Town Ridge Road, County Route 36, Norfolk NY - Part 1

I was returning home from the veterinarian's office (Draco was sick) and it was such a lovely day that when I passed a road heading off to the west, I decided to give it a try. It was morning and I was driving west, so the sun would be behind me for any photos. The first place was a dairy farm, where I snapped a picture of several cows, placidly chewing their cuds:

They had many long silo bags, perhaps six to eight feet high, with silage stored from last summer:

And old fashioned silos as well. The smaller tower was, I believe, a grain bin:

A sugar house. Family farms in this part of the country often have sugar houses and make their own maple syrup:

More silos, barns and a grain bin:

I stopped to photograph these handsome equines, debating whether they were ponies or miniature horses. I can only guess, of course, but they looked like Shetland ponies to me:

A lovely old farm house, well cared for, with a barn behind it:

Two weathered old barns alongside the road:

And a brick house with an addition - or was it an old frame house with a brick addition?:

A wonderful old barn with a dog kennel in front of it. This was lovely country and I hadn't yet reached the end of the road. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Dyke Road In Bangor, New York

I'd just finished a driving tour of two scenic, rural roads in Franklin county, New York (previous two posts) and turned onto state highway 11 to head for home. I passed an interesting looking rural road and thought, "I might as well drive down it and take a look." So it was that I came to take a driving tour of Dyke Road in the town of Bangor, New York:

Dyke Road was indeed rural. This house, barn and garage sat so very far off the road that I had to use my zoom lens to photograph it. Surrounded by hay fields, it seemed to me like "the little house on the prairie." I remember thinking how much snow plowing they must have to do in the winter to keep that long driveway clean:

There were fields filled with long, giant, plastic covered tubes of what must surely have been silage:

And fields covered with farm equipment:

This historic farm house and barn sat up on a small hill:

There were golden woodlands:

And green hills, covered with tall Pines:

This farm pond had a wooden pier built out into it, perfect for children who liked to swim in the summertime:

We were just outside the Adirondack Park border and the sandy soil must have been similar, because this moss, birch and Reindeer Lichen covered hillside sure reminded me of the Adirondacks:

What appeared to be an elegant estate sat up on a hill and behind the trees:

This farm house and outbuilding sat so far off the road that I wondered if it had another entrance off another road somewhere. Again, I used my zoom lens to get a picture:

I ended my driving tour at this historic looking building with a new, metal roof. It had the look of an old school house or grange hall, but I suspect that it's just a storage barn for someone now. I saw no houses near it. My driving tour had come to an end, it was past lunchtime and I was hungry. So I put my camera away and aimed for home:

Early Summer On The Farm

This is an assortment of photos from around the farm and from the nearby roads. Only a few days after rescuing a Wood Turtle from the road, I encountered this massive Snapping Turtle in the middle of another road. I hesitated, but decided to help it across the road if I could do so safely. It was a nasty animal, trying hard to bite me, but I managed to get it across the road to safety:

Our long winter and spring drought severely hurt local hay crops, but farms with well maintained fields have been haying for several weeks now:

I've seen only one farm baling hay so far, but lots of folks are cutting their fields for silage:

My Rugosa Roses showed their first buds on May 31:

By June 1 they were blooming nicely, and I expect them to continue doing so through much of the summer:

The chickens collected at the barn door, hoping I'd open it for them so they could go in and look for grain. I didn't:

A closer look at the wildflowers in the hay fields revealed some old favorites, such as this Cow Vetch:

And Ragged Robin. Mine looked pale and scraggly, but I've seen other local fields which were almost a sea of purple:

Lesser Stitchwort, a Chickweed:

A Bedstraw, and I think it was Rough Bedstraw:

Common Fleabane and the ubiquitous Buttercups. There were lots of other flowers also, but they'll have to wait for another day:

A short video of the three calves frolicking as the cattle came to the barn for some grain. At 25 and 26 seconds, you get all four calves (including Rosella) lined up in order of age, from oldest to youngest, left to right - Rosella, Annie, Gladys, Loretta:

Part 1 - County Route 54, Lawrence New York

This began as a simple drive to the town of Lawrence to replenish my jar of locally grown, minimally processed honey. But the day was so beautiful that I decided to take photos of County Route 54 along the way. The trees still showed lots of autumn color where they bordered the hay fields:

And small homesteads appeared here and there. This could easily be dubbed "The Little House On The Prairie." And just take a look at that sky!:

This little red vehicle was parked near several piles of firewood and I could only imagine that it was used for hauling it back from the woods:

I passed by extensive corn fields bordered by wild apples:

The corn was turning brown and I wondered if perhaps they'd waited a bit too long to harvest it. But I think the farmers intentionally let it stand so the kernels dry more and will store longer:

This was almost exclusively farm land but I passed by occasional homes without barns. I did, however, discover that I could only photograph the north side of the road. The low, bright sun spoiled any picture I attempted on the south side of the road. I may have to have a "south side post" some day:

This large, modern farm had rows and rows of either haylage bags or corn silage bags. I didn't know how to tell which they contained:

Lots of farm equipement and out buildings:

A red roof back in the red leafed trees:

Corn stubble:

An old, abandoned home:

And more autumn color beneath beautiful skies. But there was more to see and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: