The Wonderful World Of September

Sunflowers galore, with Seamus and Fergus watching from inside their fenced yard:

The fantail pigeon population has grown a great deal, with more births than deaths this summer. I will have to advertise some for sale very soon:

It takes many hours to mow the whole lawn and I am hoping this was the last mowing of the year. I parked the mower and came in for lunch and a nap before I resumed the job:

 
Japanese Knotweed may be one of the worst of all invasive species, but it is kind of pretty this time of year nonetheless:

And the sunflowers are glorious:

The tree on the north side of the house is producing Golden Delicious apples:

On the south side of the house, my dwarf Red Delicious produced - wait a minute, these are not Red Delicious apples! It turned out that a neighboring, taller tree had sent out a long branch which covered the dwarf tree:

The Rugosa roses are still blooming, but at this time of year, they have other colors to offer also:

Plantain-Leaved Sedge, also known as Seersucker Sedge has grown by the barn door for as long as I've been here, but I just learned what it was:

 If you wondered why it is sometimes called Seersucker Sedge, it is because the leaves are puckered/gathered, like seersucker fabric:

New York Asters began to bloom:

Every day I kept getting more and more sunflowers - and this despite the many I've cut for flower arrangements:

Scenes From The House And Farm

We arrived back at the farm early on Sunday afternoon and all looked well:

I've collected the weekend's farm photos into one post, so they represent more than one day. The dogs are always happy to be out in their backyard run:

Wally, who had such a grand time on Sunday morning, appeared to have had a stroke (or something) on Monday morning. But he rallied and appeared to be making a comeback. Nevertheless, knowing his old age and declining vigor, I wanted a couple of photos of him to celebrate what would turn out to be his last trip up to the farm. I called him outside and snapped this photo while Madeline stood in the background:

I took a walking tour of the yard. The apple trees didn't appear to be very active yet:

Until, that is, I looked more closely:

The pear tree was coming to life as well:

The daffodils were in bloom, the birds were singing and the world looked like a glorious place:

I used my new water hydrant to water the newly planted fruit tree saplings:

And then fired up the new riding mower and got to work on the lawn before it turned into a hay field:

The dogs were happy in their yard as long as they could see me:

And they were happy in bed - except, of course, for Winky and Seamus who slept on the floor:

The weather was nothing short of glorious and I decided to do something fun to celebrate springtime. But I'll post more about that tomorrow:

A New Riding Mower

Monday morning dawned up at the farm and I was ready for a big day:

I started up the old tractor and drove it out in order and to wash it and, to be honest, to make sure it would run. I planned to trade it in for a new one later in the day:

I drove my car into the barn and used my battery operated air pump to fill the flat tire on my old riding mower. That done, I discovered that the mower wouldn't start. It did roll easily, though, so I pushed it out of the barn. It too was being traded in that very morning - for a brand new riding mower:

It was old and tired, with parts held on with wire, parts falling off, tires going flat - and, no small matter, it wouldn't start. But I'd gotten it cheap and used it for three years so I couldn't complain:

I'd planned to buy a riding mower at Home Depot, but my neighbor told me about a locally owned shop. I went there and discovered that they'd sell me a new Husqvarna for less that Home Depot, deliver it, pick up my old one and warranty it besides:

The workman unloaded it and gave me instructions in its use:

Then we pushed the old one across the yard and up the ramp into his trailer:

When everything was done and put away, it was time for me to head for Potsdam. My first stop was to be at Tractor Supply to replace this giant old stock tank. But I'll post about that tomorrow: