This past Thursday, Boston was under a heat advisory. It was muggy and temps reached into the 90s. It was sweltering, and yet in September, you know it won’t last, and so the heat feels like a bit of a last hurrah. It was miserable, and yet even the animals seemed to tolerate it better than the oven that was midsummer.
Tomatoes (finally touched by blight) kept the hens refreshed.
Instead of staying cool in the shade, they brazenly took dust baths in the sun. (I love this photo – old Twinkydink and young Owly are companionably sharing the prime space.)
Phoebe stayed comfortable stretched out on the concrete floor of the coop.
I gave the goats an armful of water celery. It’s in bloom, but it remains crisp. The aroma is sharp and herbal, quite bracing and cooling.
The Beast and her minions were delighted with the heat. They continue to be fed through the fall, but I keep an eye on the pond temperature. When it gets below 60 degrees F, I switch to an easy to digest feed. Below 50 and I stop feeding altogether. Over the winter, the fish slowly swim in the deep, near the rock, their bellies empty. But for now, they eat with gusto. The heron has not been by, as can be seen by the quantity of gold flashing in the water. This has been a very good year for the Beast.
But, last night, we slept with the windows open and blankets on the bed. The air is crisp. We’re going apple picking.
A beautiful ending to a glorious summer. So sad to see it end, but there are many things in Fall that all can enjoy. Love getting a spotlight on all the animals at Little Pond, but that last picture is lovely. Those colors just hit my creative side. The water lily is just perfect and with the colors I enjoy most. Have fun picking apples.
Live in Texas where our last hurrahs are in the 100’s. We had 99 last week and I thought we were going to shrivel. This morning we had 72 degrees and it was “marvelous in our eyes”!
I really enjoyed visiting Austin, but even in the springtime it was too hot for me!
Will you be inviting anyone over to to get your excess young fry to restock anyone’s pond this fall ? Also have you heard from Mr. Grumpy’s and bride’s owner and how they are doing ?
We have friends who take the excess, but it doesn’t make a dent. Mr. Grumpy and bride and doing well.
I wonder if Mr. Grumpy and Bride’s comb are as large as their dark sister’s Misty comb know is ? And as for maybe next possibly adopting or buying a few of their future blue pullet chicks, you can maybe buy a vial of marek’s vaccination and the others that hatcheries give to the chicks, because that is what a lady I know is doing to get another cochin rooster of the same bloodline that her first rooster came from. And the new little blue rooster is know vaccinated againist Marek’s.
Forget to add in, that she is sent the vial of vaccinations to the breeder, and the breeder know vaccinates all chicks hatched on her property. So she traded the vaccination for the young cockerel.
The picture of the water lilies is gorgeous!
Wonderful pictures. We had a very crisp and cool morning today. It has also been very hot and humid this week in the mountains. We took our coffee and chocolate chip cookies up to the 3rd highest peak in the eastern USA. Once there we enjoyed the morning on top of Clingman’s Dome. Great way to start a fall day. The last picture could be a Japanese painting….lovely!
Clingman’s Dome is like a name out of a novel!
Lovely photos as usual – all of them!
That first pic really shows Beatrix’s feathering off beautifully.
Young and old hens sharing a dust bath really warms my heart.
Phoebe – such a character!
Pip and Caper crack me up regularly.
As someone commented earlier, that last photo has such a Japanese/zen essence.
Thank you!
I designed the pond to be a calm place, and it is. Glad I can share that mood through photos.
How many hens can boast such a helpful bunny as Phoebe? She diligently digs ample dust bathing locations and regularity keeps them “exercised” by galloping among them. And she is adorable to look at, too! Such a good life at Little Pond.
Yes, but Owly continues to try to get into her space and Betsy has some sort of vendetta against Phoebe (memories of Candy’s teasing) and so she is sometimes harassed. Doesn’t seem to ruffle her much, though.
Hi Terry. We had a 2 day heat wave, too. Temps in the 90”s. For once, I was on top of it and planted a garden box of greens for the winter. With the heat and humidity, and plenty of watering (to keep the guineas from dustbathing in the newly prepared box) most of the seeds sprouted in about 36 hours!
Not to get off subject, but I haven’t seen Buffy lately. Is she ok?
I just saw her – seems OK, but the little leghorn is still on the top roost at 9:20 a.m. Maybe it’s the severe change in weather. It’s cold over here!
Betsy’s perch has nothing to do with cold. She’s a pest. She’s waiting to see if she can sneak into a nesting box to steal eggs.
I wish my old and new girls would share space. They really stay away from each other. I’m still hoping in time they will all warm up.
If they’re not harassing each other, then I’d be content with the dynamics :)
Watching the hencam at 9:55 am. Theres a black hen crouching under the ramp and she looks under the weather.
That’s Twinkydink. She’s 8 years old and always under the weather :) She’s found a bit of peace and quiet under the ramp away from the rambunctious young ones.
I saw Twinkydink under the ramp. Glad she is ok…..just having her own zen moment.