The Last of September

My last post was just two weeks ago and I believe that I was whining a bit about the heat and humidity.  The very next day, it was gone.  Since then, it's been cool, sunny, cloudy, frosty, cold, mild, and rainy in turn but the heat and humidity are gone, as are most of the bugs. 

This post is going to mostly be pictures- beginning with an updated View From The Milking Stand:

If you look closely, you will see some additions to the  machinery inventory (more on those some other time) and about six tiny specks out in the green winter wheat field that are deer.  The autumn colors are coming along here but are not so pretty as some other places. 

We traveled to Washburn Wisconsin and back today - a lot of driving but the fall foliage in some areas along the way was stunning.  We picked up this fanning mill - an antique to be sure, but we will be putting it to good use cleaning grain.

Dolly the turkey hen stoically sits on her eggs through all kinds of weather - I did get a chance to candle the eggs and took away all but seven of them that do appear to be developing.  Time will tell.  We also have a chicken hen that wants to set - is something messing up these bird's sense of timing?  Rocky, the American hen is molting away a good portion of her beautiful feathers!

The cockerels will be going to the freezer in less than two weeks.  Some of them are quite handsome but there are just too many of them!

Remember the pumpkin growing through the fence panel in the hayshed?  The thing has gotten very large!  Now that the vine is frosted I think it is done growing. 

Another major sign of the season:

And that is about it for this post - I will close with a picture of our sweet doeling Periwinkle.

Be well friends.

Soggy September - bits of randomness

The title of this week's post is a weather reference, but not because it's been raining all week.  Those of you who live in this neck of the woods know what I mean - it's been warm, muggy, humid-downright uncomfortably hot at times. 

I would like to share a photo of Aitkin's Patriot Day display - it was very sobering and emotionally moving.

 We had a storm Friday night - hail about marble size.  Not too much damage to the tomatoes, peppers, or pumpkins, but these flowers that were looking so nice were pretty shredded. 

This squash is Speckled Hound.  I think it is so pretty I just wanted to show it off before we eat it - I can only find a couple of them out there in the jungle.

This week we separated most of the  young cockerels from the rest of the young chickens and turkeys - they are a bunch of thugs and are currently in poultry jail until I can get a fence up to partition off the coop-yard.  They will be in the freezer in about a month.  The rest of the  youngsters have been liberated from the pen and are cautiously exploring their expanded world. These are the turkey poults that came out of the incubator just a few months ago - they've grown a bit!

In other turkey news, Dolly has decided to set - she is on 15 eggs and the mystery is where did they come from?  They just appeared yesterday.   They are on a slope downhill from the edge of the woodshed where it is weedy.  We think they could have washed down from that area on Friday night when it was storming.  Anyway, Dolly and the eggs are just out in the open so we put some straw bales around them just to give her a little protection and to keep them from rolling downhill any further.  Not sure if they will hatch or not but we will give her a chance.

Today we had the pleasure of attending a family gathering - we have not done much visiting this summer and it was very nice to take the time to reconnect.  One of our hostesses, Talitha (probably not spelled right) introduced  me to their donkey - his name is Ole!

Come on fall weather!  See you next time, and be well friends!

September Scenes

One of the hardest parts of blogging is coming up with titles for the posts!

Overall, it was a beautiful week - We did have our first frost on Thursday morning though - it was a light one, not much damage, just a pumpkin vine or two.

Periwinkle is getting to be a big girl.  She needed a hoof trim and is just too big to hold now so she had her first turn on the milking stand - Spot was hoping for a snack I guess!

The view from the milking stand hasn't changed too much but the trees are a little lighter and although it's hard to see, there is a sheen of bright green over the brown field - the wheat is up.

Here is a closer look - this is a sight that makes Kevin very happy!

Last week I had a photo of a pumpkin on a vine growing in the hayshed.  It is really amazing to see how much it has grown - really, in just seven days!  The spaces on that fence panel are 6x8 inches.

Another odd looking pumpkin - this one is growing out of the compost bin.  Not sure it will be edible, but it's interesting.

The pigs are getting all kinds of treats theses day.  Here they are enjoying some acorns brought out  by a co-worker who has an abundance of them in her yard.  Yum!

So that's your update from the farm.  I'll be back next week - until then, enjoy the fine weather and be well friends!

Signs of Autumn

If you heard that our area got hit pretty hard by a storm Friday night, you might be expecting a damage report.  The high winds and huge hail went north and all we experienced was an impressive light show. Thank goodness for that but we do feel for those who did not get missed.

 At morning milking time there isn't much to see from the milking stand - it's too dark!  This picture was taken around midday; it's still pretty green out there, but the foliage of the forest has dulled down to a more muted hue.   The plowed field is where rye was recently harvested and is now planted to wheat.

Other signs of the season... First home game for our Aitkin Gobblers:

And our own gobbler strutting his stuff!

The Sunflowers are bowing their heads to the end of summer

These pumpkins are all volunteers from the big composting manure pile - there are more in there too!

This vine has climbed into the hayshed.  It will be fun see just how big it will get before frost kills the vine.

Be thankful the internet hasn't figured out how to send aromas in digital format!  Ranger has been splashing on that special cologne of his.

Don't worry about that chain he is wearing; he just gets a little "gangsta" for a short time when he is staked out while Kevin is moving the lad's paddock.

 So that is all for this week.  Happy Labor Day to you all; be safe out there and be well.