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:

Flowers, Pigeons, Chickens

August this year brought abundant flowers, so many that one Sunday I brought four vases of them to church. This one contained four colors of Daylilies and Blue Sea Holly (looks a bit like thistles):

Yellow Heliopsis, red Echinacea, blue Delphinium and red/green leafy branches from a Ninebark bush:

All wildflowers from alongside the road: Pink Joe-Pye-Weed, yellow Goldenrod and Purple Loosestrife:

White Tree Hydrangeas, multicolored Sunflowers and pink and red Yarrow:

Meanwhile, the little hens were living comfortable lives in their coop inside the barn:

They all get along well together and I never see any fighting. They have no rooster, but I sometimes hear crowing coming from their coop. I looked it up and learned that sometimes, in the absence of a rooster, one hen will become more masculine and began crowing:

It was me, and I keep everybody on their toes!

Egg production is way down, which is fine with me. This day I had only two small eggs, one pink and one green. Soon, as we head toward winter, there will be none:

The white fantail pigeons in the adjoining room are multiplying at a fast clip:

This mother had a nest on the floor with a six day old baby:

A nest up on a shelf had two recently hatched babies. The parents are on them so much that I haven't been able to get another photo since this one:

Around The Farm

Summer is a busy time. Remy has mostly been a good boy, staying in his corral and not causing trouble except sometimes when he balks about returning to the barn in the evening. I don't think he objects to the barn, but sometimes freaks out when we walk through the opening in the electric fence. He doesn't mind going through in the other direction and he doesn't mind if I tie him to a fence post for a minute before leading him through the opening. I have no idea why that helps, but it does:

 Blue is more easily frightened but is also more compliant, so he's always (well, almost always) a good boy:

 They still get lots of hay in their corral and it's time for me to start worrying about the Box Elder tree in their yard, which is covered with (poisonous) seeds. When they start dropping, the horsey boys will have to stay in the barn until it is safe in their corral again:

The Red Poll herd makes frequent trips from the pasture in to the barn because that's where the stock tank is located:

 But mostly they eat grass and lounge around the pasture, always swatting at the pesky flies:

 Violet is timid and easily frightened, despite her large size:

Indoors, Sammy and Bugsy relaxed on one of the yoga mats:

 Clover, Fergus and Daphne napped on the big green floor pillow:

 Daisy hopped up on a chair and rolled over, begging me to pet her. I rubbed her cheeks, which she likes, because I know better than to rub her belly:

Flowers, both wild and cultivated, are blooming prolifically, and I try to bring a vase full of them to church each Sunday. Last week I brought three vases. This one included orange Asiatic Lilies, Blue Sea Holly, wild Cattails, a Ninebark branch with burgundy colored leaves, and white (wild) Bouncing Bet:

 This vase had two colors of Asiatic Lilies, purple Veronica, pink Yarrow and yellow (wild) St. Johnswort:

 This vase contained two kinds of roses, orange Echinacea and white (wild) Bouncing Bet:

A Season Of Life

The fantail pigeons are all looking healthy and content with their lives, good examples of what I meant when I entitled this post "A Season of Life:"

Furthermore, they seem to be more successful than usual raising babies this season. This pair had two hatchlings in an unlikely spot but they've done a great job of feeding them and keeping them warm:

And the two babies have been wise enough to stay on their narrow shelf. Jumping down to the floor could subject them to pecking by other adults:

The little hens are likewise comfortable and without any stress:

The cherry tree began to show red cherries, and I was immediately drawn to it:

Only the pure red ones are ripe, and even they are not particularly sweet:

But they were tasty, and I truly enjoyed my trips beneath the branches while I was on the riding mower. Each pass by the cherry tree enabled me to stop for a couple of ripe cherries:

We had so much rain that mushrooms appeared in the lawn and pasture. This row was near the cherry tree. Yes, my lawn has almost as many weeds as grass:

The old fashioned rose which I'd saved several years ago (and then drastically cut back this year) finally bloomed, filling the air with its scent. Behind it are the two Ninebark bushes and the old silo base which is filled with Elderberries in bloom:

A closeup of the old fashioned roses:

And a better view of the Elderberries:

Up close, the Elderberry blossoms look a lot like Queen Anne's Lace:

It's Flower And Pigeon Season

The white fantail pigeons are having a good summer:

They are looking healthy and acting energetic:

And they've been making nests. Baby pictures should appear in blog posts soon:

The Morden Blush rose was planted last year and is blooming prolifically this year:

The Morden Sunrise started blooming later than its relative, but these flowers are showstoppers:

Both Morden roses are planted next to each other, so they make a striking display:

After dragging the cedar and apple trees into the woods, I went out and bought a clevis for any future towing jobs I may have:

Finally, the Mandarin Honeysuckle formed buds and I was anxious to see the flowers:

When they opened, I was pleased. My mother used to have a honeysuckle bush although I don't think it was the same type. Nonetheless, having this plant brings back memories:

The Ninebark bush dropped all its white flowers, but the remaining bracts were bright red and, I think, prettier than the flowers:

One might easily mistake these for flowers, but they're not:

One of the new baby roses, the Watercolors Home Run, has been blooming regularly already: