The Red Poll Update

Life is peaceful, and contentment reigns in the south field:

There is now plenty of grass, more than they can eat, so the girls spend most of each day lounging in the sun:

Rosella's little bull calf spends even more time snoozing than his mom:

And all the cows are looking good as they live the good life:

Violet and Amy seem to like to hang out together:

The little bull calf regards me as a curiosity, a mystery creature. He isn't yet sure if he should be afraid of me or not:

I caught Rosella and her boy lying in the grass by the fence. The bull calf looked dead, but he was only sleeping:

And one day I visited Rosella's rejected heifer calf, now living just down the road from me. Her new owner and I walked into the barn and she started to run out to greet her new dad, then stopped in alarm because she didn't know me any more:

But she soon decided I was safe and relaxed. I asked her dad to go in with her so I could take some pictures:

She was both playful and affectionate with him:

And also hungry, wanting some warm milk. She's always hungry, a veritable bottomless pit. She now lives an enviable life, with a nephew and uncle who spoil her and four yearling heifers who seem to have accepted her already. The uncle takes her out into the field to play each morning:

And while I was visiting, I said hello to his free range roosters. They are all friendly (the mean ones get eaten) and the hens, who are kept locked up safely:

Around The Farm

I had twenty white fantail pigeons when the season began. Two died and no babies were born. Then two babies were hatched and began to grow. Then this mama bird built a nest on the floor next to a bucket of water. I'm still waiting to see if her eggs hatch:

The first of the previously mentioned babies (not from the nest on the floor) successfully left the nest and learned to eat pelleted food:

The second baby was a couple of weeks behind, but it too has now left the nest and is on its way to becoming a healthy adult. Now I'm back up to twenty birds and hoping that the floor nest will produce a couple more success stories:

They all looked pretty ratty in early October but I think they were molting, getting ready for the long, cold winter. Now they're looking better again:

The New England Asters bloomed all along the roadsides for a month. They seemed to be getting more intense color as time went on but are mostly only a memory now:

Even the old fashioned Peony plants turned vivid colors this autumn:

My little weasel family must be gone because I now have a large population of chipmunks. They are as destructive as mice but much cuter:

I made a regular afternoon routine of giving apples to the horses and cattle. Little Tabitha has developed a powerful curiosity about what kind of strange creature I am:

And the fly population has dropped sharply. The cool and colorful afternoons are quite lovely as the animals graze:

The little roosters (13 out of 18 chicks) developed into lovely birds and began to explore the yard around the house, moving farther each day:

One morning they moved out under the apple trees and discovered the joys of eating apples:

They seemed to be everywhere and I enjoyed seeing them. Of course I can't keep so many roosters, but I enjoyed them while I could:

Around The Farm In April

This is a mix of photos from around the farm at various times, beginning with this Great Blue Heron's nest which my sister and I stopped to watch from the road:

Another view of the Heron rookery. This tree had two nests plus a Heron at its very top:

My sister and I also stopped to watch a Woodcock beside the road. We watched for some time, fascinated by its fantastic coloration, its odd bill and its bouncing, bobby walk. My picture is on the left, an internet picture on the right:

The chickens cover every inch around the house and barn many times per day. They sure do get a lot of mileage!:

And the little bantams love to come inside the barn to cool off and find tasty treats:

They have also begun laying eggs in the bedding hay, a habit I have come to like because I know where to find the eggs and because the eggs are clean when I find them. Some days there are only two:

Other days there are up to nine eggs. I eat very few and give the rest to my neighbors:

This rooster has been non-combative, though his father was a real problem. I suspect that my ignoring this rooster and not trying to make a pet of it have made the difference:

My strange fascination with miniatures found a couple of new items recently. This tiny birthday cake came with four matching cupcakes:

A roast ham and what I think is supposed to be a plate of short ribs with vegetables:

Around The Farm In September

The neighbors had only one cow still due to calve and she was late. Finally, she gave birth to this bull calf. He was extra large and it was a difficult birth. He couldn't stand for a couple of days, so they milked the mother and hand fed the "little" one. He's now fine:

I walked over to see him and, while I was at it, to say hello to his mom. She looks intimidating here, I realize, but she's sweet and gentle, even more so than my own cattle:

My Rose Mallows burst into bloom, beginning in late August:

They are even bigger this year than last year:

My little rooster marches around the property, clearly feeling like the king of the farm:

Amish families have been piling their hay into small stacks. A day or two later, they drive through the field, collecting them and piling them into a much larger mound:

My front yard, with wildflowers (Butter-And-Eggs), Tree Hydrangea and Rose Mallow:

The apple trees have been littering the ground with windfalls and the New England Asters have been in full bloom:

Some trees have produced abundantly and some have not:

My little bantam hens keep making nests at the base of the bushes where I can't find the eggs. Egg production has been reduced because of the season anyway, but it's even lower because so many eggs are hidden outdoors. I'll find them this autumn, after the leaves are all fallen:

The pear tree has produced a bumper crop this year:

Do you remember the dead Meadowlark I found by the barn? I'd forgotten about it but one day found its skeleton, back by the barn where it'd begun. It's fascinating to see what lies beneath all that skin and feathers. A few yellow breast feathers still clung to the skeleton:

Small Animal Swap Meet In Louisville, New York

The Northern New York Poultry Club morphed, over the winter, into something called Country Thyme Living. There were several changes of name and purges of former members. I kept my head down until it was over and was eager to attend their first function this spring, a swap meet. Last autumn's swap meet was filled with small animals - chickens, ducks, goats, pigs and rabbits:

This year's swap meet, however, had only five people with animals. There were three tailgate venders outdoors, including this one with lovely Roller Pigeons. I was still hoping to find some Fantail Pigeons, but this man had none:

This woman had crossbred roosters and two Turkens (bald chickens). I suspected that neither would be hot commodities, but I kept my opinion to myself and wished her well:

Three of her roosters. They were handsome birds, but people with chickens usually already have more roosters than they know what to do with:

The third and final outdoor vender had three cages of chickens. I thought the white ones might be Phoenix because of their long tails, but the guys were so busy chatting that I never got to ask. The little black hens in the center were a breed unknown to me:

I went inside to see what else they had and was surprised to find that it was a hockey arena. This is far northern New York, almost Canada, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised to find that hockey is a major sport here:

There were vender's booths set up everywhere. This one had plants for sale:

A woodcraft booth:

Birdhouses and lamps made of birdhouses:

Wool, yarn and wool crafts, with a woman spinning:

Alpaca wool and crafts. I wished I'd have looked at this one more carefully:

There were only two tables with animals. One had fish, mice and hamsters. And this one had baby chicks and Ameraucana (a chicken breed which lays blue and green eggs) eggs, sold by the dozen. But that was about all there was to see, so I walked back out to my car and headed for home: