Ruby Tuesday

Fall seems slow in arriving with much color. These were taken a few years ago.
Thanks to mary/the teach for hosting this cool site. click on the Ladybug at the right for more great shots.

Today's Flowers

Today's Flowers is another of my Orchids that is blooming right now. This one also has a delightful fragrance. Be sure to click on the side bar to see more gorgeous flowers.
Below is my regular post for today

Good Morning all. It's 42º here and the skies are cloudy. I see on the radar there is rain not too far away, so we might get wet today. Another busy day yesterday . In the afternoon the "kids" were over to help stack our wood in the shed. We also did some straightening in the barn. I had sub fixins', potato salad and chips for lunch, and we had pizza casserole for supper.
These pictures are from a trip we took last Fall to the Amish country about 50 miles from home. This first shot is looking down the road that leads to all the Amish farms. Horse drawn machinery.

Horse drawn hay rake.

It was on a Monday, and you can see the clothes hanging out on the line.

Some pretty leaves lining the dirt road.

More pretty leaves.

As we were driving home, we spotted these 2 boys ahead of us, so I can title this "The End". This buggy has an open box in the back for carrying groceries or people. You can see the iron steps right in front of the hazzard triangle sign.

Have a wonderful day, and get out there and take at least 1 picture .

Busy, Busy Day

Good Morning all. I apologize if I didn't get around to all my favorite blogs yesterday. It was a crazy day. We had a house/ barn burning early in the morning. I take photos for the fire department that they use for training. After lunch we worked some on straightening up the barn getting ready for the new goats and chickens. The small Banty chickens won't be able to bunk with my bigger ones because of their size, so we need to build a special home for them in the barn. Then our son and daughter-in-law came over to work on our wood. Remember, she is the one that likes to split wood with a big maul. They'll be back today to work on it again. They will split, Gary will be driving the tractor with a bucket on the front to carry wood to the shed, and I'll be watching the girls and fixing meals. It has become a yearly tradition I guess.
This was yesterday morning when all of a sudden this heavy fog rolled in. More fog on my morning walk.

Plenty of frosty foliage around. These Asters looked like they were dipped in salt.

In our son and daughter-in-law's front yard you can see where the sun had melted the frost in between the trees.

This is the barn just as it was set on fire. There were 3 fire companies there to keep an eye on things. By this time the house had already been burned. These buildings were old, and not used any more. The owners probably will plow up the ground after everything is cleaned up, and use it for crops. I took 180 pictures.

Almost ready to collapse.

First Frost!

Good frosty morning all. The temp. is 28º right now, and will no doubt drop a few more degrees before dawn. We knew it was coming, and I put all my potted plants in the garage last night. There is a weather alert for colder temps tonight.
Yesterday we went to look at 2 goats I'm thinking about buying. I used to have milking goats for years, and after I retired, I gave them all away, but I miss them, and have decided to get a couple again just for pets. I've located a lady that is downsizing most of her animals. She has 2 Pygmy goats named Savannah, and Honey Bun. Mother and daughter. Can you believe it I left my camera in the van ! Anyhow they are just what I'm looking for, and will make arrangements next week to get them home. Where they are now is right in the heart of New York's state of Amish country. This first shot is on the interstate on our way. We took our lunch, and I got these shots while we were eating. These Amish are a different order from the ones that live near us. They drive different colored buggies, dress differently, and belong to the "Old Order Amish" who are a bit more strict in their beliefs.

This man was carrying lumber in the back of his wagon. When we arrived at our destination we were surprised to see it was a Bed and Breakfast.

This cottage before it was a B&B was home to many young just married Amish couples. They stayed here until their families got too big for the one bedroom cottage, and then moved on. The lady told us there had been 5 families over the years. She gave us a tour and it is so charming. They had to add electricity and plumbing.

This lady is also going to downsize her chicken flock, and I am going to pick up 4 more laying hens. I've had requests for more eggs lately, and this will fit in just perfect. She also has some Banty Silky hens and a rooster I will get. They are quite small, and beautiful with their silky feathers. They also make great mothers, so I will try to raise some peeps next spring. I'll post pictures when I get everyone home.

SkyWatch Friday

It was a weird day. The weather was typical October weather actually, but any one wanting to take pictures might want to keep their eyes focused to the sky nearly all day.
Clouds of every shape, changing every second, rain sometimes so heavy it looked like a curtain, windy, blowing leaves everyplace, and then all of a sudden the sun would shine, and presto a beautiful rainbow! The geese were on the move traveling from one cornfield to another searching for any leftovers from the last chop.
Have a wonderful SkyWatch Friday, and if you click on http://skyley.blogspot.com/ you can view more spectacular SkyWatch photos. Thanks to Tom, Sandy, Imac, and Klauss for hosting this site.

Raining again

Good Morning all. It's another soggy morning. It's also 43º here, raining , windy, and I just got the wood stove going. Already it's beginning to feel toasty. At this time of year we burn smaller junk wood just to heat up the house, and then we usually let the fire go out as the sun comes up, but today I don't think that will happen. There isn't any sun in the forecast for Thursday.
I thumbed back through my files last night and pulled out some shots of barns. I really like barns and these were taken over the past few years. If this weather doesn't clear up today I might have to post more older pictures tomorrow.
Have a wonderful day.
This one certainly has seen better days, but perfect for photo ops. A quite small barn. I wonder what they kept in here. Maybe a horse and the family cow?

This one is in better shape.

I love the grape vine wreath on the end wall.

At least the tractor has a dry home.

We watched this old barn over the past several years slowly collapse, and now there is nothing standing.

Stay dry today, and I'll be back tomorrow.

Oh, I missed the best shot yesterday while we were out driving. A Groundhog out in someones yard sitting up holding a half eaten apple in his front paws. It was so cute, but there was no place to stop. Drat !