Just Thursday

More Amish pictures. This lady is carrying 3 bags of ice to her buggy.

During a day watching trains we were lucky to see the GE test track with these 3 going through some maneuvers using dynamic braking. It is testing an alternative way to save the actual brakes on the locomotive. If you are interested in learning more click over to  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_braking_

One of the volunteer sunflowers I have near my bird feeders.

Most every morning we have lots of fog out over the fields. The weather has been beautiful lately with cool mornings and lots of signs that Fall is near.
Have a great rest of the week.

Sunday

Early Thursday morning, the Amtrak passenger train rolls through Westfield, New York.

On a drive to Erie, Pa last week, the clouds off to the south were so amazing. These clouds hung around all day, but over us up north the sky was clear and beautiful.

This is our youngest granddaughter Jalyn, and her first lost tooth. She has 3 more loose, and hopes she gets new ones by the time corn season rolls around..

Azrael is one of my barn cats, and it a super hunter, but still loves to clown around too. BTW, since I have had the Hav-a-Hart trap set hoping to catch the coons that have been raiding my bird feeders, I've caught Azrael 3 times. LOL She wasn't upset either.

On Thursday we took the girls out to breakfast and were able to see the morning passenger train ( see above. That shot is out of order.). It was the first time they had seen this train, and they were really excited to get to wave at all the people riding the train. On the way there we drove by a riding stable and all these donkeys were waiting for their breakfast..

We went to the beach too and we all searched for beach glass. Lots and lots of feathers littered the sand. This is a gull feather.

This town has a different sect of Amish than we have at home. Their buggies have brown tops where our local Amish drive all black ones. Can you see the little boy riding in the back. They also have a barrier across the back of this buggy to keep any youngsters from falling out.

In the town of Westfield New York they have plenty of black squirrels. We drove around for a while and saw a few. I even saw a black one with a reddish tail, but couldn't get my camera focused before he ran away..
This is also the town that then President Abraham Lincoln stopped here on his way through to visit with a small girl who sent him a letter saying he would be much more handsome if he grew a beard. They have a wonderful statue of the two of them, and I will take pictures the next time we go there and do a post.

While we were waiting for more trains, the girls found lots of ripe black raspberries for their cereal, and they each got to take home a small bag..

We saw some grey squirrels too.
I hope you all are having a wonderful week-end. Tomorrow I have 3 rose bushes to plant, and the weather folks say we are going to get rain late in the afternoon. It is so dry, it will be welcome.

Sunday

Traveling around the home territory, the Amish were out and about. This first, a family at the local plaza doing a bit of shopping. The nearest Amish residence I know from this plaza is at least 9-10 miles away. That will be quite a ride for these folks.

Later that day, this buggy on a back road passed by us.

This Chippy so far has avoided Azrael. I can't believe she hasn't caught it, and each day it raids my birdfeeders. No matter they are so cute.

Checking on the bay on Presque Isle, Lake Erie finds a couple fisherfolks enjoying some nice weather. Lots of times huge freighters will tie up  on the left area dock.

We were treated to a beautiful sunset a few days ago after a short rain shower. However I can never get very good sunset photos from our home because there is a ski resort due West of our property and the mountains block the low setting sun.

Finally this is Maggie my elderly barn cat. She will be 25 years old this year. Quite a lady she is. Now deaf, she takes her position every evening in the front yard right on the "path" I will take to the barn where I will put all the chickens to bed. I usually will carry her over to the barn, and that's where she will spend the night up in our small hay loft.. She no longer hunts, and spends most days sleeping on the barn floor or maybe laying out in the sun. When she was around 5 years old, I suspect she suffered a stroke. She was missing for 4 days, and when she came home she was covered with pine pitch making me think she had been up in a tree. Anyway she walked leaning to one side and her back leg on one side just wasn't right for a long time, but over time she recovered, and is still hanging in there.
It's been a beautiful day, and more to come tomorrow, but really it's going to be hot.
Take care everyone..

Weekend Reflections

I just can't pass anything Amish, and this is an Amish farm that sells maple syrup. It also afforded me a cool reflection. Do click on http://weekendreflection.blogspot.com to see lots more.

Thursday

Look what we woke up to this morning. 2.75" of heavy wet snow. That brings our total seasonal snowfall to 100". Way below last year.. It is really pretty, but I can say that this time of year, because it is already gone!

As we pulled onto the main highway this morning an Amish horse and buggy headed toward town.

All of a sudden this week, there has been a large flock of Brown-headed cowbirds invading my feeders.  Soon they will be more interested in cows than my lunch bar and will move on.
Have a great rest of the week. We're headed for some warmer weather...

Thursday



Lots of Goldfinches, and the males are really getting their summer colors.

This Chickadee and it's mate are looking at this "hotel" and I hope they stay. It's right outside my dining room window, and I could get some cool pictures.

We happened to see these Amish driving their horses dragging big logs from the woods.. I took the picture from the back so they wouldn't see me .
More cold temps coming, and I even heard that 4 letter word-snow- in the next couple days. :~(

Tuesday

Here it is Tuesday morning, and as I post this on my blog today the temperature is 52ºF - 12 C
The skies are clearing after some rain last night. The grass is actually getting greener too. This is June like weather and we're technically still in winter! My chickens are loving it because they can scratch in the dirt and pull up worms since the ground never did freeze very deep this year. But the rough part for us humans is that it might be a bad year for all insects including mosquitoes and ticks since there wasn't enough cold weather to kill the eggs.
Now on to the above picture. We were on our way to watch trains when I spotted this young Amish man driving his team of draft horses down the road. I was quite far away when I took this, so I'm sure he didn't notice.

At our train watching spot the Bluebirds are still there and this time I saw 2 females and one male.

Looking around for something to photograph while waiting for trains, I spotted this squirrels nest across the tracks next to a large grape field.

I watched for a long time while this big gray squirrel ran up and down the tree each time going to it's nest leaving off something, and then back down the trunk.

In the nearby town there is a large population of black squirrels, and I would like to photograph them sometime, but I never can be there at just the right time, and most of them live in some one's yard.
Well, the sun is out in all it's glory, so I'd better get a load of wash out on the clothes line, then we have to go to the transfer station to recycle all our plastic and glass.
Have a wonderful day all.

Weekend Reflections

In our area is this wonderful Amish greenhouse, and right now they have the most beautiful selection of Mums! When we went there last week, I noticed this reflection in their pond that meets you as you enter the driveway. They live in a gorgeous log home. The white you see to the left of the house in back of the trees is part of their 5 greenhouses.
Click on over to http://weekendreflection.blogspot.com to see lots more reflections.

Another Rainy Day!

It's a good thing we took a ride in the past couple of days to see the Fall leaves, because today it began raining, and winds are picking up, so before long all the beauty will be gone for this year.

These are some of the pumpkins our granddaughters grew from seed this Spring. They have given some away, and will sell some.

Last Sunday afternoon we passed this Amish house where they were holding church. This is only a few of the many buggies we saw, but it's difficult to get good shots when your driving.

Some that were by the road.

A closer look at one of the fancier ones. Some even have mechanical brakes.

Azrael on the fence near the barn.
An up-date on the rescue chickens- They are doing very well, and seem to be getting along with all the rest of the flock. They have learned already to scratch in the dirt, and sunbathe, and are giving us beautiful eggs every day..

Another Rainy Day!

We've had 2 of the most miserable days! Rain, drizzle, mist, fog, and more rain!
We happened to see these Amish farmers with a wagon load of corn they were loading into the silo. The tractor you see has a flat belt attached to the power take off, and runs the machine that fills the silo.

During these sloppy days, it's always so nice to see an Orchid blooming in my greenhouse. No fragrance though.

We took a ride this afternoon to Lake Erie. The North winds were very high, and I saw 4 Cormorants swimming in the harbor. This one flew up and landed on a dock, but this was the only shot I got before he flew away, and because of the rain, I had to shoot through the window.

Here is a shot of the high waves.

Water splashing up on the rocks.

The wind was so strong and the Gulls were having difficulty standing in place.
Another day of this wetness Sunday, and then back to summer again.
At 10:20 PM, the temp is 42º, and we have our first wood fire of the season!
AND the Yankees are winning!

RUBY TUESDAY

I have posted this before, but I like the picture and thought it was worth another look.
I took this early last winter in a little town about 15 miles from home.
Happy Ruby Tuesday everybody.
Click on over to http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com to see what mary/the teach has done with this great meme.

Here and There

While on a ride to Lake Erie the other day we stopped at this marina and watched the antics of Bonaparte's gulls. They are fast flying and will repeatedly dive head first down into the water for fish. There were 100's of them all circling above..

Riding past the vast fields if grapes you can see lots of large mounds of grape skins. Some vineyards mix the skins with leaves, grass clippings, and waste fish and left to "cook". Next spring as the grape vines begin to bud, they will spread this mix on their grape fields to use as fertilizer. When they first dump the grape skins on the ground, the air all around the area smells delicious of grape juice..

Back in our area, an Amish farmer goes out one morning to spread fertilizer on his fields.

Then there is Frosty wanting to go out to play with Jasper....NOT on your life girlie!
A female Downy woodpecker visits my peanut butter feeder.

Today was very, very windy, raining most all day, and gloomy!

Guess what--- The beaver dam is washed out again...1" of rain over night..

We should be used to this kind of weather in November, but I guess you never do.

Have a super rest of the week.