24 Hours Up At The Farm - Part 2

The previous owners of the farm had planted a small flower garden alongside the milk room. The Richards family lived there for 40 or 50 years and no doubt this small flower garden was a real asset back when the milk room was the money making center of their dairy farm. But today, it's so choked with weeds that I can't even see the stone border. A few hardy cultivated flowers persist, though, a reminder of times past and a tribute to the strength and persistence of those plants.

Fergus, Seamus and Casey sniff around the lilies in the milk room's border garden. Fergus is fond of running full speed in giant circles around the house. Seamus, being of a calmer temperament, won't join him.

Wally and Winky trot across the lawn on one of their breaks.

Inside that unfinished addition on the rear of the farm house is the apartment which Rick is finishing. I've contracted with a local builder to install vinyl siding over the entire house, so in a month or so these pictures will be all that remains of "the old look."

I've got most of the fence posts in place for a dog fence. In fact, I managed to put up a great deal of the fencing before I left for home last Monday. Alas, although most of the ground is sandy and easy to dig, I've just hit a stretch which is nearly impenetrable. I'll have to figure out some way to get through it the next time I'm up there.

I stopped the lawn tractor in the middle of my mowing to let the dogs out for a brief run. Here, Casey and Fergus are giving everything the sniff test. Wren is supervising.

I noticed a blue flag waving in the breeze across the road from me. It had a baby bottle on it and I knew that the young couple who lived there was expecting a baby. So I walked over to congratulate them. They were inside and had put a chalkboard near the door announcing the baby's name and suggesting that callers leave a note. I thought that was a good idea, saving them from excess visitors, so I left them a note. I also said hello to their 2 friendly horses before I left.
And coming from their driveway, this is the view of my place. I think that big old maple is a potential hazard with all the high winds up there. It should probably get cut down one of these days.

And this is the look of sunrise from my back porch. The skies are big and expressive up that way. The daytime skies are blue with high puffy clouds and the nighttime skies are crowded with stars.

Wally puts on his "country dog" look.

Casey, Seamus and Fergus join me in the kitchen for a meal. They'd like to sit at the table but their food is on the floor.

24 Hours Up At The Farm - Part 1

As soon as I arrived, I took the dogs for a walk around the back of the barn. Then I let them into the house and went by myself to see the progress in the apartment. Because there was exposed insulation which their toenails would ruin, the dogs weren't allowed in there this time. I found that Rick had made much progress and it was easy to see that the place would be a pleasant living space.

I got the dogs settled and my groceries into the refrigerator. Then I went out mow the lawn, a job which takes nearly the balance of the day. There were white butterflies everywhere and I photographed this one which I later identified as a Cabbage White, Pieris rapae.

As I began mowing the edges of the lawn, I was brushing against the hay field which was filled with so many wildflowers that it seemed like a giant bouquet.

I've kept a small swath mowed from the lawn into the hayfield:

And this perky bird was following my movements, possibly watching to be sure I stayed away from her nest. She's a female Redwinged Blackbird.

And standing near the mowed swath to the south hay field, I could see the barn, the milk house and the lawn tractor. You can't see it in this picture, but the house is just to the left:

And if you look inside the barn from that open doorway you see in the photo above, this is what it looks like. I've got junk to remove, but the stanchions are in place ready for cattle. There's also box stalls well suited for horses:

And I have 3 or 4 patches of blackberries in my north lawn near the dirt road which are just beginning to ripen. I, of course, stopped to stuff some of them in my face. Furthermore, I THINK (but can't yet be sure) that I've discovered a huge fenced in patch of cultivated raspberries. I didn't see any ripe raspberries, but I'll wade in there on my next trip for a closer look.

Those are the apple trees on the left, the house and barn on the right.

Winky trots across the newly mowed lawn between the barn and the apple trees in the photo below. He's not very fast, but then I've seen X-rays of those little legs and his bones are shaped somewhat like question marks. Given those legs, he does quite well.

In the photo below, Wally and Fergus are enjoying the same stretch of lawn. To them it's not a lawn but rather a grassy toilet. Well, I suppose it's also a playground for them.