The Red Poll Girls

Little Pearl is growing rapidly, but it never seems so because, as the youngest, she's always the smallest of the calves:

 Merlin, Loretta and Pearl were together one day and I got a photo of them:

 Loretta was always a thin, deer-like calf, but she's beginning to fill out and look like the beef cow she's going to be:

 Gladys, on the other hand, has always been a bit stocky:

I've continued to give the Red Poll girls a bucket of apples each afternoon and will continue to do so until the apples run out:

 Rosella is now fifteen months old and very tame. I plan to have her bred so she'll calve next year:

It's a beautiful herd, and passersby sometimes stop just to tell me so:

I waited only a week after the hay was cut and baled before I began letting the girls across the road to eat the fresh grass which was springing up in the north field:

I began letting them across the road every morning, and then bringing them back across to spend the night in the south field, by the barn:

The autumn colors were muted this year, probably because it's been so dry, yet they still made a nice backdrop for photos:

Gracie looked up, hoping I'd come to offer her some kind of treat. Sorry, Gracie, I was just there to snap a picture:

The homestead:

A Stop At Horseshoe Lake

We were on our way up to the farm via Blue Ridge Road and then through the Adirondacks by way of Newcomb, Long Lake and Tupper Lake. But just south of Tupper Lake, I saw a small road to the left which, the sign said, would take us to Horseshoe Lake. I'd never been there, so I turned in that direction. I found a lovely lake whose shoreline was dotted with primitive campsites, spaced far apart. At this time of year, there was no one around anywhere:

I scouted around and decided I liked campsite number one, so I parked and let the dogs out. They were thrilled, though at the time I think their chief excitement was the possibility of finding food or bacon drippings at the fire ring:

But I was excited about the scenic beauty of it all and began walking the lakeside trail. Fergus walked down to the water's edge but wouldn't so much as stick a paw in it, Much too cold:

I had to go back to the fire ring and rouse the Bacon-Dripping-Sniff-Hounds:

And then we all began walking along the lake:

And it was spectacularly beautiful and peaceful:

Wally's eyesight is almost totally gone, but he still has lots of fun and seems to greatly enjoy these outings:

Fergus and Clover ran ahead (as is their custom) and then ran back when I called, as excited to return as they were to run ahead. These dogs know how to enjoy everything:

The three Papillons, AKA "The Silly Sisters," all went down to the lake but never so much as dampened a tootsie. Even Seamus stayed out of the water:

And speaking of Seamus, he was showing Madeline, the "new girl," the ropes:

I had a sprained ankle and it was becoming ever more painful as I stepped on and over rocks and exposed roots. So we turned around and headed back toward the car, the dogs still happy and excited. There's been plenty of photos showing Fergus' ears happily flapping, but I think this is the first one which captured Seamus' ears a-floppin':

And just before we left, polite little Madeline posed ever so primly for a photo. After that, we were on our way. Next stop, the farm:

A Romp In A Frontier Town Field

The dogs and I had just had a very nice rest stop at the Schroon River on the property of the old Frontier Town. I was driving away to rejoin the highway when I changed my mind and decided to look for a bit of autumn beauty before leaving. We ended up parked near this old animal shed. I left old Wally and Winky in the car and took the younger dogs through the trees and over a fence into a former livestock pasture:

The field was eminently walk-able in spite of Fergus' tripping which you can see here. The dogs sniffed and ran and played:

I thought I saw a kitchen sink in the grass and walked over to it only to discover that it was an old bathtub. I supposed it had been used to water whatever livestock had been kept in this field:

We walked farther, over another fence. Madeline and Clover led the way:

And then Daphne and Clover ran ahead toward the end of the field:

There was another livestock shelter lean-to at the end of the field and a large patch of blackberries or raspberries which provided the only really good autumn color still remaining:

The dogs explored the forest edge but no one, including myself, was inclined to push farther:

So we headed back toward the car. Just the other side of that rail fence was the former rodeo arena:

Seamus struck a noble pose for the camera:

And I got an action shot of Fergus leaping over the sagging barbed wire. Seamus, however, is too - well, hefty - to leap over much of anything and had some difficulty getting past that barbed wire. His thick coat of wool, though, acted as protection from its barbs:

And we all bounced our way back toward the car which was parked just the other side of that livestock shed:

This had been a brief but fun addition to our rest stop, and old Wally and Winky didn't seem to have missed us at all. They were probably sleeping. We continued on our way toward the farm:

A Schroon River Rest Stop

Another Sunday morning dawned with preparations for driving up to the farm. I was very anxious to get there and see the fence work which had been nearly completed. We drove up the Northway, the dogs and I, as far as Exit 29 and exited for a rest stop at Frontier Town. I'd tried to think of some place which we hadn't been before, but what could possibly beat this pristine, scenic spot?:

The dogs ran down to the river's edge but didn't go it. It was simply too chilly:

Even Seamus stayed on dry land. I concentrated on getting old Winky and Wally to stay with us and not lag too far behind:

Winky's mind often wanders - and as a consequence, his feet do also. I walked over to him every so often and reminded him of our existence and that he should make an attempt to stay with us:

Little Madeline was feeling like a regular member of our family by now, accustomed to adventures in such places - and this place in particular:

We'd walked down the river for some distance, so I gave a call and got everyone moving back toward the car:

Daphne and Clover made a side trip to the top of a sand dune. Hey, a dog's gotta explore, ya know:

It took just a few minutes before we spotted our red car parked just ahead in the forest:

I began walking toward the car after giving a call to those dogs reluctant to leave the water's edge:

The sandy trail through the forest toward the car was looking like Thanksgiving to me:

Seamus posed for the camera, looking noble:

But once all the other dogs were loaded up into the car, I still had to urge Winky forward. This can be a difficult job, and picking him up is no fun either. So I called and clapped. I learned a long time ago with elderly, nearly deaf foster dogs, that clapping is something they seem to either hear or feel. It usually works with Winky. I got him up into the car with the other dogs and began backing along the sandy lane in the forest so that we could continue on our way:

Glorious Tamaracks Along Route 28N

In spite of my promise to not take any more photos, I couldn't resist when we hit Route 28N and I saw the Tamaracks glowing yellow in the forests:

Tamaracks are our only conifer to shed their leaves in the winter. They have lacy needles and turn yellow later than most hardwoods. So all along the road, the green Spruces were mixed with glowing yellow Tamaracks:

And what a breathtaking sight they were:

They livened up what would otherwise have been a landscape of merely green and brown:

Even the Papillons were impressed:

Tamaracks tend to like wet spots and indeed, that's where they were concentrated:

We made one rest stop along Route 28N, a pull-off I'd discovered on one of our first trips:

We didn't go far from the road, but there was almost no traffic and lots of nature for pooches to sniff:

We walked around the open field and did not enter the woods:

Wally and Madeline stayed pretty close to the car. Winky did also - as you can see by his little head peeking out next to the car's front bumper:

I gave a call for the dogs to return:

They all collected back at the car. I got them loaded back inside and we continued on our way home from the farm: