Degrasse State Forest - Part 1

We'd never been to Degrasse State Forest before, so one morning the dogs and I drove there, about 40 miles southwest of home. I found a place to park off the rough dirt road and opened my car door, only to discover a large Viper's Bugloss plant in full bloom. It was prickly and I had to step over it to get out of the car:

We hit the trail immediately. It was smooth enough to drive on - possibly better than the road we came in on, but we were there to hike, not drive:

The dogs were, as always, beside themselves with joy and kept trying to run ahead. That meant that I spent the first half of the hike calling them back:

We passed through a mixed forest of conifers and hardwoods, with so much underbrush that I never attempted leaving the trail. The dogs pretty much stayed on the trail also:

 I thought this was Spotted Knapweed, but it was too big. So I looked it up when I got home and decided that it was Black Knapweed:

It was a pleasant hike and we arrived before it got too hot, which is part of why it was so pleasant:

  I stopped at a patch of Wild Ginger. This plant blooms in the early spring so I've never seen its odd, brown flowers. This year I thought of it when the time was right but didn't want to hike in the chilly, muddy weather. Maybe some day I'll actually do it and get to photograph the flowers:

We took a side trail which I knew from the map would lead to an oxbow, a loop of the Grasse River which had become disconnected from the river and now exists as a sort of long, skinny, looping pond. The dogs saw the water below them and broke into a run:

The bottom was smooth and the water cool, so the dogs enjoyed it immensely. They've had a lot of water to play in this year and have come to regard it as a wonderful thing. Only Clover shies away sometimes:

Seamus immersed himself while Daphne and Fergus waded along the shore, where Jack had already gone back to so he could roll for joy:

The sun reflected off the water as the dogs lingered there:

I took a photo of the Oxbow, looking south. It looks just like a river, which it once was before it became disconnected. It sure was lovely. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Around The Farm In Late Summer

I had far fewer apples than usual this year, but a few hardy trees are producing them anyway:

The plum tree was loaded with fruit but it appeared as if my straightening of the tree set back the ripening. I don't mind, as I only eat a few anyway:

  I do, however, certainly mind the regrowth of the Burdock and Thistles in my fields. I spent an afternoon once again weed-whacking them. The thicker stems had to be cut with lopping shears:

 The fantail pigeons have had several afternoon community baths. It's fun to watch them as they appear to be giddy with joy, splashing and playing like happy children:

 I cut down the remaining Blue Sea Holly flower stems. There are no flowers left in my little rock garden, though maybe something will rebloom in autumn:

 One day the pink Rose Mallows began to open. They are spectacular:

 More opened the next day. The red flowers always open later, so they are yet to come:

 I got onto a Sunflower kick and found a website which offered seeds of many varieties. I prepared a sunflower garden alongside the dogs' fence and adjacent to the Day Lily garden. I ordered four varieties of seeds, which I'll show in the pictures below. The website, if you are interested, is here:

 I ordered Cherry Rose seeds, the fastest to bloom:

 And Little Becka, a dwarf plant with 5" flowers:

 Red Wave, a short variety with short, branching stems and plenty of big, red flowers:

 I also ordered Pastiche, a variety of multi-colored flowers on branching stems. I put so much compost in the sandy soil that I expect to have a sunflower bumper crop next year:

In Search Of The Folklore Of St. Johnswort

St. Johnswort of course is known as an antidepressant and has many other medicinal uses. It has also been believed to hold magical powers through the centuries such as foretelling one's longevity, conjuring up evil spirits or protecting one from evil spirits.

But the legend I wanted to pursue was that of the plant's sap on the day of St. John's beheading. The way I originally heard it, the sap of St. Johnswort would turn red on that day, which is usually observed on August 29. Many years ago I checked and found that the sap was actually sort of red, which fueled my curiosity. This year I promised myself I'd try again as we got close to August 29.

I went out to the ditch along the county road to check for myself and was amazed at the abundance of colorful wildflowers. In this photo alone, I see Goldenrod, Butter-and-Eggs, Orpine (our wild Sedum) and Deptford Pinks. Of course there are many other plants without flowers too:

 Another angle, showing Queen Anne's Lace, Opine, Goldenrod, Deptford Pink and Butter-and-Eggs:

 It was all fascinating and photogenic, but I was after St. Johnswort, and I knew there was some nearby:

 I found a plant and broke off a stem. Alas, I couldn't find any sap at all. Perhaps our drought had left the interior of the plants low on sap this summer. I read one account saying that St. Johnswort sap turns red when it contacts air, which would explain my earlier experience, but of course that would only work when the plant has enough sap to ooze out:

 I went out again later, this time to the far south field fence line. It was filled with Joe-Pye-Weed and Jewelweed, another wildflower rich in folklore:

.
 There is an orange flowered species and a yellow flowered species. Mine appeared to be a hybrid. I know that's possible, but I wonder if it's likely:

 The fence line was also abloom with Blue Vervain;

 But again, I was there to check the sap of St. Johnswort. I found another plant and broke the stem in search of sap. Again I couldn't find any, not even a micro-drop. Perhaps the next time I check, it will have to be in June, when St. John's birth is celebrated. Maybe they'll have more sap then. So I never got proof or disproof of the legend, but I did enjoy being outdoors on a beautiful August afternoon:

From The County Fair Back To The 1950s

My sister was visiting, and we were attending the Franklin County Fair in Malone, New York (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). We'd already seen the goats, cattle, horses and most of the poultry. This white turkey was our last stop before exiting the poultry barn:

We ambled over to the midway, but it was too early and too rainy to find much excitement there:

Next we headed to the 4H Barn, where we saw a sleeping pig named Legend. The sign said he was a registered Berkshire boar, four years old. It appeared to me that Legend didn't care about anything but getting his sleep and food:

There were lambs and baby chicks and honey bee exhibits:


We treated ourselves to a maple milkshake and I liked this egg size display. We walked through the commercial barn, stopping to look closely at a leather working booth where I bought a new wallet:

Then we walked out to the arena and grandstands, where there appeared to be some kind of horse competition. Like the children with goats we saw earlier, though, this turned out to be a practice session for the real judging yet to come:

It was lunchtime by then, so we left the fair and headed to Bokie's Diner, just up the road a couple of miles from the fairgrounds. Bokie's is a pink and chrome recreation of a 1950s drive-in, a favorite summertime stop:

Even the parking lot was fun. My sister tried out being Marilyn Monroe:

And we both joined in as ice cream scoops, though my head didn't fit into the hole:

My sister as Betty Boop:

We headed for the door to see what the menu had to offer:

Inside was decorated in 1950s style, with period music playing on the jukebox. The menu was big on hamburgers, fried shrimp, etc:

The tabletops were covered with 1950s newspaper clippings, postcards and old class photos:

We enjoyed our lunch and left for home, but first I wanted to try being Marilyn Monroe. Perhaps this was my true self:

The Franklin County Fair - Part 1

On the second day of my sister's visit, we took a drive to Malone, New York in order to see the Franklin County Fair. We began in the goat barn and with this friendly face:

I used to have dairy goats and still think they're one of the best animals there is. They're certainly about the friendliest:

  This sign was on a pen full of youngsters. It was clever and I got a chuckle out of it:

  Goats love people and they begged for attention:

We walked across the lane to visit the horse barn, stopping along the way to greet this friendly cat with giant feet and extra toes:

This warning caused me to be careful. I think this horse was like Remy - friendly, but inclined to explore with his mouth:

Next stop was the cow barn. It was all dairy cattle on that day. Beef cattle would be exhibited later in the week:

Lots of people stayed right there with their livestock:

And they kept them immaculately clean. I figured they must have to pick up manure every 15 minutes or so to keep them so clean. Cleaning up urine soaked bedding might be more difficult:

These cows are obviously well cared for and accustomed to much handling:

We walked over to the arena and saw what at first appeared to be children showing their goats in front of a judge. We watched for awhile and learned that the actual competition was the next day but the judge was giving pointers to the children, explaining what to do and what not to do. It was fun to watch:

Next was the poultry barn, where we found these Guinea Fowl:

And Buff Laced Polish chickens:

And quite a few Peacocks. But there was still much to see at the fair. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: