Happy Halloween

From the scary Zombie Prom Queen.

And all of us at Northview Farm 

Credit where Credit is Due

I'm not much of a fan of government meddling in agriculture, but these stories deserve notice.

The Real MEAT Act

Text of the Bill

Investigate!

The Things you See

After receiving a new set of spark plugs the car was raring to go, so we headed out today. We came upon this Amishman trotting merrily home from the field with this team and forecart. We followed him a while because we weren't in any big hurry. 





Then we went to Beardsley Reservoir, where we found a cute little Pied-billed Grebe, a few other birds and most of the rodent population of the county. We saw Grey and Red Squirrels and so many chipmunks it was mind boggling, sometimes five or six at a time.

The squirrels were trying to drop acorns on us but thankfully they missed. One was dropping them in the water at the edge of the lake and what a plonk that made.

Then we headed on home, but were forced to detour as one of the roads we normally take was closed for some reason. That turned out to be serendipitous, as that is when we came upon the Amishman on inline skates, swooping up the road like a cross country skier. He had on a backpack and in one hand a pair of rubber boots held by the top, straight up in the air. In the other hand he had a compound hunting bow.

I feel that I can honestly say that I have seen everything under the sun now....alas, I tried to grab a video but didn't push the right button.

It sure was a fine day for so late in October....like a bit of Indian Summer with all the oaks and a few late maples flaunting their finest colors before the bell rings for the end of this round and winter sets in for real.

Rustling

...is illegal....

Unless of course it's just the corn.

 

The Thang

Since we saw that unidentifiable swan out at a place we call Lykers Pond because it is a pond and it is near Lykers, we have been going out there often.

It is, I know, a futile hope that we will find that swan again, but we sure won't ever find it if we don't look.

Thus yesterday we stopped for a bit, although it was too late to see much. Birdies like the early hours as a rule.

What I did see was this thang floating among the cattails near a beaver house. At first I thought it was a bedraggled children's toy. Kinda looked as if it had legs and a head. Or maybe arms.

Then I thought possibly a defunct pillow. I mean there are people who have things that ugly sitting on their couches right?

I took a bunch of photos and upon looking closer through the camera (which has more zoom than my binoculars) I realized that it was a naturally occurring object. Or substance. Or something.

 I came to the conclusion that this may be the root of a large water lily. We once lost a big one in the garden pond...winters get cold here...and the roots looked somewhat like this when we removed them. I think maybe a beaver got this, which is a shame, as there are some gorgeous bright pink ones growing halfway up the pond. Darned rodents anyhow.

"He" even has a feather tucked behind his ear

Or it could be a Hobbit that tried to capture a beaver and lost.

Who knows? 

Do you?

To My Friends in Canada

I am so sorry.....

I know you Love

All those wonderful research links....or maybe not, but I do like to share them. This week's Farm Side is about farmers in several countries, including our own, getting irritated, and those silly "extinction rebellion" kiddies and their misguided protests.

Without further ado....

Dutch Tractor Protest and the worst rush hour ever.

Pics of thousands of tractors filling highways.

Angry Farmers

The French are flaming mad ticked off too.

Rally to Stop the Stealin'.

Even if you don't love research links, there is some interesting reading at these links as I can attest, having been perusing them since long before that faint light, now staining the eastern horizon, made its appearance. 

Going Out with a Bow

We have had an unprecedented run of fine weather so far this month. However, it looks as if tomorrow will bring the beginning of the gloomy fall weather we expect at this time of year.

The wild things know it too. After waiting and waiting and waiting for migrating ducks to show up we found them everywhere this morning. 24 Common Mergansers at Schoharie Crossing alone, and flocks of puddle ducks hanging out with the Canada Geese in the cornfields. I am a little under the weather with a kindergarten cold and the boss is even worse off so we didn't do too much today.

However, we certainly saw some fine sights in our pursuit of all things agricultural or avian.

Zingers

This is a Winesap apple, but I don't think they meant it that way

Bumbling wasps stagger over fallen apples, drunk on the cold of the mornings and fermented apple juice.

But are they happy drunks? No they are not. 

There is no gratitude for the bounty left behind by gravity and moth grub.

Instead should a dog's paw or a human ankle inadvertently brush their personal cider spheres, they emerge from their stupor to zip to the offender and sting and sting and sting. 

So far this year we have been careful and unscathed, but last year one got poor Mack in the neighborhood of the nethers and made him more than a little miserable.

And speaking of miserable....

Here, for your personal misery....without the benefit of alcohol,...are a couple of zingers of the news story variety. These didn't make me terribly happy, but then what from the news media does these days....

Fifty Shades of Not so Green

The inmates are running.....but not the prison....

Thanks to a couple of friends, from both near and far, for finding these. 

Fruit 'o the vine
Just wait until frost.

Am I seeing Things?

Deer vs cat

We were out looking for birds yesterday morning and we had just passed a Great Blue Heron perched atop a power pole, which was odd enough

Then I burst out laughing and shook my head in disbelief.

Tables turned

The boss asked what I saw but I was laughing so hard I had a hard time telling him.

What I thought was a Wild Turkey out in a field with some late-lingering deer was a little black cat.

And one of the deer was following it across the field pretty much like a duckling after its mother.

The boss wanted to see it too, so we turned around, although we figured it would be all over by the time we got back there. However, the deer, the kitty hawk, as we call them when we see them out hunting in the wild, and a whole lot of other deer were still at it.

I grabbed some quick photos and we got out of there, as although it isn't a busy road, traffic does proceed at warp speed most of the time.

To my amazement when I got home to look at the photos, the reason the tableau was still in place was that the deer and cat were taking turns chasing each other. I'll let you judge for yourself what was going on, but I would call it play.

***You will probably need to click on these to see them...taken at great distance and through the wrong side car window. Sorry.

The Things you See

Auriesville Shrine

Getcher Mad On

Been hearing about this for years, been victims of it in fact, but this is the most clear and concise rendition of the situation in the milk market I have read yet.

You would think farmers could rely on the cooperative to which they belong to act in their best interests....yeah, right....read the story and see what you think.

If you Forget your Umbrella

Nobody can be dignified ALL the time.

Then you must BE the umbrella. Between torrential downpours and clamoring cloudbursts today, we found this Bald Eagle perched on a fence post at the horse farm where folks normally look for Upland Sandpipers. 

Upland Sandpiper, same fence but in June

The uppies have pretty much all migrated, but I am so in the habit of checking the tops of the posts as we drive by that I was doing so today.

Sure didn't expect to find this giant trying to dry his wings before the next storm came along. He doesn't look too happy.

I think he is judging us

We are not as happy as we might be either, as the driveway took a terrible beating.

Sun's out now though.

Someone is building a really big barn

Which is Scarier?

The vine or the sign?

Happy Birthday

To this delightful young lady. She is truly the other half, the missing piece, the just-what-he-needed to our much loved son. It is wonderful to have her in the family. 

Happy Birthday, Amber Lynn Friers!