Autumn Notebook

Both Ruby and Winston enjoyed hanging out near the horses:

And Rosella tried to touch noses with Remy, though the electric fence prevented it:

The very last flowers which went to church. It was communion Sunday and all three vases were placed on a small table with a white cloth underneath. The vase on the left held pink Morden Blush roses. The vase on the right held neon red Emily Carr roses. The vase in the center held yellow Heliopsis, red Yarrow, magenta Rugosa roses and Peony leaves which were turning red:

The trees bordering my north field began to show some gorgeous color:

And I purchased a lifting harness for Seamus. He hasn't needed it much yet, but I know he has periods of lameness when it will be helpful for both him and for me:

My sister brought a new toy for the cats, and both Sammy and Daisy like it very much:

Caspar, Clover and Bugsy like to sleep together on the big, green floor pillow:

Blue claims the morning hay and won't let Remy have any, although he softens once his belly is full:

Remy likes to sneak a bite of vegetation from beneath the bottom electric fence wire:

The Box Elder tree finally began dropping seeds, so I've had to spend much time picking them up twice each day. There is still too much green grass in the pasture for me to let the horses out:

Blue and Remy, my mischievous boys:

I finally got a buyer for Winston, so the next morning I was able to trap him inside the barn. He bawled for his mother and his herd, but was not as upset as previous calves. The buyer also wants to buy Ruby when she's old enough:

Our Favorite St. Regis River Waterfall - Part 2

My sister, her husband and all five dogs had hiked in to the waterfall in Santa Clara, New York (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). We'd seen the base of the falls, so we began climbing the rocky trail which took us upstream:

The trail was lovely and wild, and my sister enjoyed the Adirondack scenery:

I stopped for this scene with Partridgeberry, mushroom and Sphagnum moss. The red and green had a kind of Christmas look to it:

The little dogs ventured out onto some rocks which were too scary for Seamus and me, both of us old and lame. I put Seamus on a leash for safety and the two of us took the safest routes we could find:

The trail took us upstream, where we could see the St. Regis River rushing through a narrow gorge:

But the trail ended, so we returned to the base of the falls:

We took a side trip on another trail along the St. Regis River and stopped to see these two gigantic rocks. Alas, the photo doesn't convey their huge size, but they were mammoth:

The trail had veered away from the river but soon brought us back again:

And once again, the autumn views were lovely and serene:

But soon we were headed back out to our car:

Lynn and Tim posed for a fun photo in the forest, and then we got in the car and drove to another nearby hike. I'll post about that tomorrow:

Our Favorite St. Regis River Waterfall - Part 1

My sister and brother-in-law had come to visit from Ohio, hoping to see some Adirondack scenery and autumn foliage. So of course we headed right out to see the waterfall near home. We hit the short trail which would take us there and the dogs began running for joy:

The pooches could barely contain their enthusiasm. Even old Seamus did a bit of wobbly running:

They'd run ahead, then I'd call them back, which is why you see Jack running toward me while the others are running ahead:

And of course the autumn scenery was lovely:

As we neared the falls, we could hear its roar and we had to step over a number of fallen logs (I had to lift Seamus over them, first his front half, then his back half). This log was covered with what I believe was orange Slime Mold:

And then we arrived at the base of the falls. My sister, Lynn, got there first, along with Daphne and Fergus:

Then my brother-in-law, Tim, arrived and they took pictures:

It's not a high waterfall but it's a roaring cascade of many levels. Furthermore, it's not well known and no one else is ever there:

Tim and a couple of the dogs walked out onto some flat rocks for a better view:

And what a view it was!

Lynn busied herself taking photos, a trait we share. But there was yet more to see, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

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: