It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Autumn

Winston is reaching the age when I will need to trap him in the barn and sell him. It will be a tricky operation, and upsetting for him, for his mother, and for me:

 Blue and Remy have another 6 to 8 weeks in their corral before I can let them loose in the south field. They will be happy to regain their freedom, and I'll be happy that my life will be easier:

 My north field produced a second crop of hay. It was cut, then tedded, then baled. The neighbor did the baling, using the kicker to fling the finished product up into the wagon which was towed behind the baler. His uncle, on another tractor, raked the cut and dried hay into windrows so the baler could pick it up and turn it into bales:

 I love the aroma of hay, both in the field and in the barn. It is also a scenic operation:

I took this photo to show how the baler collects the rows of hay and processes them into bales:

 But there are occasional breakdowns and problems. This stop was to refill the bin with four big rolls of baling twine:

 Flowers were still blooming, so I brought two more vases of them to church. This one contained flowers of Tree Hydrangea, Rugosa rose and Sevillana rose:

 Sunflowers and Daylilies:

I didn't think there would be many apples this year, but like other years, I was wrong. When they began to fall, I was shocked to see there were so many:

 They weren't big, pretty, supermarket apples - but they were good:

 Over on the other side of the house, a Yellow Delicious dropped small apples, and some animal, probably a Chipmunk or Red Squirrel, has been using these old steps as a dinner table:

 The plums began to ripen, but I have learned to wait for them to fall before I eat them. That's how I know they're really ripe and sweet:

County Route 38 From Raymondville To Plumbrook, NY - Part 2

I was driving along County Route 38 and taking pictures as I went (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). I am especially fond of old barns:

A row of farm buildings:

And up on a rise, an old hay rake:

This old barn appeared to have been unused for a long time:

Another old barn which may still be used for storing hay. I couldn't tell:

A collection of farm buildings alongside the road, all of them in good repair:

A grain bin, probably for corn:

This abandoned house was notable for its tiny size. I imagine the original part was to the left. Just imagine, that tiny structure was once someone's home:

Bucky's Wheel Alignment and Tire Sales did not appear to be in business any more:

My favorite farm house on the road, with a sturdy chimney and brick construction. I also loved the front porch:

A gigantic old barn which had been restored and freshly painted. It was a beauty:

A more modern barn and garage combination:

When I got to the end of the road, I saw this building and suddenly remembered that I had indeed been here before. I think the last time I was here, this was an auto repair shop. It appeared to be out of business now. This was the end of my driving tour, so I put my camera away and headed for home:

Gallop Road, Town Of Bangor NY - Part 1

I was driving to Walmart in Malone, NY when I noticed Gallop Road and decided to take a quick driving tour. I was not disappointed, as the scenery was rural America at its finest. This large family farm, for instance:

A couple of junked cars and a Jersey calf in an elegant shed, with electric fencing around its run:

A very large hay rake, resting in a field for use again this coming summer:

A small farm with a cozy home:

A stately country home with dogs. They came running and barking, but acted so friendly I was momentarily tempted to stop and say hello. I resisted that foolish temptation, however:

A small barn or carriage house, now a garage:

Lots of old farm equipment and a pickup:

An old barn which seemed to have been converted to a mechanic's garage (but now unused and open):

A lovely home on the banks of the Little Salmon River. It had a foot bridge across the river:

A large, modern farm with triple silos and, parked outside, an Amish buggy. But there was still more to see, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Baling Hay

I only had one small field to hay this year. I'd used it for pasture in the spring and then bush hogged it in early July, knowing that it would be hayed late in the season. Well, the day finally came and a neighboring farmer began by cutting it:

 The mower cut wide swaths:

 And then laid it down in rows to dry:

 Two sunny days later, he returned to rake it:

Raking the cut hay enables it to dry thoroughly in the sun and, like the mower, leaves it in rows for the baler to pick up:

After one more day of drying in the sun, he returned with his baler and began driving along the rows which the rake had left:

The baler picked up the rows of cut hay and turned it around and around until it was five feet in diameter. Then it tied it up with twine:

 And opened up to let the five foot diameter, one thousand pound bale roll out onto the ground:


 I paid the farmer for haying my field and then brought out the dogs for their annual top-o-the-bale photos. I put clover and Daphne, AKA The Silly Sisters, together:

 This was a first for little Jack and he was very nervous. He jumped off the bale on the first try, but I got him to hold still just long enough for a photo on the second try:

 Fergus has endured this silliness before, so he knew it wouldn't hurt him:

I thought that I might be able to get Seamus on top of a hay bale now that he's lost so much weight, but he wouldn't even try. And I couldn't just lift him up and set him there, so we settled for another ground shot. I had to scrap some of the the photos, because the other dogs kept horning in. But all in all, it was great fun. Also, I got thirteen giant bales of good hay to add to my supply for winter:

Days Mill Road During A Snowstorm - Part 1

We were having a beautiful day and I decided to take a driving tour of a local road. But by the time I arrived, it was snowing heavily. The blowing snow doesn't show up well in most of the photos, but I'll blame any poor photo quality on the snow. Days Mill Road is in Nicholville and is always scenic. The road began in the forest:

And then I passed this picturesque old barn:

This appeared to be an old farmstead:

A small barn in great shape, now used as a garage:

Another older home, probably a farm home when it was constructed:

These two old outbuildings appeared to be used only for storage now:

And this old barn was used for storage but didn't look as if it had been accessed recently:

There were newer homes as well, but even they continued the woodsy look:

There were farm fields also, this one with an old hay rake and a shed:

A beautiful old barn. Notice the snow piled up along the road - and this was before the real heavy snowfall arrived, later in the week. But there was more yet to see on Days Mill Road and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: