Of Apples, Trees, and Show Halters

The boss and LV 

Major Moves, a pony I used to show

Liz at 6 taking Sonora, her first show calf, off the trailer at the fair

Liz 'n Lemmie...sure wish we'd kept that cow

This year....Liz and Scooby. Not a Holstein, but whadda ya gonna do?

And....the new "apple" .....not far from the tree of generations is she?

3-up in Glen

National Dog Day

And look who got a nice, new dog house. This guy lives in the house for the most part but  spends some time outside in his run too. He used to have a barrel, which he liked just fine, but we thought he should have something better so the boss bought him an igloo style house.

He was terrified of it. He is the most chickenhearted Border Collie I have ever met. He spent a whole day hovering outside it refusing to go in.

Then I threw a big biscuit inside. He HAD to go in to get it.

He turned around once or twice, peeked out the door as if to say, "Hmm, this isn't so bad after all."

And has been hanging out in there ever since.

So, Happy National Dog Day, Finn, you silly boy you.

First Bird

Carolina Wren, one of my favorite birds

Four Northern Cardinals tuning up at 5:48 AM. So much later than in early summer, and so many fewer players in what passes for dawn chorus these days.

Still, a hosanna of redbirds is a pretty nice way to start the day...and the echo off the side of the heifer barn is like surround sound for birders. Pretty soon the Carolina Wren will start complaining and the sun will get to sunning and it will be morning again for real.

Later.......

Once the sun came up I went out hunting warblers. Migration has begun even if it is kinda quiet still. Didn't see a thing atall for most of my usual walk. Even the little copse along the driveway where there is almost always something, yielded only a Downy Woodpecker. I thought about going inside for more coffee. That second cup was screaming its siren song. I persevered instead.

Terrible shot of a Blue-winged Warbler

Good thing. A Pine Warbler soon flew over my head and landed right in front of me. Life bird. New bird for the farm. New bird for me in the state and county. Alas, I only got a photo of the Blue-winged Warbler it was flocking with, but I got a great look and am comfortable with the ID. I saw one this spring actually, but it was such a fleeting look that I didn't count it. This one though was very clear and easy.

Thus a good morning all around. Bring on the warblers!

So Sorry

Spammers as I see them

I had to switch blog settings back to only users with Google accounts being able to comment. I love your feedback, immensely enjoy all the friends I've made here and all, but the viagra and male enhancement ads have crept up from the old posts....which have moderated comments...to the newest ones. And there are a lot of them.

It was either this or turn on moderation for everything, so....

If you need to email me for some reason threecollie AT yahoo.you know what will do it.

Thanks for your patience.

Cuties

Two immature Chestnut-sided Warblers were noodling around down by the driveway this morning. So cute!

The Other Cuckoo

There are three species of cuckoo available in the USA. One is the Mangrove Cuckoo, which is found only in southern Florida. The other two occur here, but they are somewhat uncommon and quite secretive.

The Black-billed Cuckoo here on the farm earlier this summer

I was lucky enough to "get" the Black-billed Cuckoo, with photos, right here on the farm. Earlier I also managed to record the sound of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo down at Schoharie Crossing SHS, but had given up on photos of the latter. Only ever seen two or three in my life.

Then this morning I was looking for herons under the aqueduct at the crossing when I heard some chickadees. I looked up, and right over my head in a dead tree was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo preening and fluffing his feathers.

He showed no fear and obliged with lots of photos. And a short video. Yay!

Product of the USA

Or maybe not. Alas, under current regulations labels on meat are allowed to contain outright lies. "Product of the USA" should mean just that, but when it comes to meat it doesn't. Imported meat can currently be marketed under that label, with no way to discover the actual country of origin. 

You can do your part to change this.

Here is a good article.

Here is the petition. It is simple to file a comment, so go for it.

I did. 

Talk around the Table

A long time friend visited for a bit yesterday and we had a nice time swapping yarns around the kitchen table. For people who live so close to town we are very cut off from local stuff and it was really nice....especially since I was done writing for the day and didn't have to be distracted by that going on in the back of my mind.

I can't relax and settle down to gardening and household chores until the Farm Side is done, so I try to get 'er finished as early in the week as I can. Tuesday is pretty good.....

Showerheads

Are the topic for this week's Farm Side.....

Swarms

Regrets

Posted

Forever

Numbers

The Things you See

Go away, you bother me

I don't think she sees me

Buttonbush

The Sheriff

No bandit, but it sure is smokey

Sara Lib Rd. Pond where we bird

Lyker's Pond

More Buttonbush

Ren

Princess Aurora???

Outdoor Cats

Everybody thinks I don't like cats

We used to have barn cats. A lot of them. Shortly before I met the boss a lady he knew gave him three big kittens. By the time I had known him a couple of years as many as 75 cats came to the milk dish at chore time...all of them various combinations of black, white, or grey, with lots of silver tabbies thrown in. There were nice ones and nasty ones and pretty ones and ugly, battle-scarred, old Toms. 

This is a falsehood

Rats were not a problem then. I think they had one of those signs hobos used to leave on doorposts down at the bottom of the driveway, "Don't bother stopping here."

The cats ALL had names, some of them cute, some clever, some descriptive, and some profane. We all liked them. There was a veritable barn cat culture, with stories, relationships, and a lot of silliness. I wrote any number of Farm Side columns including one entitled "Dances with Barn Cats" about trying to carry a pail of milk to the calves amid the seething throng.

Speaking of names..this was Chainsaw, a great favorite of mine
his nickname was "Chain"

Then came the coyotes. At the time I met the boss there were no coyotes here at all. A few years later there were a lot of them. They eat cats, jsyk. I guess they ate ours because by the time we sold the cows there were only two or three cats left. The smart ones. The ones that stayed near the barn. They are all gone now.

He liked to help with the fencing

We had to wait for him so the coyotes didn't get him out there on the hills

The kids would like to get barn cats again and I understand, I really do. But in all the years we had cats the lazy ones always hunted at the bird feeders. They didn't eat House Sparrows either. Nope it was always a Rose-breasted Grosbeak or Northern Cardinal that they captured and all too often left on the porch as a sort of reward for me I guess. No thanks guys, I like them better in the trees.

Pumpkin

Miss Catty-fach

It's a worldwide problem and accounts for literally millions of songbirds every year. I won't get into that but it doesn't seem fair to offer the local birds a nice lunch counter in return for letting me watch them, and then put THEM on the menu. Plus I always ended up being the one feeding and caring for the cats once the new wore off. The kids say I don't like cats, but really I do. It just feels hypocritical for me to facilitate outdoor felines and wild birds in the same yard.

The infamous Elvis

So no barn cats now.

I loved Elvis, for all his foibles, and truly hated the damned  dog that killed him

Imagine my chagrin when this morning I paused as always on the stair landing on my way downstairs. Crows were alarm calling and the Carolina Wrens were frantic.

And no wonder. Right in the middle of the driveway was a big, black, cat, seated leg-o-mutton style, having a nice wash. Dagnabbit. Visitor from the housing development next door, stray, or drop off....I wonder.

When I took the doggos out he was gone, but you should have seen the little guy's mackles come up when he smelled where the intruder had been sitting. He knew. 

Then when we passed the car he went nuts (not a long trip for a Jack Russell Terrier, I know, but still).

The cat was under the car. 

The dog began swearing and leaping and muttering and thrashing. I dragged him indoors and let him off the lead, planning to coax him into his kennel with a biscuit as always.

Hah! Prey drive in a JRT is equal to the herding instinct in a Border Collie. All circuits were busy. He even blew the inside door open and got on the porch (and thank you, Alan for the strong outside door, which stopped him.) I had to grab some MacScruff and haul him back in.

No biscuit for you buddy!

I suppose this kitty must be a drop off. It is pretty tame for a stray, and it didn't streak off toward town when threatened by the Mack. I am not excited about having to walk the little juggernaut several times a day with him out there. The birds aren't happy either.

However: I DO like cats and I can prove it.

Cat story

Another cat story

Cats with thumbs

Herding Cats

Elvis was weird

Hardhearted Farmers

He's got a knife

There are many more cat stories available here if you search "cats" and plenty of fun with perhaps my favorite cat of all time, Elvis, if you search for his name....I am not sure what will happen with the guy under the car, but I'll bet there will be a story in that too.

The Sky is Falling

That muffled thud is an apple dropping off the Winesap tree. It's that time of year.

The distant grumble, growing ever nearer and more insistent, is thunder. Lots and lots and lots of thunder. It's that time of year.

The relentless swish and swash and rushing is water, falling from the sky. In bucket loads and bushels and big, bad, bunches. At least a couple of inches overnight. I guess it's that time of year.

That sharp, alarming, crack, awaking innocent sleepers long before the sun (what sun, seriously, it's 8 AM and dark as the Devil's armpit today) comes up? That, yeah, that's part of the bedroom ceiling falling on the dresser. It's that time of....

Wait! 

What!

Oh, no!!

Look up Young Man

Dragon smile

Sky smile

Passing shower

Kinda threatening

Fist of Doom

Incoming Boom

Goodnight Moon