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We have been conducting a low-level war with the Canada Geese as long as we’ve been at the farm.  They are pestilent, and persistent.  But I too am persistent: whenever we see geese, we run across the lawn at them, screaming, and then get in the rowboat to chase them off the pond.  Our neighbors think […]

Sarah dusted off her bicycle for the first ride of the season. Here is one of our resident turkeys.  Soon we should have lots of poults (that is farm talk for baby turkeys). On Sunday, Sarah went for a trail ride in Walden N.Y. with her friend Michaela (not pictured).

We returned from a long absence (okay, two weekends) to find many signs of spring. At school, Sarah just finished a segment called “Wild Northeast,” in which each student selected a northeastern animal or plant (only two kids picked plants) and wrote a little book about it.  Sarah chose the Northern Spring Peeper (seen here and […]

We had a nice long weekend up at the farm celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. day, President Obama’s inauguration, and my father’s 75th birthday. It was cold on Saturday, but on Sunday it was mild enough to get everyone outside. The wild turkeys seem to be doing OK this winter. Sarah broke the ice to […]

The pond started to ice over on Saturday, but this mallard couple was undaunted.  They were back on Sunday, when everything had melted.  Maybe they will try to ride out the winter with us. A cardinal provided a shot of color to the late fall landscape.

Sarah had her last soccer practice of the season on Saturday.  It culminated in an approximately five-on-thirty game of coaches versus kids.  The coaches were surprisingly competitive. Chuck has been spending many, many hours gathering the falling leaves. We had fine weather all weekend.  On Sunday, Sarah brought out her bug-collecting gear. Our bluebirds seem to […]

We had some really impressive thunderstorms Saturday evening.  Perhaps in response, this woodpecker went looking for a safe and cozy spot.  He found one by making a hole about the size of a silver dollar in one of the pillars on the back porch. The storm also shook loose lots of tomatoes.

We had a very relaxing summer vacation at the farm.  We had beautiful sunsets … … and beautiful moonsets. Jen made blackberry jam and other delicious things. We spent plenty of time with our resident hawks, who for some reason have nested very close to our bedroom window, rise early, and are quite agitated. Jen […]

It’s probably a little early in the Spring to start gardening, but on Saturday afternoon we visited the Northern Dutchess Botanical Gardens to see what they had.  Sarah seemed skeptical. She prefers the simpler flowers. We do have some fancier flora blooming, such as these Allium. On Sunday, these tire-kicking bluebirds attended our open house, […]

A Red Admiral enjoyed the lilacs on Saturday.  They are just starting to bloom.  Unfortunately, the temperature on Saturday night plunged to 23 degrees, and it is forecast to do so again tonight. We have a bumper crop of herons this spring — there are at least four nests in the swamp.  Here is one […]