, part of someone's property:

An old horse trailer:

I reached the end of Peru Road and turned onto State Route 11 where the business of Adirondack Storage Sheds had many amazing structures to offer. My driving tour had come to an end and I headed home to tend to my animals:

Peru Street In Winter - Part 2

My driving tour of Peru Street continued past this farm with a number of small houses, large barns and silo:

The barn was magnificent, with a silo and grain bin attached:

Another Amish farm advertised baskets, produce and maple syrup:

The barn, though old, was in excellent shape:

This was the second extra large Amish farm on Peru Street:

A closer look at the house and porch:

And on the same farm, an Amish sawmill from which they sold lumber:

A smaller, modern barn with an RV and an arbor of some kind. I thought it was a grapevine when I saw it, but now I wonder:

Another woodland, this one in the process of turning from hardwood to coniferous:

A third, more modest Amish farm:

The Amish home was smaller and simpler, but full of charm:

This huge, grand, old barn appeared to be unused now. It was so very large that I was impressed. And yet Peru Street continued on. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

Peru Street In Winter - Part 1

It was a cold but sunny day, so I set out on a driving tour of Peru Street, which runs between State Route 11B in the town of Dickinson to State Route Route 11 in the town of Lawrence. The first house I photographed was this magnificent structure, with a wall full of picture windows and a wraparound porch on the second story. What wonderful views they must have!:

There were corn fields everywhere and on both sides of the road. My camera scared off two crows from this field and I saw flocks of Snow Buntings, the first this season, but they were too wary for me to get a photo of them. I'll keep trying, though, and sooner or later will get a picture of Snow Buntings:

A picturesque cabin, set back in the trees, with a woodshed attached:

A modern house, again with picture windows and porch, set back in the woods:

And speaking of woodlands, there were plenty along Peru Road, some hardwoods and some coniferous:

A small house with a nice porch and bird feeders:

Amish corn shocks, so far off the road that I had to use my zoom lens to photograph them. There was a very large field full of them, and an indication of the large Amish population I would encounter along Peru Street:

And I did indeed see many Amish farms, many of them large, elaborate and immaculately kept:

I continued on, getting a closer view of the first Amish farm with its multiple barns, silos and windmill:

An even closer view, showing the ubiquitous clothesline, from which hung Amish clothing:

A horse barn and farm equipment:

A small house with Christmas decorations. But Peru Street was long and there was much more to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Happy Pets At Home

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful," but the dogs don't seem to mind. In fact, most of the time they appear to enjoy it, possibly because I don't leave them outside in the cold for very long:

 Jack is more than likely the happiest he's ever been in his life. It wasn't long ago the shelter didn't know how they would place him, given his extreme fear, biting and screaming. But just look at the happy boy now:

 And Bramble too has come a long way since he was so antisocial at the shelter. Now he seeks me out to stroke his back. He still doesn't want to be held, but he recognizes me as a source of food and petting - and I often hear him purr now, something I never heard from him before. In case you wondered, that is a Mexican water drum beside Bramble. It's a clay pot with a skin stretched across the top. The amount of water you add will change the tone of the drum:

 Daphne, on the other hand, has always been perfectly behaved and as loving as a dog could possibly be:

 And when the dogs get outside to play in the snow, they sure do have fun:

 Daisy has become perhaps the most loving cat in the house. I'm sure glad the antibiotics worked, though she is still on them - just in case. She still has one eye which is half closed and cloudy, but it too is slowly improving:

 I now give the dogs rawhide chewies each night when we go to bed in order to help keep their teeth clean. Jack chews his chewies underneath the bed but the other dogs share the wealth peacefully:

 I put Dixie on the bed with the dogs for a photo but they all sort of ignored each other. That's how I ended up with a photo of Dixie alone:

 This scene of destruction means that Bugsy has been playing here. He plays rough:

A Christmas Wish

From Bill and all the animals at Windswept Farm, have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year.
The dogs are (left to right) Daphne, Fergus, Seamus, Jack and Clover.
Not shown:
The cats are Rocky, Daisy, Bramble, Georgette and Bugsy.
The guinea pig is Dixie.
The miniature horses are Blue and Remy.
The cattle are Jasmine, Amy, Gracie, Scarlett, Violet, Rosella, Tabitha and Maggie.
 The white fantail pigeons and bantam hens are unnamed and numerous.

Puppets, Animation And Music For Christmas Eve!

I happened on to these videos and thought they'd make a wonderful post for Christmas Eve. The first is the traditional Christmas story, told with puppets and a reworded version of "Bohemian Rhapsody." The resulting video was appropriately titled "Bethlehemian Rhapsody." I send it to you with my wish that you have a wonderful Christmas Eve:


And also there is this animated version of "Joy To The World." I found it charming, another perfect video for Christmas Eve:

Blue And Remy, Christmas Horses

To my surprise, the miniature horses seem more immune to the cold than do the cattle. Remy came out to watch what I was doing on this frigid morning:

And blue moved in to look for any edible waste hay while the cattle ate the new bale I'd brought them:

Remy always comes to greet me when I'm outside in the field. Mostly that is pleasant, but he also likes to steal tools and cause mischief:

Blue and Remy with the cattle. The previous hay bale was almost gone and it was nearly time for me to provide them with another:

Inside the barn, where Blue and Remy can also go. There is always fresh, clean hay and shelter available. The cows cannot get inside except on exceptionally rugged nights, but sometimes the calves join the horses. They're just about the same size now:

Hello, out there! Why don't you come inside with us?

Blue and Remy have only been kept in their stall twice so far this winter. I tried a couple other times to get them in but they objected and raised a fuss. In really bad weather, however, they seem happy for the shelter:

Just before I left the barn to retire for the night, I said goodbye to Blue:

And to Remy. Then I turned out the lights: