Autumn On The Farm

The bantam hens are safe and warm in their room inside the barn:

And yet they still climb up on the ramp to the door which they used to use to get outdoors. I can't let them out, though, because of the bold, ravenous foxes we have here:

The white fantail pigeons used to have free access to the outdoors during the day but never used it. Now that it's turned colder, I just keep the window closed - but I haven't yet braced it against the winter winds:

One day I heard peeping and followed the sound to this mother and two new babies:


I braced myself for their death, knowing they wouldn't live in this cold, but so far they have done well and are growing rapidly:

Blue and Remy were released from wearing their grazing muzzles and I began putting out hay bales. Alas, I have fewer bales than last year and had to begin feeding them out three weeks earlier:

My sun-activated tchotchkes used to sit on a windowsill but that didn't work with cats in the house. Then one day I saw this shelf unit on a lawn with a "free" sign. I put it next to the window and so far, the cats have left it alone:

Yes, we've had several overnight snows (and many frosts), but for a long time, everything melted and the grass stayed green. The last two nights, however, have changed all that as we had both snow and extreme cold:

My Christmas Cactus (really a Thanksgiving Cactus) burst into bloom early this year and seemed to be a very happy plant:

It's always a beauty:

They began harvesting kernel corn in the field across the road, so I took this photo from my upstairs bathroom window:

A Cold, Rainy Morning

The morning was cold, with stinging, numbing winds, and the sky promised rain or snow soon as I did the morning chores:

The previous day I'd feared that Jasmine was dying, but I found a horse feed, full of grain and drenched in molasses which she scarfed down like a starving cow. She began standing all day and keeping up with the herd. Things were looking up:


In the pigeon room, the baby who kept falling out of the nest was now blocked in and still alive in spite of the cold, along with its sibling:

The younger babies in the nest on the floor were also alive although I didn't want to get my hopes up. Babies at this time of year don't often live to adulthood:

The big machinery began pulling in to the corn field across the road from my house, and harvesting began even as cold rain began to fall. I knew the corn kernels would be processed through a dryer before storage, so there was no worry about the rain. Two years ago they harvested in October and I got better videos of the process. Just click here:


And then the gravel I'd ordered arrived. I put the mischievous horses in the barn and let the truck back in and dump seven yards of bank run gravel. Violet sauntered over to check it out:

The area in front of the barn door was muddy and messy, causing me to want something firmer for the animals to walk on. I didn't know if it would help their hooves, but I figured that it might:

I spent the morning on the tractor, scooping up and spreading the gravel. I would previously have worried about the bigger rocks, but now I consider them a potential blessing, thinking they might help break off hooves which grow too long. I was cold and miserable by the time I was done so I let the horses back out and went inside to warm up:

Autumn Drive In The Countryside - Part 1

I was having trouble with a leaky stock tank and had to run down to the local hardware store to buy some silicone sealant. But it was such a lovely day that I decided to turn the trip into a photographic driving tour, beginning with my own barn, hay bales and house:

I passed by three miniature horses:

And an old tractor parked off in the brush. I would guess that it's been there for many years, perhaps even decades:

I passed by the barn where Amish men build furniture. Their doors were open but I didn't see anyone inside:

One neighbor was harvesting corn for silage:

One man harvested the corn and another drove the filled wagons back to the farm:

I passed by this landmark in the settlement of Fort Jackson. It's an old, unused barn with a square, wooden silo:

And every autumn I love to photograph the Fort Jackson Cemetery:

The Fort Jackson Cemetery is a thin strip of gravestones, backed up by maple trees which are spectacularly colored every autumn:

I turned onto route 49 and stopped for a quick shot of this house, all dressed up for autumn with pumpkins and corn stalks. But there was more to see on my driving tour, so I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Old Fashioned Harvest Days In The Town Of Madrid - Part 1

The St. Lawrence Power And Equipment Museum was hosting the autumn open house, called "Old Fashioned Harvest Days," and I attended. I parked my car and entered the grounds. Power equipment of varying degrees of antiquity (but mostly quite old) was everywhere:

The last time I was here, the school house had been moved into place and work days were scheduled to get it restored. They'd dedicated it that very morning and I was anxious to see the improvement:

They'd done a marvelous job and filled it with old style desks, the original chalkboard and a school marm in period costume. There was children's graffiti on the front wall from 1944, but it didn't photograph well. Still, it was nice to see that they'd allowed such historic touches to remain:

Outside of the school house were antique tractors:

And more antique tractors and other farm equipment:

And a small barn, sand pile and toy equipment for kids to play with:

I walked from there to the old, restored shoe shop:

It was authentically restored, both inside and out:

Antique cars and trucks were everywhere, parked casually as if their drivers were just off visiting the museum's displays - and perhaps they were:

Then I went to see the old, restored Texaco station:

It too was authentically restored, both inside and out:

And reminded me of gas stations from my childhood. Heck, it reminded me a little bit of the mechanic's garage where I take my car now:

There were harvesting demonstrations:

And steam engines of all sizes and descriptions running. This small one was powering an old time log splitter. But there was lots more to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Setting Out On A New Driving Tour

I'd taken the younger dogs for a walk across the north hay field. As we returned to the farm house, the "Silly Sisters," Papillons Daphne and Clover, were still running full speed! I next planned to take another driving tour of the area without the dogs, so had to get them all situated:

My lawn was littered with fallen apples:

The neighbors across the county road were quiet, perhaps staying home for the day:

I put Seamus and Fergus in the barn's enclosed box stall. When I leave them in the farm apartment, they have in the past jumped on my bed, barking nonstop and clawing at the windows. When I returned, I found curtains pulled down and unhappy tenants. Both dogs were displeased about being left in the barn, but I knew they'd be safe and comfortable:

I drove out the back way and began my journey by driving north on the county road:

I have quite a few Amish neighbors, though I have not yet met any of them:

I'd gone only about a mile when I spotted this amazing scene in a huge hay field:

It was thousands of Snow Geese, resting on their way south. I thought at the time that the darker birds must be Canada Geese, but having now read up on the subject, I think they were the blue morph form of Snow Geese:

It was an amazing sight indeed, but I couldn't get too much closer without spooking the birds or risking angering the land owner. So I continued on my way:

They were harvesting corn in the adjacent field. The Snow Geese would enjoy that field as soon as it was harvested because lots of corn kernels would be left on the ground: