The Red Polls In Summer

Little Winston is looking great, and I've had more people stopping in to ask about buying him. Even after I say he can't be a herd sire because he'll be sterile, they still seem to want him - but it will have to wait now until he's five or six months old so I can get him into the barn and away from his mom:

Scarlett is due to calve soon and makes frequent trips in for mineral supplements and water:

And sometimes the whole herd lounges near the compost/manure pile:

They are a happy, healthy bunch except perhaps for the obesity of some of them and the pesky flies in the summertime:

But life is good, and the scenery is beautiful:

Scarlett and Rosella, mother and daughter, one pregnant and one making milk for her calf, need lots of water and often come to the stock tank together:

Winston often runs to greet me when I'm in the field, coming surprisingly close and regarding me with fascination:

They drink lots of water in this hot weather:

I began letting the stock tank overflow in order to clean out the algae and keep the water fresh. It worked well except that I developed a big patch of gooey mud. I had to stop the practice, or at least do it less often:

The cattle have created many dust baths around the pasture, this one right next to the horses' corral. This a place where they kick the sandy soil up onto their bellies in an attempt to chase away the biting flies:

Rosella on her way to the stock tank to refill her milk making supply of water yet again:

Winston wanted to sleep but the cows wanted to move on:

The Agony And The Ectasy

This is the northwest corner of my lawn, with two clumps of Lilacs and two apple trees in bloom. A cedar tree and the neighbors' barn show on the left. Views like this are part of the ecstasy of farm life in the north country:

The pink Prairie Rose flowering crab still had only buds, but it is glorious when in bloom:

The agony would be jobs such as cleaning the barn. The tractor is not good at scooping up the urine soaked, poopy bedding hay, so I have to fork it into the bucket by hand:

Then I have to haul it off to the manure/compost pile:

This year's compost pile is on the left. 2017's compost pile was where that brown spot now is. I've used it all up on plantings:


Last year's compost pile is already being used, and I scooped more of it up to use for planting when I was finished with cleaning the barn:

The red flowering crab buds opened fully and the Golden Delicious apple tree with which it is intertwined bloomed also:

A spectacular display, another one of the ecstasies:

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And then to my surprise, the newly planted Bleeding Hearts began to bloom:

Hardy, easy to grow, tolerant of shade and beautiful. It's no wonder that generations of gardeners have loved this plant:

I found a Lilac seedling growing by my back door when I moved here, so I dug it up and planted it at the end of the barn. Then I realized that would not be a good place and moved it again the next year. Now it's doing well and blooming nicely:

To my surprise, it is a different color, more blue than any of the other Lilacs on the property:

Scenes From Summertime

When she was here visiting, my sister took this photo of the farm from the county road:

 And she stayed after church because they serve a meal each Sunday:

 I showed her the Blue Sea Holly and Asiatic Lilies, both of which were putting on real show at that time:

 We found a few branches on a couple of trees which were producing apples:

 And the plums were growing rapidly:

 I showed her the two nearly fledged baby fantail pigeons:


And then she found several nests with babies which I had not even seen. This one was on the floor:

 And this one was up on a shelf:

 Later, I brought in a pan of water for the pigeons because they love to bathe and play in water. I brought in two pans but one had a leak. I'll buy another pan the next time I'm at the feed store:

 My sister also gave me a bug zapper paddle, a battery operated swatter which zaps them when they hit the wire mesh. It's fun, but I have to swing it fast to get the flies and then I can't see if it worked or not. I didn't have it turned on when I took this photo and only saw the fly on the mesh when I downloaded it. If only I'd noticed at the time, I could have pushed the button!

 After my sister left, I cleaned out the barn. With the horses spending each night there, the hay and manure builds up quickly:

 It took about six tractor buckets to haul it away to the manure/compost pile. The barn sure smelled better after I'd finished:

Cattle On Pasture

Lucky with his mother, Rosella. They make a handsome pair:

Seeing the cattle calmly grazing brings me a great deal of peace, despite the health, financial and work considerations involved:

They love to cluster beneath the Box Elder in the south field on hot, sunny days. If it gets even hotter and sunnier, at least in the afternoon, they move to the east side of the barn where there is shade plus soft hay on the ground:

The Red Poll girls are an especially nice sight when they're near the county road. Notice Amy's big udder. As big as it is, it's already much smaller than formerly:

Lucky quickly learned the best napping spot:

And now Lucky and Rocket have each other as playmates. They love to romp and carry on:

One chases, then the other, then they graze, then they resume play:

Then they climb back up onto the manure/compost pile:

Then they run over to make sure their moms are still there:

Lucky was never castrated, so whoever buys him will have a bull, not a steer. Rocket has been sold as a breeding bull, so he should go to his new home at the end of the month - IF I can get him into the barn on pick-up day:

Elvis continues to grow, with an ever increasing appetite for milk. He hasn't yet begun eating hay or grain, though I have them both available. He also is soiling his bedding at an ever accelerating rate:

Both Rocket and Lucky follow the herd when it is on the move:

The Red Poll Gals

Jasmine, one of the sweetest, gentlest cows, often does not come into the barn for morning grain. I sometimes carry a bowl out for her:

Tabitha and Maggie are growing at what seems to be ever increasing rates. They'll be huge by the time they are six months old and ready to go to a new home:

Violet, the most obese cow, has lost much weight and is already looking better:

They spend half their day at the salad bar and the other half of the day chewing their cuds, an essential part of digesting the hay:

Tabitha and Rosella, with Amy in the background:

Jasmine, with her expressive face:


Tabitha and Maggie were playing and rubbing their heads on the small trees:

Maggie is one month younger than Tabitha, but they seem almost the same size:

Back playing again, this time by climbing up and down the manure pile:

Rosella, my only cow born right here and raised by me. She, like Jasmine, has a sweet and gentle nature:

Most days are peaceful and quiet for the Red Poll girls:

When their hay feeder is on the east side of the barn, they are near the gravel road and people often slow down to watch them: