The Franklin County Fair - Part 1

On the second day of my sister's visit, we took a drive to Malone, New York in order to see the Franklin County Fair. We began in the goat barn and with this friendly face:

I used to have dairy goats and still think they're one of the best animals there is. They're certainly about the friendliest:

  This sign was on a pen full of youngsters. It was clever and I got a chuckle out of it:

  Goats love people and they begged for attention:

We walked across the lane to visit the horse barn, stopping along the way to greet this friendly cat with giant feet and extra toes:

This warning caused me to be careful. I think this horse was like Remy - friendly, but inclined to explore with his mouth:

Next stop was the cow barn. It was all dairy cattle on that day. Beef cattle would be exhibited later in the week:

Lots of people stayed right there with their livestock:

And they kept them immaculately clean. I figured they must have to pick up manure every 15 minutes or so to keep them so clean. Cleaning up urine soaked bedding might be more difficult:

These cows are obviously well cared for and accustomed to much handling:

We walked over to the arena and saw what at first appeared to be children showing their goats in front of a judge. We watched for awhile and learned that the actual competition was the next day but the judge was giving pointers to the children, explaining what to do and what not to do. It was fun to watch:

Next was the poultry barn, where we found these Guinea Fowl:

And Buff Laced Polish chickens:

And quite a few Peacocks. But there was still much to see at the fair. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Converse Road - Part 1

I set off, with the dogs in the car, for an autumn drive down Converse Road in the tiny settlement of Fort Jackson, New York. I crossed the bridge over the east branch of the St. Regis River, putting me in Fort Jackson. The black and white goats in the field by the river belonged to an Amish family:

At the end of the bridge was this large yellow house and barn. It's been being remodeled for years, but this time I noticed a "For Sale" sign, so I looked it up online. It has four bedrooms, two bathrooms, four acres and a barn. It still needs work, but they're only asking $46,900. You can see the listing here:

This old church has been abandoned for many years, but the signs out front indicated that it has been sold and is functioning as a church once again:

As I proceeded along Converse Road, I stopped for a photo of this old farm house:

Most of the scenery along Converse Road was woodlands, and particularly lovely this time of year:

An old, abandoned house:

An active farm. I sometimes see Holstein calves in their fields:

More autumn color:

This little cabin appears to be a year 'round home, and in a beautiful setting:

And right next door to the cabin is this old home with its front wall totally gone:

I continued on my way and stopped when I saw this attractive house for sale. I looked it up online when I got home and learned that it has one bathroom and 3.8 acres. There was no mention of how many bedrooms, but the listing's photos seem to show three. It is listed for $74,900 and the link is here:

I stopped again at this long, narrow hay field bordered by colorful trees. It's picture perfect every October. I'll post more of Converse Road tomorrow:

Rural Elmer Road In The Town Of Moira, New York

I decided it was time for another driving photo tour and decided on Elmer Road, in the town of Moira. The first farm after I turned off of Route 11 was this beauty. What could be more classically rural?:

Everywhere I looked I saw beauty. The grass had greened and the trees were budding at a rapid pace:

Elmer Road takes a sharp turn where this log home was located:

I stopped to photograph these horses and then noticed the three goats. The were so friendly and curious that they trotted up to the fence to check me out:

Two small sheds along the road:

And a very old shed, set back off the road behind a row of trees:

This woodsy style home was set beneath towering pines and wood smoke rose from one of the chimneys:

Almost hidden by the trees, I might not even notice this place once all the leaves are out for the summer:

I passed by a large Amish farm and snapped a picture of the first barn:

And then two silos and the main barn:

The Amish house was built in the popular style and had the usual clothesline out front:

They also had a windmill and a sawmill, though a man was working at the sawmill so I didn't take a picture. Elmer Road is very short and this was the end of it, but it's long been one of my favorites:

Moody Tree Farm - Part 3

I wrapped up my tour of Moody Tree Farm's Adirondack and Christmas themed gift shop by making several purchases. I was told it was OK to walk around the grounds, taking pictures and seeing the animals, so out I went:

I walked over to the horse barn:

But the horse barn was empty:

I found two extremely friendly goats:

And a bit of Christmas tree farm, though most of their commercial production, I had read, was done in fields down the road:

I walked over to the horse pens, where a friendly horse and miniature horse were grazing. The big horse came over to be petted. There were other animals, including a donkey, in a farther pen but I didn't get close to them:

Seeing another barn, I began walking that direction:

A sign announced that this was the pig barn:

And indeed, two colorful and friendly swine greeted me inside:

I mostly wanted a closer look at the Texas Longhorns, but they were far off in a field, unmoved from when I'd first arrived. But they were near a fence along the road, so I drove over to visit them. They were alert and curious, but not enough so to stand up and come over to the fence. They are beautiful animals, but I've already had my experience with long-horned cattle and now prefer my Red Polls. This was my last stop at Moody Tree Farms, but I bet I'll be back again before Christmas:

St. Lawrence County Fair - Part 1

It was a lovely Friday and I was in no mood to be doing chores, so I drove to the village of Gouverneur to see the St. Lawrence County Fair. It was a fifty mile drive to Gouverneur, where I turned down a pleasant neighborhood road and and continued on it until I saw the fairgrounds:

I paid my admission, parked my car and walked toward the action. When I saw the words, "Free Petting Zoo," however, I made it my first stop:

There were Ring-Tailed Lemurs and screeching parrots:

Camels, sheep and goats:

A kangaroo:

And spotted Llamas:

Zebu miniature cattle:

Miniature horses and these partial albino, miniature donkeys. Unsurprisingly, the donkeys were the friendliest of all the animals:

This is dairy country and I toured several barns filled with cattle of various breeds:

And, of course, lots of Holsteins:

I arrived early, before the big crowds arrived, so the barns were busy with people cleaning their animals and stalls:

This woman was washing her Holstein heifer. But I still had lots to see at the fair, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: