Around The Farm In Winter

The bantam hens seem happy and healthy, though a couple of them have begun molting again:

They have access to layer pellets and clean, thawed water at all times:

Some of the white fantail pigeons are looking fine also, but some others are very old and beginning to look their age:

I have had a couple of elderly pigeons die this winter, though I still have a flock of 36 birds:

Most of them have formed breeding pairs, though I have read that pigeons, like people, are prone to infidelity if they see the chance:

 

Cottontail Rabbit and Red Fox tracks appear in the snow every morning. In this case, it was perfectly obvious what the fox was hoping to have for dinner. I saw no signs that he ever got it, though:

A woman in choir made me this hand painted Christmas ornament and I hung it in my kitchen. Now I've decided to leave it up all the time as it's not overtly Christmas themed:

I go out early in the morning to do the chores. On this day, I walked out into the field and looked back. It was a pleasant sight:

The horses and cows share the hay. I never see any bickering over it:

The rubber cow stall mats with which I covered the cellar hatchway blew off in our strong winds, and I knew I had to fix them:

Alas, they are much heavier than I ever imagined, not to mention awkward and flimsy. But I managed to get them back in place - and this time I tacked them down with a couple of nails (left sticking up in case I need to move things around:

Speaking of strong winds, I discovered that one of the two apple trees alongside the road had lost a major limb. I will have to cut it into firewood which I'll give the neighbors, and then I'll haul the small branches out to the brush pile in the woods:

Garvin Road, Town Of Bangor, New York

I was driving home one day and passed Garvin Road, so I turned onto it and brought out my camera. The first place I came to was this handsome, old style farm, complete with dual silos and farm equipment:

And the corn crib out back was filled nearly to capacity. I wondered if they might have pigs, though I didn't see, hear or smell livestock of any sort:

This old barn and silo were rundown and I suspected they hadn't been used in years:

As I drove by, I could tell I'd been right. This barn has been out of commission for a long time:

A farm house, typical of the area:

Another old barn, also apparently no longer used:

People were still farming, though this corn field had not been harvested:

I took a close look at the once proud dairy farm sign on this barn and learned that it was once called Scattered Acres:

Farm equipment and baleage, with an outbuilding almost hidden behind the trees:

Barns, silo and grain bin, apparently no longer used:

Old fields, whose barbed wire and trees indicate that they once were pastures. Maybe they still are:

A small farm beneath big trees:

Coming closer to the above farm, it seemed as if no one lived there anymore but they were still harvesting firewood:

A sugar house. This is big maple syrup country. This is where I ended my driving tour, so I put my camera away and headed for home:

Peru Road, Town Of Lawrence, New York - Part 1

It was a clear, beautiful winter day in the north country, and I decided to take a driving tour on my way to Potsdam. I chose Peru Road, in the rural town of Lawrence, NY. My first stop was this woodsy home with firewood stacked up outdoors:

There were a few big, modern suburban homes, but I skipped them, searching for older places, reminiscent of country life in the past. This barn, wagon and outbuildings was just what I was looking for:

I drove right by this home, thinking it didn't look old enough, but then backed up to snap a picture when I noticed, on my way by, how scenic it was. What a lovely home in the country:

I stopped to photograph this home, but several small, furiously barking dogs sent me quickly on my way. It wasn't until I got home and looked at the photo that I saw the hanging deer carcass, the bird feeder and the big dog:

Peru Road has some prosperous looking Amish farms, and this one is perhaps the biggest and most picturesque:

This is the house which goes with the above farm:

There were corn fields and hay fields all along the road:

This honey stand stopped me in my tracks because I recognized it. I used to buy honey from this self-serve stand when it was on the highway, but then it disappeared. Apparently the bee keeper moved to Peru Road - or maybe he quit keeping bees and sold the stand:

This magnificent barn was behind the honey stand:

A field of Amish corn shocks:

Another prosperous looking Amish home:

And a beautiful Amish barn. There was more yet to see on Peru Road, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Upper Ridge Road In Brasher, New York

I was on my way home from the animal shelter in Massena, NY and decided to take a driving tour of a side road I saw along the way, Upper Ridge Road. At first I saw only suburban style homes, but then I came to this log home, set back among the trees:

And an old barn beside a hay field, with a boat stored close by:

This clearly had recently been farm country, though the fields and pastures were beginning to go back to woodlands:

I had to drive slowly because I was following a tractor, pulling a wagon loaded with logs for firewood. The hilly terrain meant I had to wait for a safe place to pass:

Another log home, this one with pumpkins out front:

This old farm had haying equipment stored outdoors, near the road:

A fenced pasture, filled with stones. This used to be a common sight before big equipment made it easier to move the rocks:

A whole field of baleage, hay inside plastic wrappers where it can ferment as silage:

Two very old barns, a pile of rocks and some rusty equipment:

A cluster of outbuildings with a pickup truck parked nearby:

Two old barns in superb condition. I especially liked the new roof and tractor:

A traditional north country farm house, with barns out back. This was my last photo on Upper Ridge Road because it continued on as Maple Ridge Road. I'll start posting those pictures tomorrow: