Early snow

     I wanted to share some more of the photos I took on Friday morning of the early snow fall.  It seems
a little beside the point now, especially since so much of the north east is still without power from Saturday's freak snow storm, but the scene was so beautiful I thought a post would still be appropriate.

I headed out the door about 7:30, just after Jill left for school.  The sun hadn't quite yet made it above the mountains.

The sun finally emerges.

Looking south.

The south end of the barn, from the trail.

The back side of our house.

The heavy snow on the wet leaves made for lots of downed branches.

The mountains of NY in the morning sunlight.
As the sun rose higher, everything slowly started melting.  I headed back
to the farm to the slow drip drip of melting snow.

Darby refused to emerge from beneath the rhododendrons.  He does not like snow.

Finally I coaxed him to sit for a family portrait with Paul and Pipkin.  Paul loves snow. Pipkin does not like anything.

A vist with Tartine, Liesel and Rosy who were happily munching their breakfast.

The guineas were very bewildered by the snow and complained loudly,
looking like ill tempered old crones waiting for a bus.

Autumn

An unprecedented two posts in one day!  The weather forecast looks a little foreboding

with lots of heavy, wet snow expected this evening and tomorrow morning.  Since I already

have lots of photos of yesterday's first snow that I have not yet posted, I wanted to get these

shots of the fall foliage up before the second snow comes and really puts me behind!

The granary.  Like the pig barn, it too needs some work.  We've
added it to our list.

The pond.

Not too happy about being roused from their comfy spot in the barnyard,
the cows grudgingly saunter out to pasture.

Icarus, bringing up the rear.

Emerald thinking,  Maybe there's something better beyond this wall.

The pig barn

This is the pig barn.  Its back side is, to say the least, uninteresting.  But it is probably one of the most unique buildings we have ever seen, designed with efficiency and function in mind, turning one of the most unpleasant and labor intensive tasks a farmer could have - raising and slaughtering pigs- into one that was at the very least, a little bit easier.

Though we have no way of knowing its exact age, we estimate that it is at least 150 years old.  It still retains its original slate roof, as well as all its inner workings.  From this angle, it looks quite square and solid.  However.....

.....from this view, its south end, you can see how deceiving initial appearances can be.

 We were provided with no information whatsoever about the pig barn.  In fact, we're not sure if the previous owner even knew what it was.  It just looked like a dilapidated old shack from the outside.  It didn't take Dan long, though, to figure out its purpose once he took a look inside and perhaps that speaks more to the ingenuity of its creator than to Dan's skill as a historian.  Or maybe it's because Dan's raised enough pigs of his own to know just how amazing this building is.

In the background what appears to be a partial wall is really a bay where the farmer would have raised his pigs.  He could feed and water them there and even let them in and out via a little door in the western wall, visible in the first photo.

The previous owner had used the pig bay to raise poultry of some sort, hence the roost.

Opposite the pig sty is a stone and brick oven, complete with iron cauldron and steam hood,
in which the pigs, once slaughtered, would be scalded.

Having been used for the past several years as a dumping ground for scraps of lumber and other
assorted junk makes it hard to see the innovation within this building.  Imagine how
much easier it made life for the farmer.  From piglet to pork chop, all in one building!
It was probably much less traumatic for the pig too!

How to get the pig's heavy carcass to the cauldron though?  With this behemoth wooden winch, of course.

As you can see, the wheel itself is still in very good shape, though the wall behind it is another story.

The original rope, for hauling up those hog carcasses.

The front of the pig barn.  Pig bay to the right, scalding oven and giant wooden winch to the left.

As sad as the pig barn looks right now, we hope to be able to restore it to its original glory some day.  Fortunately, Vermont recognizes the value in preserving historic buildings such as these and its barn preservation program has rescued many wonderful buildings.  On our to do list is seeking out and applying for grants to help rejuvenate this gem.

View from the clothesline.

Today's view from the clothesline is a bit different from the last one.  Yesterday, the first snow of the season began falling in the early afternoon, very wet and heavy.  It hadn't abated in the least by bed time and this morning... voila!  I took a lovely walk along the rail trail as the sun came up over the mountains and I was captivated by the scene.  Those photos will follow.

That blue sky is quite deceptive.  Still quite cold.... I don't think I'll be hanging laundry out today.

Cows of the day!

Even though there was lots of work to be done, it was so beautiful on Monday that I didn't want to waste the opportunity to gather more photos.  I use them often as reference materials for future artwork, as well as potential blog shots.  Even though most of the leaves have long since deserted the trees, there were enough left to add a little autumn color and combined with the gorgeous blue sky they made a lovely backdrop.

Most of the cows were lolling about the barnyard eating hay, having gotten a little too lazy to actually wander out into the pasture where grass has become a little less abundant.  But, since it was warm and pleasant, I decided that at least a little exercise would be in their best interest, plus it was a much more scenic atmosphere for a photo op.  So, with a little prodding they grudgingly wandered out to the pasture where I pleaded with them to pose every now and then so I could get a few shots.  Very few of them gave in to my begging, but these three complied, I think more out of pity than cooperativeness, so I decided to honor them by naming them all "Cow(s) of the Day!"

On the left we have Ainsley.  Though her full name is Otter Morr Dakota Ainsley, for reasons that I cannot explain whenever I interact with her I call her Ainsley Butterworth, in as close to a Katherine Hepburn voice as I can get, pronouncing Butterworth as Buttuh wuth.  I don't know why I have chosen to give her a last name, as none of the others have one or, even more puzzlingly, why it should be pronounced thusly, but there you have it.  Perhaps it's because she always behaves in a very businesslike manner, always on her way somewhere with something important to do.  In fact, Ainsley may look familiar, as she is the star of August's "Ainsley Freshens" post, and the video clip of her mooing to her new calf attests to her businesslike nature!  Ainsley is 5 years old and a very good milker, very patient and calm.

In the middle is Neysa and on the right is Sonya. Both 3 years old, Neysa and Sonya can often be found hanging out together.  In fact, except for Neysa's darker face and legs, they look very much alike and have almost identical demeanors. They too are calm and quiet, but since this is their first lactation they are not the best of milkers.  This is normal though, and as they get older they should milk better with each lactation.

It was a very successful walk among the cows and I will post more photos in the coming days.  My next post will concern the very unique pig barn on our property.

Double Wayward Goose Rainbow!

We always knew our farm was special.  Now we have proof!  A breathtaking double rainbow last Sunday during a brief but intense downpour, ending right at Wayward Goose Farm!  Thank goodness Jill was ready with her camera.

Rosy and Maple move in!

We decided it was time to bring Maple and Rosy, our Jersey heifers, home.  Maple will be a year old in December and Rosy was born in April.  All summer they'd been bunking with the pigs down the road in the Consider Bardwell pasture.  Now that we have a nice new spot all fenced in we thought we'd take advantage of the beautiful weather last week and attempt to lead them down the road so they could share it with Liesel and Tartine.  So, Dan and I biked down the rail trail and cut across the alfalfa field near the goat pasture and up the path to the fenced in hillock where the pigs have been grazing and rooting since spring, playing host to the heifers, so that Dan could catch Rosy, tie a bale string around her neck and lead her home.  We weren't sure what to expect, since she'd never been led before.....

First, past the Consider Bardwell goats, out grazing in the afternoon sun.

Next past the pigs.  This one is too busy to notice us.  At first.

When she realizes there may be a chance to escape, or better yet, for food,
she runs and joins the rest of the gang.  They line up and heckle us when they realize
there will be neither.  Though they are all girls, they are not very lady like.

Rosy proves to be very accommodating, letting Dan not only tie a string around her neck,
but leading quite nicely.  The pigs, on the other hand, are quite grumpy, complaining and
conspiring all the while.  One even took a nip at Dan's leg.  Rosy is obviously quite
disdainful of her porcine roommates.

As the 2 hereford pigs distract Dan, the 2 pinkies whisper their escape plan.  Rosy is wise to their
deceitful ways, having spent all summer in their devious company.  She vows to foil their plot!

Wendy watches the goings on from her yard.  She is not impressed.

All goes off without a hitch!  The pigs' escape attempt is foiled, and
Rosy and Dan are soon scampering down the road toward the new pasture
where Liesel and Tartine are waiting.  Just one more hurdle to get past.....

This could be trouble! Dan must navigate Rosy past the pasture where the cows are grazing.
Being very nosy creatures, as soon as they see the little entourage, they come running, mooing loudly!
Hopefully, they will stay IN the pasture and Rosy will stay out of it.

Finally, they make it to the new pasture.  Tartine and Liesel welcome her heartily!

Next, it's Maple's turn.  Fortunately all goes well and she is now happily settled in
with Rosy, Tartine and Liesel.  The pigs are happier too.

The D&H Rail Trail

The last few days have been so exceptionally gorgeous that we couldn't help but take a few minutes to enjoy them.  What better way than to take advantage of the D&H Rail Trail which literally runs through our back yard.  This amazing 19.8 mile trail was once an active part of the now defunct D&H railroad and thank goodness that the state of Vermont saw its value once it was no longer a viable mode of transportation for trains!  Beautifully maintained by the Vermont Dept. of Forests, Parks and Recreation, it is now enjoyed by many people as a great place to hike, bike, snowmobile, cross country ski, ride horses, push baby strollers, walk dogs, etc. etc.  It is immensely popular with young and old alike and runs from Rupert, VT to Castleton, VT with many access points along the way.

Jill and I rode our bikes.  This is about a half mile north of our farm.

One of the old railroad bridges, made over into a pedestrian/snowmobile/horse/bike bridge.

We rode into lovely West Pawlet, about a mile and a half north.  This is the view from the trail access
across rt. 153.  The trail from this point heads north into Granville, NY, a mile or 2 away.

An old railroad depot in West Pawlet.

After an enjoyable bike ride into West Pawlet, we headed back home.  Here you can see the Indian River, which runs along the trail, on the right.

In fact, not far from our back door is a quiet little fishing spot.  Dan snuck away from farm chores for
a few minutes last Sunday to throw his line in.

He only caught one, but boy, did it taste good!

Follow this link to see more photos and read more information about the D&H rail trail.

Last hay of the season

On Monday we unloaded what will probably be the last 3 loads of hay for the year.  The hay itself had been mowed, raked and baled a few weeks ago during the last stretch of warm, dry weather, before the tractor gave in to its many ailments and refused to go an inch further.  Although it will most likely be all fixed up and ready to go by next spring, its absence, combined with damp mornings, short days and a lack of good drying conditions all around, make any further haymaking exceedingly unlikely.  We decided to take advantage of Monday's gorgeous fall weather and unload the aforementioned wagons and, since Jill had no school because of Columbus day, she was able to lend a hand.  She was thrilled.

Margot unloads the hay, Jill makes sure they stay on the elevator straight.

Up the elevator, into the haymow where Dan tosses them to Alex who stacks them.

Margot and Jill, still at it.

Wendy and Stella, Margot's and Alex's pooches, watch from the haymow.

Wendy decides that under the wagon is cooler so she rests there for a minute before going
off to find some more tasty tidbits of manure to feast on.

Dan and Jill take a break with Stella and Wendy between loads.

Oscar, again, making sure all is up to snuff.