One Day After Our Snow Melt - Part 1

If you saw yesterday's post, you know that our snow had almost all melted. The very next morning, I woke up to a winter wonderland - and the snow kept falling:

I took a drive down the (unplowed) gravel road alongside my pasture fence to see the wintry beauty. White Birch were plentiful. That's my pasture on the other side of the trees:

The scenery became mostly forest as I continued on past my property line:

A small, unused field was backed up with woods which looked as if they'd been dusted with powdered sugar:

A neighbor had cleared out around some old apple trees and pruned them:

Much of the tall Red Pines along the road have been cut, but some remain, and they are beauties:

A Beech tree had grown up outside the old fence which shows that there was once a pasture here:

It's hard to tell from the photo, but I think I remember that this was an Eastern White Cedar, a common tree in these parts:

An old stone wall, gradually being swallowed up in tree growth. I once live-trapped a mouse and released it here, hoping it found a good place to live:

The snowy tracery of small brush:

A White Pine had sprung up amid the hardwoods and Red Pines:

A golden leafed Beech behind an arabesque of snowy branches. But there was still more wintry beauty to see, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Peru Road, Town Of Lawrence, New York - Part 2

I was taking a driving tour of rural Peru Road (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) and stopped for a photo of this Amish sawmill. I thought the small sign on the wall might advertise lumber, but it was for sawdust, presumably to be used for animal bedding:

The boulders in this stone wall were huge, as big as Volkswagens, so I had to assume they were moved with modern power equipment and not Amish horse power:

Another Amish farm:

I snapped another photo as I pulled past the front of the house and noticed a wood furnace on the front porch. I'm not sure how they moved the air without electricity, but apparently they'd figured out a way to do it:

Just past the house, I saw the buggy parked by the small outbuilding:

This gigantic old barn in the middle of a corn field looked as if it hadn't been used in many years:

An Amish farm with a windmill and a water pump:

Another old barn which apparently hadn't been used in a very long time:

This old farm house was not Amish, and it appeared as if there was a board blocking the use of the front door. The sign on it did not say to use another door, however. Instead it just said "Eggs For Sale:"

Another long abandoned old barn. It's sad to see them falling into disrepair, but they are expensive to maintain and not many people can afford to do that:

A handsome farm house behind giant, old maple and pine trees:

My last stop on Peru Road was at the Willis H Thomas auto garage, closed many years ago. It was out of business when I passed by here the last time and the tow truck was parked in exactly the same place. It might now do well as a sort of museum, commemorating times gone by:

Beautiful October In The North Country

I traveled along Converse Road in Fort Jackson, New York to photograph this golden colonnade:

And on nearby Sheldon Road, I found a corner lot filled with these beautiful leaves:

There is a gravel road beside my house where I saw these red Sumacs:

Continuing down the gravel road, red and yellow trees towered above me:

I like autumn color when there is still enough green to highlight the red and yellow:

Along a neighbor's property:

A tree so red it almost glowed:

A small hay field between a stone wall and an autumn colored woodland:

Explosions of color all along the road:

Down toward the end of the road, this house was selling pumpkins:

The light colored bark of Aspen trees stood out among the brighter colors:

And colorful trees bordered the Amish farmer's pasture. It is down the road from his house and barn, and he takes a milk can down there in his buggy every morning, milks his cows and hauls the milk back to his family. New York's north country is beautiful all year long, but October is especially so:

Days Mill Road, Hopkinton NY - Part 1

Days Mill Road is nearby, woodsy, rural and beautiful. I like to drive it every so often just because I enjoy the scenery. It has mysterious, gated lanes which lead back into the woods and fields:

Another gated lane, this one appearing to have a residence back there, almost out of sight:

I passed a tiny brook, dappled with sunlight as it burbled through the rocks and bends:

Many of the homes, like this one, were nearly hidden behind trees. It made it hard to get photos but I'm sure it makes it a pleasant place to live:

There were small clearings alongside the road, inspiring me to think there were once homes or cabins there:

And stretches of tall Red Pines:

This small barn was nearly smothered in young trees and the afternoon sun made it difficult to photograph. I wanted to take the picture from the other end, where the door was, but that would have required pointing the camera directly into the sun:

A comfortable country home with outbuildings, patios and screened porches. This patio had a large dog chained on it who wagged his tail at me as I stopped along the road:

A large hay field which stretched way back to the forest in the distance:

A small barn with a basketball hoop:

And a house to match:

A shed with firewood and cedar fence posts, next to a stone retaining wall. There still was more to see on Days Mill Road and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Spring Has Become Summer

The cattle seem peaceful and happy. Both Rocket and Lucky are growing like wildfire. Rocket is sold and I have a deposit on him, but he hasn't yet been picked up:

The apple trees produced hardly any flowers this spring, but they are alive. Alas, the Bush Cherry which had done so well the last few years is completely dead. I now need to remove the frame around it and cut the dead bush down:

I was out in the south field, searching for the horses' muzzles one afternoon, when I saw this patch of Ragged Robin growing around a fence post. I thought it was a photo-worthy scene:

The cherry tree has produced some baby cherries:

And baby plums on the usually productive tree. I saw none on the second plum tree which bloomed for the first time this year:

Baby pears. The pear tree seems to be doing well:


One Sunday morning I collected some yellow and purple Iris, mixed them with Spirea branches and put them in a vase. I took them to church, then back home to sit on my kitchen counter:

Remy had shucked his muzzle and was running away from me when I took this photo. He had no intention of holding still while I put it back on. It was otherwise a pleasant scene:

The south field, filled with Buttercups and Ragged Robin:

And as I searched the fence line for the muzzles the horses had jettisoned, I snapped a picture of these Fleabane and Ragged Robin flowers:

The fence line runs behind an old stone wall, which presented me with a miniature woodland scene:

And Cow Vetch seems to be growing everywhere right now. June is a pleasant month except that there is so much work to do: