A Snowy Farm - Part 1

It was cold and snowy outside, and I could see through a window that this tree was covered in white. It's a double tree - a wild seeded Golden Delicious apple on the left, and a flowering crab on the right:

So I bundled up and went outside for a closer look at all the wintry beauty. The Golden Delicious in the above photo still had apples clinging to its frozen branches:

I looked across the county road to the northwest and my neighbors' house:

 Then I turned my gaze toward the north field, which was across the gravel town road:

 Due west was my neighbors' barn:

 And to the southwest was the farm field on which alternating crops of soybeans and field corn are grown and harvested:

The cattle and horses were clustered at the bale feeder on the east side of the barn:

 And the trees at the edge of the field to the northeast were beautifully covered in snowy white:

 For a closeup view, I checked out the Rugosa Rose hips, growing right near the farm house back door:

All five dogs were watching me from their fenced yard:

 The Bridalveil Spirea bushes were intricate and lacy, all covered with snow. I continued walking, and will post Part 2 tomorrow:

County Route 47, Town Of Stockholm And Norfolk - Part 1

I often traveled County Route 47 at night while driving to and from community chorus rehearsals, so one day I decided to drive it during the day and see what I'd been missing. The road had lots of spectacular old barns, though most of them are now sitting idle:

Many of the smaller barns, however, were being used for horses:

These outbuilding held farm equipment:

A modern style barn with piles of round hay bales stored under its canopy. I wish I could keep my hay bales out of the rain:

An attractive setup for horses:

An old barn behind a traditional split rail cedar fence:

An old shed, no longer used. It appeared to me as this was once someone's house, tiny though it is:

A large and elaborate farm house, behind cedar split rail fence:

A big red barn with a couple of horses enjoying the sunshine:

A string of barns, laid out in the New England style. I was just getting started on my driving tour though, and there was still much to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Another Small Town Parade - Part 2

I was enjoying the Tri-Town summer festival parade (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) in the charming small town of Brasher Falls, NY. This parade entrant was from Stewarts, a convenience store chain which made its name selling milk and ice cream. Now they sell nearly everything and can found nearly everywhere in northeastern New York:

Another country singer in the back of a pickup truck, this one with her own guitarist:

I promised myself I wouldn't take any fire truck photos this time, but they make up such a big part of every small town parade that I figured I needed at least one. This fire truck was from the Brasher-Winthrop fire district:

The local Girl Scout troop with their space themed float:

Horses and riders. The woman walking is my neighbor and she always marches in parades with her horses to promote suicide awareness (she lost a daughter):

Another country band on the back of  a truck:

A Tyrannosaurus, who wisely declined trying to march:

And this float was a mystery to me:

More horses and a buggy:

Riders whose helmets had antennae to keep with the space theme:

And I don't know why this man was last, but he was good. A man in a wheelchair, wearing kilts and playing the bagpipes:

Here And There, Around The Farm

The fantail pigeons seem happy, healthy and thriving. They haven't yet produced any babies this year, but that may be a blessing. I have 27 birds and really, that is enough:

 But some of them keep trying:

 Little Elvis gets fed a big bottle of milk twice each day. He has grain, hay and water available at all times but hasn't yet tried them. Well, he has stepped in his grain bowl and spilled it, but that doesn't count:

 I weeded the new plantings (the old plantings have to fend for themselves). This Dandelion came up in one piece, its taproot clearly illustrating why they are so difficult to eradicate:

 Wild Strawberries have filled the lawn (along with the Violets and Dandelions). I usually miss the opportunity to eat the fruit, but I'll try to be more watchful this year:

 The wall by my back door began to wobble whenever I entered or exited, so I removed the interior chipboard and discovered everything inside was soaking wet and rotten. The studs were so deteriorated that they crumbled when I touched them. I climbed up on the roof and found 6-8" of Cedar needles and cones, which had been damming the water during rainstorms. I removed all that, but caulking the roof and rebuilding the wall remains to be done:

 The two apple trees on the north side of the house began to bloom, but the trees in the orchard weren't doing so well. This was one of the two trees:

 And the other. They sure smelled nice:

 Two neighbors rode by while I was working out in the yard. They rode their horses over to chat for awhile:

 I covered the exposed roots of the Magnolia and returned to photograph its one and only flower:

 Just about the same time, I noted that the Lilacs were about half open. I figured they'd be fully in bloom and perfuming the yard very soon:

 Two farmer neighbors, an uncle and nephew, have been very helpful to me and one day, they introduced me to their three little bottle fed heifer calves named Rose, Mary and Thyme:

County Route 35, West Potsdam NY - Part 1

I'd just arrived in West Potsdam, NY via County Route 34 (see yesterday's post) and turned onto County Route 35 to see the tiny settlement there:

This great old home looked historic and had a large, artistic weather vane at its peak. I couldn't tell for sure what it was, but it may have been a fox with wings:

There was an old church which appeared to be no longer a church. I don't know what it is used for now:

A classic blue house with a great front porch:

I suspect this home began long ago but has had a number of additions over the years:

A modern looking home (or one which has been remodeled) with an old looking barn:

West Potsdam was situated on the western shore of Trout Brook, and I think this house had a nice view of it:

A lovely old barn off on a side road:

An older house and carriage house in great shape. It reminded me of homes seen on Cape Cod:

I headed south on County Route 35, passing this large greenhouse up on a hill:

This appeared to be several old barns, tied together:

A sizeable herd of horses up on a hill were eating hay from a bale feeder like mine. There was still more to see on this road, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: