Fantastic Fall

The fall season progresses, the leaves continue to drop, and the sun’s rays can now reach the forest floor easily through the breaks in the forest canopy; once thick and almost impenetrable.

 

The sunshine is bright, the leaves are golden and the mood is happy and joyful which is in great contrast to the ominous atmosphere resulting from the darkness of summer’s full canopy.  

Even though the earth is beginning its time of slumber, the overall feeling is one of jubilation and activity.  The cool weather is advantageous to my body and spirit.  I have more energy, more movement and more initiative than during the hot, humid days of summer… a great reason for declaring autumn my favorite season of the four.

 

One of my favorite fall activities is leaf crunching - walking noisily through the dried fallen leaves.  I even caught Jake partaking of this activity today.

 

 I feel alive!

A New Addition, Or Should I say Additions, To The Farm

Yesterday was shopping day.  Not for groceries, or clothes but for a new Katahdin breeding ram.

Glenn and I drove over the mountain to Monterey, Virginia, home of the Highland County Maple Festival which is held in March when the sap is running and the sugar bushes are in full activity.  Since the deciduous trees in our area currently display a very muted fall color, I was expecting the same in Highland County.  I was wrong.  The leaves of the mature sugar maples had already fallen.  In fact, most of the trees exposed their winter wear - leafless branches.

 

Father of  'little ram'

Mother of 'little ram'

The owner of the ram we went to see was friendly and hospitable.  We viewed the 4-month old ram.  Then, before making any decision on the purchase, we were shown the parents of said ram along with a full tour of his farms which included viewing his herd of Galloway cattle, both belted and solid; his sheep flock which included a sentry dog, and various other aspects of his well-maintained, beautiful farm.  Magnificent views surrounded us, 360, from every hilltop.  The afternoon was fabulous.

a white Galloway or a teddy cow?

 

the 'guard' dog



the guard dog resting



the guard dog 'on break'

 

We loaded the little ram into the covered back of Becky’s pickup truck along with his twin sister.  Yep, we ended up buying the pair who, of course, had been together since birth. 

On our way back through Monterey, we made quick stop for dinner at a local restaurant/tavern.  It was about 5:00Pm and I had not eaten since my yogurt at breakfast.  Both Glen and I ordered the special - spaghetti, garlic bread and one trip to the salad bar.  The salad bar was fresh and had plenty of choices that I liked.  I promised Glenn half of my salad (remember…we only got one trip) but I ended up eating the entire plate myself.  It was that good.  My spaghetti sat while I enjoyed the salad.  I also like cold food, so I was not concerned.  But, by the time I dug into the plateful of spaghetti, it was still steaming hot.  And, the sauce was fabulous.  I am usually not a fan of restaurant spaghetti, but his was seasoned perfectly.  I did share the spaghetti with Glenn. And, I am glad I did.  I left the table quite full.

At the top of the mountain, we made another quick stop to enjoy the setting-sun view.  From several feet away, we heard the lambs bouncing around in the back of the truck which was our signal to continue on our trip home.

We arrived back at our farm after dark.  Glenn backed the truck into the barn so that we could unload the two lambs into the barn paddock for their first night at Mountain Glen.  The ram went first.  As Glenn returned for the little ewe, the little ram escaped into the barn. Quickly, I bear hugged the ewe while Glenn retrieved the ram before he could reach the darkness of the yard - a potential problem avoided - whew!

 

'little ram'

By the time breeding season arrives, this little guy will be ready to take on the young ewe lambs that will also be ready for breeding.  Winky, our seasoned ram, will handle the breeding of the older ladies.

Autumn Advances

Autumn continues to advance.  The multitude of the greens of summer have/are transforming into the myriads of autumn hues - golds, browns, reds, yellows, and more.

Unfortunately, this autumn is not the color blaster that most people look forward to as early fall advances into mid- fall. This year we have what I affectionately call a 'russet fall'.

As for me, I am just a lover of the fall season - color change, any change, is a wonderful sight.  I just like color.  All color!  Yes, the vibrant hues are exciting.  But, the more muted tones can be just as fabulous. 




And, the more prominent browns of this year result in a natural calm.

PEACE!

A Most Unusual Haul

Becky needed a few items for her farm that were currently taking up residence on the main farm.

 

So, the items were loaded and hauled to the ‘55’ farm.

 

A trough feeder was loaded.  The feeder was sitting (rusting) unused in the pasture.  It was perfect to serve feed up to Becky’s newest acquisition…her pigs.

 

A few bales of hay were loaded.  Glenn had just purchased some bales of hay.  He filled the main hay barn as well as a section of the utility barn (No more vehicle parking there.)  The remaining bales were lying around and taking up space in the yard.  They would be better off stored in the big old barn at ‘55’. So, those scattered few bales were loaded.

 

The hardest item to load was the OUTHOUSE. Yes, OUTHOUSE.  This outhouse was also sitting out in the pasture, not rusting, but rotting.  So, off to ‘55’.  This outhouse would be transformed into a feed storage bin so that Becky could purchase pig feed in bulk - much easier and much cheaper than buying it in 50 pound bags as she has been doing since the pigs were added to her farm animal mix.

 

Now, why did we have a outhouse sitting in our pasture?  That is another story for another blog.  But, this outhouse had gone unused for over 10 years waiting for just such a time when it could be put back into action; a different action, but action nonetheless. 

 

I was told that the rolls of toilet paper were still in place, though.

 

 

 

The load slowly moved down the highway to '55' where it was unloaded.

 

 

 

And, maybe no one will notice the privy as it hides behind the silo when it is finally put into place.  But, right now, it is in full view sitting in the barn lot.  The cows have shown no interest or intent on using this structure which has just shown up in their domain. 

 

Recycle, reuse, upcycle…you make that choice!

I'm Back..Did You Miss Me?

Yep, I am back..to posting in my blog.  I do not know if you missed me, but I certainly missed contributing to my journal.

 

Autumn is my favorite season, so I will begin by posting just a few early autumn highlights.

 

Sit back and enjoy!

 

THE GREENS OF SUMMER ARE CHANGING TO THEIR AUTUMN GLORY!