Photo Album, Summertime On The Farm

Goldenrod, apparently multiple species, began blooming in mid-August and has been increasingly abundant ever since. Many uncut fields are, by now, looking all yellow:

The Tall Garden Phlox bloomed for about a month and then faded. I sat at the base of them one afternoon for a rest:

 The apples began to fall from the trees:

 The fantail pigeons enjoyed their freedom to come and go at will:

The family across the road threw a big pig roast, inviting everyone on our county road. There was a local country band:

 And all the neighbors brought beer and food to share:

 When my sister came to visit, she carried out apples for the cows:

I think she was disappointed that they wouldn't eat them out of her hand, but she got much closer than anyone else (other than me) has ever gotten:

One of the two plum trees I planted when I bought the farm produced plums this year. I found three small windfalls and ate them. They were delicious:

 I left the bigger plums to stay on the tree a while longer. I wanted them to become as sweet as possible:

New England Asters began blooming alongside many roads, a sure sign that autumn is here and winter is not far away:

My little bantam hens reduced their egg laying to almost nothing. Either that or they've got outdoor nests again which I haven't found. They enjoy full freedom every day during the summer:

The Santa Clara Tract Northern Flow - Part 3

The dogs and I had been walking the trail along the widened Northern Flow, part of the St. Regis River (see previous two posts). It was a happy, wild experience:

And the dogs were having fun. I never officially turned back toward the trail head. The trail loops around on its own, so we just kept walking:

Soon we were back in sight of the water. Clover ran full speed to get to it:

It had been several minutes since they played in the water, so they had to do it all over again:

Clover was never a water dog before, so her newfound interest surprised me:

Fergus and Daphne waded, but Jack had discovered the joys of rolling in stinky swamp mud. Life can't get much better for a formerly abused, terrified Shelter dog:

I was happy too:

The dogs ran ahead, exploring everything with great joy. We met an older woman with a young girl. Luckily, they were dog lovers, for my crew greeted them with excessive enthusiasm:

We were getting close to the trail head at this point:

Wildflowers were in bloom all along the way:

And then we spotted our car, just ahead. I always love how the dogs are just as excited and happy to get back in the car as they were to get out of it at the beginning of a hike. Life is one joy after another: