The Worst Of Winter

The fantail pigeons seem do be doing well, protected in their room inside the barn. Three elderly birds died over the winter, but they had lived long lives and I don't think the weather affected them:

 The little hen who molted too late has been inside the house, growing feathers. I plan to put her back out with the other chickens when the weather warms up to more reasonable temperatures:

 But reasonable temperatures is not what we've had lately. One day we were buried in snow and the temperatures dropped to below zero (F). I found the cows at the barn door the next morning, begging to come inside for grain:

 I had to get the little horses in their stalls first, and then I let the cows inside:

 They came in, all covered with snow, and began scarfing down grain. I gave them extra:

 And then they didn't want to go back outside. I had to push them back out:

 They had only about 15 feet to reach the bale feeder, but the wind was blowing frigid snow and it was miserable indeed:

 Amy and Jasmine held back. bracing themselves against the cold wind:

 I had deep snow on my porch to be shoveled, and up to three feet of snow in the driveway, where the wind had piled it, to be moved with the tractor bucket:

But the coldest temperatures had not yet been realized. It dropped to -18 (F) one night. I don't know how the animals could stand it, but their species has evolved to survive such weather:

 And they came into the barn again the second morning for more grain:

A couple of them refused to come in at all on the third morning. I guess they felt satisfied with their hay. I carried out bowls of grain for the few who wouldn't come in - but on the next morning, when they all refused, I closed the barn door and went back inside the house.:

Autumn On The Farm

The bantam hens are safe and warm in their room inside the barn:

And yet they still climb up on the ramp to the door which they used to use to get outdoors. I can't let them out, though, because of the bold, ravenous foxes we have here:

The white fantail pigeons used to have free access to the outdoors during the day but never used it. Now that it's turned colder, I just keep the window closed - but I haven't yet braced it against the winter winds:

One day I heard peeping and followed the sound to this mother and two new babies:


I braced myself for their death, knowing they wouldn't live in this cold, but so far they have done well and are growing rapidly:

Blue and Remy were released from wearing their grazing muzzles and I began putting out hay bales. Alas, I have fewer bales than last year and had to begin feeding them out three weeks earlier:

My sun-activated tchotchkes used to sit on a windowsill but that didn't work with cats in the house. Then one day I saw this shelf unit on a lawn with a "free" sign. I put it next to the window and so far, the cats have left it alone:

Yes, we've had several overnight snows (and many frosts), but for a long time, everything melted and the grass stayed green. The last two nights, however, have changed all that as we had both snow and extreme cold:

My Christmas Cactus (really a Thanksgiving Cactus) burst into bloom early this year and seemed to be a very happy plant:

It's always a beauty:

They began harvesting kernel corn in the field across the road, so I took this photo from my upstairs bathroom window:

Pre-Halloween Visions Around The Farm

We had our first hard freeze in October, requiring me to break the ice on the stock tank with the handle of a flat shovel. I had to use the handle because the blade was covered with dried manure:

We also had our first snow one night. It didn't pile up, but it lasted most of the next day:

I noticed, as I have in past years, that some of the autumn leaves of Bittersweet Nightshade turn a beautiful purple color:


Combined with its red berries, Bittersweet Nightshade is a lovely plant:


 The pigeons continued to get a screen in their window during the days, but I closed the window during the nights:

The little hens don't seem to care about the cold. They just wish they could go outside. Of course they have no concept of roving, ravenous, chicken eating foxes:

I'm often outside, doing chores, just as the sun breaks above the trees in the morning:

And there's a new vision each morning. This photo was taken about the same time but the next day after the above photo:

I pass this house every time I drive to or from Massena, and they always decorate extravagantly for holidays. But this year they outdid themselves, with a plethora of skulls and skeletons. This is the view from the road, showing human, horse, dog and vulture skeletons, not to mention what appears to be a winged ram skeleton:

I walked up the driveway for a side view, where the cedars supported bats on strings and some of the skeletons were easier to see:


But that wasn't the entire display. On the other side of the driveway they had ghosts, tombstones, vampires, ghouls and pumpkins. Now that's what I call a Halloween display!:

Happy Dogs And Cats

Little Daphne was channeling her inner wolf as she howled in fun:

 Seamus and Fergus were hoping I'd give them some kind of treat:

 Bugsy, Clover and Bramble shared the kitchen corner dog beds and floor pillows:

 Little Jack appreciates the good life he now has. It wasn't always so, as the first part of his life was not so happy:

 There is a lot of fun to be had when there's new snow on the ground. Alas, I keep thinking of all the poop I'm going to have to clean up in the spring:

 When the snow gets too deep, the dogs cluster at the end of their ramp:

 But the preferred spot is the kitchen corner. All five dogs are in this group: Seamus, Clover, Fergus, Daphne and Jack:

 This is the face of Bugsy, the teenage troublemaker. You can see the mischief in his facial expression:

 And Daisy, the luxurious lap-cat:

 Georgette seldom leaves her bed on the kitchen table, and especially not when Bugsy is lurking in the background. She doesn't trust that young whippersnapper:

 Bramble wanted some closeup attention while Jack, Daphne, Clover and Fergus watched from their comfy floor pillows. If you look closely, you can also see the black fur of Bugsy in the corner:

 A group scene of dogs and cats: Clover, Fergus, Daphne, Bramble, Rocky (now deceased) and Jack:

Little Horses, Big Snow

Blue has plenty of thick fur and plenty of fat. He's not at all intimidated by cold and snow:

Are you talking about me?

Remy is even more adventurous than Blue, and is most always the ring leader when there is fun and mischief:

The two of them love to romp in the snow. You can see where they've been by the trails they've left in their wake:

They chase each other, sometimes so fast that their tails stream out behind them, sometimes wrestling as they run, with the horse in front trying to kick the one behind him:

Sometimes they just root for grass beneath the snow:

They're a happy duo, and there are no flies this time of year to pester them:

If there is some wasted hay on the ground, they think it's a treat just for them:

And when they're done playing, they come inside the barn for rest and even more hay:

Remy comes running to the barn when he sees me filling the stock tank with water. He doesn't want the water, he wants to grab the fish net (which I use to clean the bits of hay out of the tank) and run away with it, hoping I'll chase him:

It doesn't take long for them to fill the barn with manure, but they are happy boys right after I clean the barn floor and put down new bedding hay:

Blue is not so shy as he used to be, but he still likes to poke his head out through the door and watch from what he considers a safe hiding place: