Moving Toward Autumn

I had just finished cleaning the barn floor, hauling multiple loads of sodden bedding and manure out to the compost pile with the tractor bucket. I decided that it was time to re-dig the drainage ditch, which tends to fill in over a few years. I used the tractor bucket, starting at the barn and working my way downhill:

I had to move to the opposite side of the ditch and move my way back up toward the barn before I was finished. I hope that I am now prepared for big rainstorms and snow melts:

I've been calling this the Carefree Delight, but I began to doubt when I looked at the website and saw what it was supposed to look like. I emailed the nursery owner and he identified it instantly. This is a Carefree Beauty and it is grown right next to the Carefree Delight. The similarity in location and names caused the workers to pull the wrong plant. He said he'd send the correct rose immediately but I asked him to wait until springtime, when I will probably add a couple more rose varieties. I did notice that both Carefree roses grow quite large, so I'll probably move this one and plant both new roses together in the middle of the lawn somewhere:

When all the other varieties of Daylily were almost done for the year, the Frans Hals variety burst into bloom and hasn't quit yet. It is by far my favorite:

This is a tall mass of weeds which I mow around whenever I cut the lawn. It consisted mostly of Goldenrod and Wild Cucumber in bloom, and Wild Grapevine not in bloom:

And I've kept bringing flowers to church on Sunday. This was multiple colors of Yarrow plus my Frans Hals Daylilies:

Another vase contained purple (wild) Joe-Pye-Weed, yellow (wild) Goldenrod and various colors of Sunflowers:

The Amish farm down the road had Sunflower also, but apparently a variety grown for its edible seed. The sweet corn was growing right next to them:

I was driving past my own place on the county road one day when I stopped and snapped a picture of my cows, filing past the horse corral on their way to the stock tank for a drink of cool, clean water:

And in many places along my road, the field corn was ripening. Spring rains meant late planting, but short season varieties and good drainage in some fields allowed them to ripen almost on schedule:

I used my zoom lens for a closeup of the ripening ears of corn. Yes, winter is on the way - but beautiful autumn will arrive first:

Springtime On The Farm - Part 2

I ordered two Ninebark seedlings and planted them in compost where I removed the old, rotten stump last year. Ninebark is a cold hardy shrub with red leaves, white flowers and mottled bark. I have great expectations for them - and the little fence will hopefully keep me from mowing over them:

The Shadbush began blooming at the end of April and was almost finished, so I decided to get a few photos of their lovely blossoms before it was too late.

And I returned to the country road where the White Trilliums bloom by the thousands every year. They were reduced to only one small patch this year, but my timing was good and I got some photos:

Trilliums are truly a beautiful flower:

These tiny blooms are from my Bush Cherry, and will produce many miniature cherries later on. Alas, the birds got all but one cherry last year - and I had to eat the last one before it was fully ripe or I'd never have gotten to taste them at all. It was very good, though:

And my full sized cherry is blooming abundantly. This looks to be only the second cherry crop I've had since I moved here:

Need I add that Dandelions are everywhere, great oceans of them across the lawns and pastures. Some people hate them, but I think they are both attractive and useful:

We had so much rain that the drainage ditch by the barn was filling in. So I used the tractor bucket one dry day to reopen it:

And Wild Strawberries are blooming all over the pasture and lawn:

I also opened up the far field for the herd, which made them very happy. Those are the last of the Shadbush in bloom behind them, not to be seen again until next spring:

The Red Poll Cattle, An Update

It's been a busy springtime for the Red Poll girls, what with burgeoning pastures, new babies, moving from one field to another and temperatures ranging from 30 to 90 degrees:

Gracie has been a wonderful mother although her udder produced much more milk than her baby could use, at least at the beginning. But she stayed even tempered and kindly disposed toward me in spite of her protective instincts toward her calf:

While they were in the north field, they had Shadbush in bloom as a backdrop:

And they spent much of every day lounging in the sun. That smaller animal in the foreground, by the way, was Annie. She was born on March 27 but grew at an astounding rate. Rosella, who was born last August, is almost full grown already and difficult to pick out when viewing the herd:

Gladys, Gracie's new calf, could run like the wind from her very first day. And run she did, as much as possible:

Annie and Gladys stuck together. They stayed with the herd, but I could almost always find one of them beside the other:

The chickens quickly figured out my routine and also learned that the cowbell meant I'd soon be putting bowls of grain down for the cows. And they were not shy about stealing whatever grain they could get their little beaks on:

Gracie, Gladys and Annie:

See anything odd about this photo? Look on top of Annie's head, clicking to enlarge the picture if necessary. She had been standing too close to the rear end of one of the cows and wore a dried poop-cap for a few days:

When I moved the cattle back across the road to the south field, they were happy to reclaim their shady spot beneath the Box-Elder trees:

And they again began eating grain inside the barn, not that the chickens were impressed. They were just as happy to steal grain inside as outside:

And I learned one day that drainage ditches have a second purpose. They're cool and damp, just right for two calves to get into on a hot day:

What's New Around The Farm

The pace of life has increased as the snow has melted. The chickens, locked up for a week to keep them safe from our marauding fox, are once again free to roam during the day. I round them up about dinnertime and herd them back indoors for the night. As for the fox, I presume that something or someone killed it because it has disappeared:

As the ground thawed and the spring rains began, I used the tractor bucket to reopen the trench in which water drains away from the barn:

The drainage trench runs from the barn to the dirt road:

My thirteen bantam hens were laying so many eggs that I was feeding them to the dogs. Alas, both Seamus and Jack (especially Jack!) were rapidly gaining weight. This pan of 27 eggs was their last breakfast of scrambled eggs. Since then, I've been giving the eggs to the family across the road who plows my snow in the wintertime:

The fantail pigeons have bill billing and cooing in a most charming way, but now that the weather is warm enough to raise babies, they aren't:

The hens check every inch of ground for possible edibles and tractor tire tracks are a good place to look for earthworms:

And bugs might be hiding along the base of the barn:

Every morning I open their door and watch them all scramble down their ramp, excited to begin their adventurous day:

Both the house and barn have filled with flies. The flies (and ladybugs) in the house seem to die as soon as they emerge, but the flies in the barn are alive and active, crawling all over the windowpanes:

The neighbors were actively sugaring this spring. They seem to be all done now, though the lines are still up:

I open the pigeons' window on nice days, but they have not been going outside. This one bird got as far as the windowsill for a look around - and that's about it. I guess they figure they're warm, safe and fed indoors, so why invite trouble?:

A lawn full of chickens. There are rotten apples all over the ground there, but the chickens don't seem to be eating them:

County Route 49, Winthrop New York - Part 2

I was making a driving tour of a short section of County Route 49 (see yesterday's post). It was a beautiful drive through the scenic rural landscape:

Although this was generally very flat land, I noticed that many homes were set up atop small rises and wondered if that was for better views or because of the nearby St. Regis River:

This was only a mile or so out of the village of Winthrop, not far from either Massena or Potsdam. I imagined that the local residents were folks who worked in town but loved rural living:

This home had a wonderful front porch on which I'd once seen a group of woman enjoying a sultry summer afternoon in the shade of those trees:

Besides farm land, there were patches of forest:

A home with a flag and double garage:

Another home with a double garage, but also a three stall, free standing garage:

RJ Firearms, probably a busy place in hunting season:

A carport and a little bridge for when the drainage ditch gushes with rainwater. But in spite of the big rainstorms the previous night, it contained no water when I passed by:

Just before I turned off onto the state highway, I stopped to snap a photo of this well cared for home with its classic red barn. Though it is faster to stay on the state road, I often will detour by way of the county road just for the scenery: