September On The Farm

It has been a busy month for the fantail pigeons. The birds who haven't been able to hatch eggs or raise babies for a long time suddenly began doing both. I'd like to credit my new cake pan nests, but I suspect there were other factors as well. Anyway, here are two babies at one day old. Mama needed to be nudged aside:

 Day two:

 Day four:

 Day seven, when the parent was actively feeding the two babies:

 I discovered another nest with a baby in an advanced stage which I hadn't previously noticed. There were several other nests in progress as well. Sadly, not all the babies lived - but most of them did:

 My little bantam hens have had less excitement, though you'd think otherwise if you heard them all clucking and squawking at once. I used to think that meant someone had just laid an egg, but when I checked, there was no new egg. Heaven only knows what they squawk about:

 Their coop has a clean floor and they get their food and water topped off each evening. Their life may be unexciting, but it's safe and comfortable:

 Blue, Remy and Rosella lined up for a photograph when I walked out into the south field. With the bull gone, it is safe for me to walk out there whenever I feel so inclined:

 Lady-Thumb Smartweed is the plant which produces the pink and white flowers. I was perplexed at the tiny, daisy-like flowers but decided that they were Galinsoga parviflora, sometimes called Gallant Soldier. I furthermore decided that the flowers I previously identified as Galinsoga quadriratiata were too big and must remain unidentified, at least until next year:

 My Rose Mallows put on a big show this year, and the Tree Hydrangea did also. They made quite a handsome display:

 I tried hard to kill all the thistles in my pastures, but this one got missed. I decided that it was Bull Thistle even though it was smaller than usual:

 Autumn is harvest time, and when I stopped at these wild grapes I smiled, remembering how mouth puckeringly bitter they were in years past. But I tried them anyway and discovered that these were not bad at all, perhaps because they were riper than what I'd previously tasted:

Notes On Autumn Around The Farm

The New England Asters are all gone now, but just recently they were adding purple highlights to every corner and every roadside:

 The chickens have the run of the place and go everywhere, pooping all the while. Draco loves to watch them from the windowsill, probably dreaming of a chicken dinner:

 My three ancient Spireas had become so overgrown that they were becoming an eyesore. So as soon as the leaves had dropped, I took the chainsaw to them, cutting them down almost to the ground. They should come back, stronger than ever, this spring:

 And, in the process, I left myself a few rather sizable brush piles to haul away:

 Before I put the chainsaw away, I also tackled the Maples and other small trees which had sprung up in the Lilac patch, threatening to overtake it:

 The wild grapes were everywhere:

 And the yellow apples were also abundant. The chickens didn't seem interested in the fruit, but they found plenty of other edibles beneath the apple and flowering crab trees:

 I hauled the brush away in the tractor, taking it down to the woods. One little hen came over to investigate the big orange machine:

 My hay was all in for the year:

 The chickens had learned to use their roosts:

 And my little rooster got a bit of attention. I can't honestly say it made him any tamer, though:

Ripe apples were falling all over the lawn as the temperatures began to drop and the chill winds began to blow. All of nature was preparing for the winter which was soon to arrive:

Scenes From Around The Farm

Daybreak as I looked across the road at my neighbors' fields:

And daybreak with the rising sun lighting up my neighbors' barn. Their animals were still sleeping in the barn:

I was working on the fence line shortly after the north field had been hayed and captured this glimpse of the new bales with the barn and house in the background:

Wild grapes grew everywhere, causing much trouble with my brush clearing. They were beautiful, but terribly, terribly bitter:

I was working hard but enjoying it greatly:

I said "Howdy" to a Praying Mantis:

I'd sprayed the perimeter of the field to kill the weeds but they hadn't fallen down, so I had to weed-whack the entire perimeter of both fields. The entire operation from brush clearing, fence repairs, two sprayings, weed-whacking and hanging warning signs took nearly the whole summer:

Another view of the north field, this time from the woods:

The chickens finally began coming out and going back in on their own, but spent most of each day on that step. Well, you can imagine what happened when walking in and out of that door and the messy, poopy shoes which resulted. I got three sections of garden fence at Home Depot and solved the problem:

I netted 35 bales for feeding my cattle this winter. Of course they won't arrive until later this autumn, but I'll be ready for them when they get here:

I got to know a bit more about grasshoppers this year. This one, I believe, was a male although I don't know what species:

And this lovely creature seemed to be keeping me company in the field as I worked. I later looked it up on the internet and submitted photos to the Butterflies And Moths Of North America site. It was identified as a Bronze Copper, Lycaena hyllus:

And here's the page redording my sighting:

And lastly, a short video of my Bantam Barred Rocks waking up and coming outdoors for the morning: