Farm country

The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm
country slowly changes from the summer
cottons into its winter wools. ~Henry Beston

Yesterday while sitting at the barn waiting for a friend with a trailer to come and take the pigs and steers to the butcher I had time to take notice of these changes. The road to the barn with leaves brushed to the side by the truck...

The evergreens full of pinecones...

The back field holding it's own...The squirrel getting ready for winter... And back at the house the nature daughter has successfully "hatched" her monarch butterfly....And for some reason this time of year makes me think more of family, even those that are gone. These are hops that my grandfather planted. I found them after I had gone out and bought some. I don't know what kind they are, why he bought them or if he ever made beer from them I just know they have to be over 50 years old and they will stay where they are. I tried to make a simple hops beer with mine....I need a better recipe, enough said!These are farm implements that we found while cleaning up the farm. I didn't want to throw them out as they remind me of those that used these tools, so I started hanging them on the side of the milk house. I am the third generation to have animals on this farm. The barn, most of which fell down and we cleaned up, was a one room school house. The chicken coop was the coal shed for the school. My mother has the deed from the school board to my grandfather, it was only a couple of dollars. Alot cheaper than today's prices!!So the food is canned, the garden is done except for the weeds. The sheep and goat are sheared. The pigs and steers went to the butcher. And now the frost and snows can come and I can sit inside and spin and knit. Another good harvest year put to bed.