Summer’s End
- August 14, 2011
- Category: Daily Diary
- (11) Comments
I don’t have much to say lately. Maybe because we’re in those bittersweet days when we who live in the Northeast Kingdom realize summer is coming to a close. It’s not so much the temperature as the days which are rapidly getting shorter.
Being at a loss for words, I decided to share some farm pictures.
We have many deer who are coming to feed at our apple trees but my favorite is this trio. At dinner time, every night without fail, they appear and despite Lilly’s and Toby’s best efforts to scare them, the deer realize the dogs are no threat. And if you’ve never seen a deer eat an apple, you’re missing something. They pick up the whole thing with their mouth, roll it on their tongues and then down it goes.
Moving from wild life to the Poultry Palace; the Sebastopols are feathered out now.
And if you’re thinking about getting Sebastopols next gosling season, remember they are like puppies and put everything in their mouths.
I thought you might like to see how the pea chicks are changing colors. They were in my tack room in a nice, comfy box until I found them flying all over the room. So for the moment, they are sharing space with the baby guineas until they are larger. I took the babies away from Mama guinea when she wouldn’t be persuaded to move to the barn. We have a Fisher Cat running around at the moment who would like nothing better than a snack of guineas and while she is perfectly capable of flying, her babies are still learning.
Moving on to another odd bird, my Polish rooster/hen has an odd habit of eating as if he were a dog chewing a bone. Down he plops and takes whatever he wants between his claw feet.
Strange looking creatures are Polish chickens but they are beautiful. Here’s another one.
Mountain Man’s firewood processing station is coming along. He’s almost done and when he is, I’ll show you how it works and explain his reasoning. Kind of reminds me of a play house at the moment.
Moving on to my pumpkin obsession. In addition to my giants, I planted many other varieties. Here are the “Lumina’s,” a mid-size white pumpkin perfect for making Jack O’Lanterns.
Last night, I shut the windows and grabbed a heavier quilt and while I was snuggled under my down heaven with KT-Whippet, Mountain Man told me he heard the coyotes howling another harbinger of the coming colder days. Yes, summer is almost over here. I’m trying to enjoy every moment of it.
Thanks for visiting us everyone. What is it like where you live?
Wonderful pictures – I enjoyed them so much. It’s hard to believe the summer days are already drawing to a close. I know you don’t relish the thought of winter…but autumn will be so beautiful.
Date: August 14, 2011
What do you mean you don’t have much to say??? The photos and your captions are INCREDIBLE!! I think you can easily post one photo a day and you have a blog for a month!
You are too hard on yourself.
The geese are hilarious–mouthing everything. Who knew??! Not me. I know about frogs and snails–there isn’t much in the way of deer, geese, or Polish roosters here in Weirdville. Thanks for clueing me in!
We are in the 70′s here today and I’m putting on jeans instead of shorts. It is nice for sleeping though–I don’t want to get up!
Date: August 14, 2011
I have noticed that the mornings are a little darker now and the sun set a little sooner too. I won’t miss the hot and humid weather but I always hate to see summer end! It goes by way too fast!!
Date: August 14, 2011
Oh my gosh!! What wonderful pictures.
As someone born and raised here in TX, I cannot even fathom what it’s like in your part of the country. Still blazing hot and dry and fall is a long way away for us. Putting more covers on at night sounds wonderful! We, sadly, have to live in the air conditioner for quite a while more.
Date: August 14, 2011
I love seeing things on your farm! You take great picures of your life around there!
Date: August 14, 2011
I love your pictures too. We live in town now but have had chickens, ducks, deer, and dogs in the past. Nice to remember. Even here in a busy neighborhood we have many deer, though.
Our days are shorter too, and sometimes I’m getting up in the dark now. It is pleasant walking in the mornings with the temperatures in the 50′s. It warms up to the mid-seventies, or low eighties. Perfect weather for summer. We suffered in the hot and humid weather.
Date: August 15, 2011
My favorite of your pictures is that Polish Rooster/hen! It looks funny yet pretty at the same time. I never saw one of those anywhere other than here on your blog. Your blog is like a window into another world for me! The deer are too busy apple hunting to be chased of by your dogs. Really, I’m surprised you don’t have a whole troop of them on your farm. I like to watch the fishing cat at the zoo because looks a lot like my cat, Manny Boy. Didn’t know they ate birds though, thought they just eat fish.
Date: August 16, 2011
I never have a lot to say in your comments, but I really enjoy stopping by to see what’s happening here. Your birds are so unusual. I’ve never even seen photos of some of these before you began sharing about them and I love seeing them as they grow. I’m really glad you’re posting.
Date: August 16, 2011
Still summer here, but I can feel change in the air. It makes me a bit sad…I am NOT a fan of winter. You and Terry are and a few other people in the world, but I’m not one. Give me spring, summer and fall.
I went crazy with bush shelly beans this year…10 types. Now I’m in the process of harvesting them. The thought of bean soups for the fall sounds nice.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
Date: August 16, 2011
we built your solar kiln but the 6mil plastic has not held up. What do you recommend? The firse batch of firewood dried in abouyt forty days and we are ready to reload after we have put in a better solar cover. .What are you usinf for the solar panel? Any suggestion ? We can get 20 mil plastic but do not know if it will hold up. Thanks, hhw
?will b
Date: August 16, 2011
My, the goslings have grown ! They are certainly lovely with their snowy white feathers. Your Poultry Palace just continues to expand, becoming more and more populated.
Sorry I haven’t been by in a bit but I did something I vowed I would not do again, yes I’m a glutton for punishment. I spent the last few days making another beading tutorial. It’s a lot of work and requires more photos than I care to count. All I get from it is the satisfaction of knowing that I may have helped someone create something that, hopefully, they will be very happy with.
It’s hard to imagine that your northern days are already starting to shorten, almost makes the extension of Daylight Savings Time a futile endeavor. Down in the deep south of Florida we’re still in the throes of summer, hot and humid with almost daily rains. It will remain quite warm, if not hot, until late fall. We are also keeping a watchful eye on a tropical system named Irene. Right now it’s anyone’s guess as to what it will do or where it will head, all we can do is wait and see. September is the peak of the hurricane season so it’s something we’ve gotten accustomed to, though not truly used to.
Date: August 21, 2011