Winter Arrives On The Farm

Autumn in the North Country was pleasant, and the new hens made friends with the old hens. They enjoyed their freedom together:

 They pecked and scratched for food in safety now that it appears the foxes are gone:

 Four of the new hens:

 All five of the new hens. As "Easter Egger bantams," they should lay blue and green eggs. They are smaller bodied than my Barred Rock bantams, however, so I suspect their eggs will be smaller:

 I ended the season with 21 white fantail pigeons:

 They too enjoyed the autumn as long as it lasted:

 The cattle and horses have been getting hay for some time now but they still found some grass to eat in the field. To my surprise, every big windstorm brought down more apples and the herd always got a treat the next day:

 And then one day it began to snow. The winds howled out of the west, driving snow through even the smallest cracks in the barn walls and causing the herd to shelter on the east side of the barn:

 And as the storm strengthened, I saw two foxes playing atop my hay bales. They ran when they saw me (you can see one behind the gate) but I was alarmed. Luckily, I'd had to lock up the birds for the winter because of the storm anyway. The calves chased the foxes playfully and it would have been cute except for my worries for the chickens and pigeons:

 My one yellow apple tree retained many apples up in its highest branches and they glistened like Christmas tree ornaments as the snow landed on them:

 The storm blew for two days and I spent many hours shoveling and plowing with the tractor:

 And of course I put out the bird feeders for the winter, much to Georgette's delight. Now she has birds to watch through the window to keep her entertained: