Around The Farm As Spring Has Sprung

Our weather had been swinging wildly between blizzards, rainstorms, thaws and high winds. We could have all four in a day, but the Red Poll girls just keep calmly eating their hay:

The snow and ice on the pasture began to disappear, making it (I hope) safe for the cows to walk out there:

But mostly the girls snoozed on the waste hay by the east side of the barn:

The pigeons' room badly needs cleaning, and I'll have to get to it soon. Nonetheless, the pigeons are healthy, happy and nesting:

The hens get more ventilation and mostly confine their poop to that corner under the roosts:

This is how the hens get ventilation - I can open the windows and the trap door. The pigeons' room window will open, but not easily and I don't want to remove the insulation around it too early:

Blue and Remy, like the cows, are now eating nothing but hay, and they seem to be thriving:

And they have their own personal pet, a Cottontail rabbit who has come to live in the barn:

He or she is not too afraid of me, allowing me to get this photo:

I thought I was just making a joke about the horses considering their rabbit to be a pet, but one day I entered the barn and found Blue lying down in the hay, face to face with his bunny. Alas, I didn't get my camera out fast enough to get the rabbit in the photo:

And speaking of wildlife, I was just pulling into my driveway one day when I saw this Ruffed Grouse right near me, on the lawn by a cedar tree. I stopped the car, rolled down the window and managed to get this picture as it took off for the woods across the road:

The Akwesasne Cultural Center Museum - Part 1

I'd planned a trip to the Akwesasne Cultural Center for a long time but kept putting it off. Finally, one cold and rainy day, I drove to Hogansburg, New York on the border of the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation to take a look:

Black ash splint and sweetgrass basketry is an important part of Akwesasne heritage, and the museum had lots of examples. That small red one was called a strawberry basket for obvious reasons:

The Akwesasne community is part of the Mohawk Nation and the Cultural Center had a library upstairs and a museum/gift shop downstairs. The exhibits held lots of extra bits of information like this one:

More basketry:

This Bald Eagle was carved from antler by a Mohawk master carver from the Six Nations territory in Ontario:

And there was an entire display case of Mohawk cradle boards, including a drawing which showed how they were used:

Another cradle board:

And yet another cradle board:

More baskets, with an explanation of the cultural importance of black ash and sweetgrass basketry plus the environmental conservation movement to protect these native materials, especially since the appearance of the invasive Emerald Ash Borer:

The partridge, or Ruffed Grouse. The word, "Akwesasne," means land where the partridge drums:

Mortars and pestles, probably for grinding corn. But there was lots more to see at the museum, so I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Old Market Road In The Town Of Stockholm, New York - Part 1

I was on my way home from Potsdam when I decided it was time for another driving tour of a local, rural road. So I turned off onto Old Market Road in the town of Stockholm, just to see what I could see:

It was rather heavily forested, and most of the homes I saw seemed of the suburban type. That made sense since it was close to Potsdam, an easy commute:

The family who owned these ponies was out cutting firewood together. They didn't seem to mind at all when I stopped to snap a photo of their ponies:

I saw a Ruffed Grouse at the edge of the road. He slipped into the brush when I stopped, but I could still see him there, craning his neck to keep an eye on me. Last year there seemed to be Grouse everywhere, but they seem rather scarce this year:

This home was up on top of a small hill and displayed an American flag:

A large, two story home with a double garage:

And at an intersection, an A-frame with fanciful decorations:

The scenery seemed to become less suburban as I drove. This handsome little farmstead had lots of outbuildings, an American flag and a windmill:

I passed through more forest:

And alongside frozen marshes:

This interesting place was set back in the trees:

And I absolutely loved this old barn. But I had just begun my driving tour and there was plenty more yet to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

The Drive Home From The Farm

When it came time for my weekend at the farm to end, I loaded the pooches into the car and headed southward early in the morning. I'd taken so darn many photos over the weekend that I decided not to take any more on the way home. But when a Ruffed Grouse ran across the road causing me to stop and then began displaying as if he dared me to come any closer - well, I had to snap a photo:

We made it all the way to Blue Ridge Road before I took another picture, this time at the beautiful Boreas River at the top of the mountain:

Oops! Seamus, used to sandy river bottoms with gradual slopes, was caught by surprise when he tried to enter the water at this spot. It was filled with large boulders with deep chasms between them. He wisely gave up that endeavor and just enjoyed the shore:

Clover and Daphne danced across the rocks and got a cool drink. And old Winky made it down to the river for a drink of mountain water:

It was all very beautiful and peaceful, but this was only a brief rest stop and we still had many miles to go. So I gave a call and we all began moving back toward the car:

All, that is, except Winky and Wally. They were moving, but very slowly. I was patient and kept encouraging them. When all six dogs were back in the car, we continued on our way:

It would have been a straight run from that point on except that I wanted to stop again at the Adirondack Buffalo Company and get a bit of grass fed Bison meat:

And I loved the view from their observation deck:

These Bison lead a good life:

The pastures are surrounded by mountains:

And the Bison live quietly. I made my purchase and then we continued on our way home:

The Hike To Duck Pond, Part 2

The four younger dogs and I had just begun a November hike to Duck Pond and were traversing an old dirt road through the Adirondack forest. It was a lovely experience:

With almost all the leaves off the deciduous trees, my attention naturally turned toward other natural wonders such as this diverse collection of lichens and mosses. The only one I knew the name of was the wonderfully named Pixie Cups. I don't need to explain which one is the Pixie Cup, do I?:

And then we arrived at a wash-out perhaps eight feet deep through which a small stream passed. Clearly no vehicles could pass beyond that even if the gate was opened. But we simply walked down and back up to continue our hike on the other side:

The downstream side of the small brook which had apparently caused the washout:

And the upstream side where it burbled its way down from higher elevations:

I took this picture to remind me to tell you about the grouses which were abundant and allowed us to walk right up to them or, in many cases, past them before they flew off in a huff. I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that for one stretch of the trail, a grouse appeared every ten feet or so. The grouse in this picture is visible only as an oblong blob toward the top of the trees on the left. In real life, it seemed rather close and plainly visible:

We passed a beaver pond on the right down through the trees. I wondered briefly is this might be Duck Pond, but since no trail led to it I decided it was not:

Natural beauty was everywhere. This old log carpeted with emerald moss rivaled anything in any art gallery:

And minor Adirondack mountains were visible here and there through the trees:

The dogs kept stopping and getting fixated on smells along the trail. It turned out to be poop and was so common that I began to investigate them myself. This old one was full of hair and clearly from a carnivore. I began to wonder what animal frequented that trail, but I'll say more about that in upcoming posts:

Another natural work of art, a moss covered boulder. I was truly enjoying this hike: