Glorious October

October, sort of the opposite of March, comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lion. This year, early October brought lots of Monarch butterflies. This one was in the pasture, near the compost pile:

 And a number of them swarmed the New England Asters in the front yard:

 Monarchs don't hold still often, and usually close their wings when they do, so I was excited to get some nice photos of them on the Asters:

 And the new, baby roses put out a last burst of flowers. This one was the Emily Carr:

And the Morden Sunrise:

 The Rugosa roses on the side of the house also continued to bloom:

 The giant sunflowers were almost finished blooming and their seed was now feeding the wild birds, but a few tiny miniature sunflowers continued to bloom at their feet:

 Perhaps the last vase of flowers to go to church this year consisted of some small sunflowers, three kinds of roses (Morden Sunrise, Emily Carr and a Morden Blush bud), one Delphinium, New England Asters and a branch of dark red leaves from the Ninebark bush:

And the local scenery took on the look of October with roadside displays of pumpkins for sale:

 Red Sumac and purple New England Asters along the road:

 I stopped at a bridge over the St. Regis River to take this photo:

 Then I walked out toward the middle of the bridge to get more of the river in the picture. October in the north country is a wonderful time of year:

Autumn Color - Part 2

I was driving home from dropping Fergus and Seamus off at the groomer, and photographing the autumn color I saw along the way (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):

This corn field was half harvested, and a silage wagon stood waiting for the activity to begin again:

Yellow gold and green:

When I got to my own road, I knew of a small corn field surrounded by brilliant color and I was looking forward to photographing it. It had been recently harvested:

I parked next to the road and walked down the dirt lane to get a better look at the autumn color. Sometimes I walked out into the corn stubble to get a wider shot:

Spectacular color:

I'd thought this red was maple but when I got closer, discovered it was not. I didn't recognize the leaves, but a glimpse of the trunk suggested it was probably American Hornbeam, also called Musclewood because of its smooth, sinewy look:

I'd expected that this lane by the corn stubble would be spectacular, and it did not disappoint:

Oranges and reds:

And nearer the ground, there were plenty of purple New England Asters:

I stepped back into the corn field for this shot:

I was just leaving when I noticed this maple branch, a burst of electric color out of a wall of green:

Autumn Color - Part 1

I dropped Seamus and Fergus off at the groomer for their autumn haircuts. On the way home, I noticed what beautiful autumn scenery surrounded me, so I took a few detours in order to get some photos:

We were only at 40% color at the time according to the weather report, but it was glorious color:

I'd say that the woods bordering farm fields were more than 40% along:

These old hay bales appeared to have been there beside the road for years, but they framed the picture nicely:

One of the roads I took was called Pleasant Valley Road, which was fitting:

I've become adept at recognizing Roughleaf Dogwood in spring bloom and autumn color, even from a distance. That's it in the bottom right hand corner:

I took a detour though a tiny settlement called West Stockbridge and passed by this lovely lake:

The trees on the far side were beginning to take on color, and the lake itself was filled with Canada Geese and waterlilies:

The shoreline of the lake was home to New England Asters, dried Queen Anne's Lace and Cattails:

And the trees beside the lake were displaying lovely colors:

I took one last photo of the lake and then continued on my way:

Passing through farm country, I kept my eyes open for trees abutting hay fields and corn fields. But I knew there were even more colorful trees to be seen as I got closer to home, so I kept going. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Beauty As We Move Into Autumn

The little garden where I'd removed the giant stump (well, most of it anyway) was slowing down and the Yarrow appeared to be mostly finished blooming for the year:

 There were a few white flowered plants, but I feared they'd drop their seed and increase in number, so I cut off any remaining white flower stalks, leaving the fancier colors, which I prefer:

 The fantail pigeons have finished nesting and all the babies but one appeared to be on their own, no longer requiring their parents to feed them:

 Alas, they began to look kind of shopworn and unhealthy, so I put medication into their water:

The little hens still look plenty healthy, so I haven't given them any medication:

 Their egg laying has dropped to about one small egg per day. Soon it will be no eggs at all:

 Many flowers are still blooming, so I brought three more vases of them to church. This one included Frans Hals Daylilies, Tree Hydrangea and some of the very smallest sunflowers:

 Green sepals from former Rose Mallows, purple (wild) New England Asters, pink Rose Mallows, Tree Hydrangea and two colors of roses (magenta and orange):

All sunflowers, various sizes and colors:

 Far less attractive was the barn floor, soaked with horse urine and manure. I was able to scoop up most of it with the tractor, but had to fork it into the bucket as I got toward the end:

 A giant puffball appeared beneath the bottom wire of the electric fence alongside the gravel road. It grew rapidly. Last time one grew there, the Amish woman from down the road asked for it (many people love to eat them) but so far this year she hasn't asked. I don't find them edible at all. They look like Styrofoam and I found them to be just about as tasty as Styrofoam:

We've had a lot of Monarch butterflies this year. They are flying everywhere but don't generally hold still long enough for me to get a photo. This one landed on the Frans Hals Daylilies, and held still just long enough for me to get a picture:

Wetlands And Wildflowers - Part 3

The dogs and I had walked eastward on the Rutland Trail (see also previous two posts), but had turned back toward our parked car:

I was amazed at the spectacular display of New England Asters:

And the dogs were by this point walking calmly with me instead of running ahead:

They always seemed to aim for the puddles, though:

Clover, ever the little adventurer, pushed back through the brush towards a wetland area. Then she decided against it and watched me to see if we were continuing on. We were, so she came with us:

 The Snowy Egret was right were we'd left it, but the angry Canada Goose had left in a huff:

And on we walked, passing by Asters, Goldenrod and Roughleaf Dogwood on our way:

I try to stop the dogs from drinking out of puddles, but sometimes they do so anyway:

More New England Asters:

And tired, muddy dogs:

 Evening Primrose in bloom:

A stop to smell something interesting:

And then onward through the autumn color:

With the end of the trail getting close, the dogs picked up their speed:

They'd had a grand time but were now anxious to get back to the car and rest:

I took one last photo of the pond, a fitting example of the autumnal beauty all around us: