Fall is in the Air

Bees, Black-eyed-susan, Chickens, Fall, Nature, Reflections, Ruby, Sunflowers, The Farm, Wild Flowers, Wildlife, , , ,

Fall is in the air but the temperatures this week were more like summer.

We’ve seen a lot of skies that look like this lately – deep blue with fluffy white clouds. How about joining me for a walk at the farm?

Ruby will join us, but since she likes to move faster than we do she will probably lap us a couple of times. Don’t worry if you hear something rustling in the weeds or the woods behind us it’s probably her.

I love these Black-eyed Susans that we planted along the fence two years ago.

Such a brilliant splash of fall color.

It was tempting to cut down this thistle, but the flower is so pretty. Maybe I’ll cut it just before it goes to seed.

Some of the chickens are enjoying their day foraging near the pond.

Maple trees are beginning to show their fall colors.

There are lots of bees in the golden rod.

Asters are beginning to bloom

The white ones as well as the purple.

And purple loosestrife is still in bloom.

This butterfly posed for a couple pictures then fluttered nearby as we walked the back field.

The oak trees are loaded with acorns this year.

Some have begun to fall.

The hickory trees have fewer nuts this year than last but still enough to feed some squirrels.

This Norway spruce is loaded with pinecones.

I wonder what kind of pinecone craft I can come up with. Do you have any ideas?

Oh my gosh! Elderberries! I’ll come back and pick these after we finish our walk. This is my first year picking elderberries. The first few years after we planted them I would wait for the berries to ripen but before they were ripe the birds would eat them all. I then discovered that the elder flowers are as good or better than the berries for making syrup or tincture, so I began harvesting the flowers in the spring. This year I forgot to harvest the flowers and while there are not a lot of berries here there are enough to make a small batch of tincture. 🙂

We’ve already seen a lot of the bees are foraging in the goldenrod and I’m sure some are in the sunflowers as well. One thing that you might notice, if the wind is just right, is the smell of honey drifting from the hive. This time of year, when the bees are in the goldenrod, is the only time that we smell honey while at the farm.

We still have a lot of sunflowers in bloom.

Some are so tall they are having a hard time holding their heads up.

Colby Jack (above) and Bernard (below) are waiting for some treats.

Should we give them some apples?

Somebody grabbed my camera while I wasn’t looking (and took my picture). You wouldn’t do something like that – would you?

Colby Jack and Bernard say, “Thank You for the apples”

I hope you enjoyed your time on the farm. Thank you for joining me.

15 thoughts on “Fall is in the Air”

  2. Such a beautiful tour. Fall has touched the mountains too. Cool nights and warm days. Splashes of color . And the acorns. I have never seen so many dropping, and most of them green. All the forest animals are enjoying them. The trailcams have been full of activity. I do love fall, but not the work that comes with it. I’m sure it won’t be long before we start bringing wood from the woodpile up to the porch again…..

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    1. Dom brought home a load of firewood yesterday. We had it loaded on the trailer but had to wait for the county to scrape the roads so he didn’t get bounced off the tractor. He also cleaned the chimney last week. We’re ready, but in no hurry, for fires in the fireplace.

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  7. I did enjoy your late Summer tour of the farm Ruth and to see your colorful Black-eyed Susans, the Sunflowers, Goldenrod and Loosestrife, yes even the thistles – all of them are pretty. In some parks last week I saw a lot of hungry bees going for all the Goldenrod. Did you end up going into the pond this week since it was hot all week? I know you were sad to have to stop taking a dip when it got so chilly!

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    1. I thought about going in the pond, but the nights have been quite cool, and I was afraid the water didn’t have enough time to warm up during the day. I’m back to the recumbent bike being my main workout.

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      1. Yes, that’s true too. I have never tried a recumbent bike. I see people on recumbent bikes at some of the Metroparks. I have an exercise bike in my basement, but the regular kind.

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