catching up and heading outside

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Kim Halloran-Fry

It turned out to be a pretty darn good day, especially considering it began with stepping into dog doo. That doesn't always bode well, you know. But by and large the past 24 hrs have been on a slow, but steady-ish, upswing after a rougher go of it this week.

Yesterday was a down day. Well a dress-down day anyway. We still did a full day of school but I did a good share of it in my pjs. Around 2pm I noticed the sun was shining for real, and not just teasin'. I threw off the jammies and Moira, Abbie and slipped into sweaters, boots and jackets for a walk to soak up the little bit we had left for the day. We haven't done that in a while with all the rain we've had.

The sugar beet fields have been replanted and a fringe of winter grass stands all trembly replacing the bushy root tops seen here not long ago.

Now that the foliage is dying down you can see the drainage canals which run alongside the farm roads. We live in the Fens, which are reclaimed marshlands much like the Netherlands. The area has been drained over the centuries and now supports large grain and produce farms such as this one. This is the lowest elevation in England and the ground here is still a bit unstable, sinking as the soil becomes more or less saturated.

Abbie Rose found tracks of something by the road. Oddly we only saw that one.

The walk was pretty hands on for her as you can see. Ay ay ay. She was flat out in a puddle a mile out. Everything had good washing when we got home – child, coat, boots. Hot chocolate and a hot bath fixes a girl right up though.

It was pretty much dark when we got home. This is the afternoon sky at 4pm these days. And today we woke to a frost covered wonderland and temperatures which plummeted overnight. I am glad we got our hike in before we hibernate again, but hibernating is fine by me too. We have a lot of crafting to do.

thankful

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Thankful for what appeared at the back door this week, surplus from the recent 'lifting'. Have you any favorite ways to use leeks? We are planning on a pot of potato soup but that will not use them all.

The carrots are eaten like candy by the children so I doubt they will ever see the inside of a stock pot. : )

“Eat leeks in March and wild garlic in May
And all year after physicians may play.”

– Welsh Proverb

Rain

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Kim Halloran-Fry

We've had a good cleansing rain which we were sorely in need of. They told us they would be fertilizing this last week. They sure enough did just that.

Wow.

This is an organic farm and it's all natural and nontoxic but pretty, um, potent. If was more mystical I could maybe spin this into a metaphor about rising from the dung heap and such. As it is all I've got is this – it smelled really bad. : )

Three cheers for rain!

the sheep’s in the meadow

Image | Posted on September 22, 2012 by Kim Halloran-Fry

the cows come home

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Kim Halloran-Fry

My buddies are back. It's the little things in life that really make my day. : )

The Sheep’s in the Meadow

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Sheep

From where I stand the sheep stand still
As stones against the stony hill.

The stones are gray
And so are they.

And both are weatherworn and round,
Leading the eye back to the ground.

Two mingled flocks –
The sheep, the rocks.

And still no sheep stirs from its place
Or lifts its Babylonian face.

-Robert Francis

farm
watertank

sheep

Under the Apple Tree

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Kim Halloran-Fry

The neighbors have been picking apples all weekend. They had some willing helpers…

apple

Some folks are people-watchers. Me? I prefer farm animals. If there was a future in livestock photography I would be all over it. : ) Truly can sit a good long while and be totally amused.

apple

This one worried me a bit though. Can you do a Heimlich on a cow? Guess whole apples are a bit of a challenge with no hands.

apple

Barns

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Kim Halloran-Fry

This week's theme at Snapshots Around the World is 'Barn'. Sue was saying the German barn looked too nice for animals. The barns in this part of Germany DO look similar to the homes. In fact, many of them are connected to the farmhouses and form one long unit. I dug through my phone and files to see how many I had pictures of and came up with a few.

barn
In the picture above the farmhouse actually is just offscreen to the left coming out at a 90 degree angle from the barn section.

barn

The older barns are made of crude bricks like the ones above and below.
barn back

They are usually covered over in stucco and whitewashed or painted to match the house. (the house is off left of this pic below as well)
barn

Many are used as garages today though others still house livestock. In fact the place two doors down from us has a little herd of goats in the paddock right now mowing their lawn. : )

2010 Steinwenden barn web

This farm below has a separate barn (shown) which was huge but the same brick/stucco construction as the others. Unlike the others it is in the country. Darned if I wasn't happy to see those Oberhasli's that day. : )

Just over the border in France the farms look entirely different. Whereas here the farmhouses and barns are right in the villages and the farmers commute to the cropland and pastures, in eastern France little farmsteads dot the countryside much like rural communities in the states. They also have pole sheds there which are largely absent from this area. It is fascinating how different the world is.

Check out the other barns around the world linked at the Snapshots blog and leave us a link to one in your part of the world.

The cows come home

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Kim Halloran-Fry

The cows have come home – well to my home anyway. The grass is so high out back the farmer came to mow and bale for grass hay. But there was plenty left for grazing.

cows back

I can't remember if I shared here or on Facebook but this is how they left us last fall. The farmer came along with his tractor and pen-on-wheels. You don't see large stock trailers here. Actually I have never seen one here. But we did see this. They herded the cattle into the pen and began to slowly move down the road to winter quarters.

(an aside – that sign says Road Damage which in CO means "Get out and walk because you aren't getting through here no how." Here it means, "Someplace on this stretch of road there may be a small bump. We will be along shortly with road crews to block the way and fanatically smooth and level to perfection.")

come-home

There is a lot of farmland around us but the farmers all live in the villages and the barns are usually attached to the farmhouses. The tractors and the animals move in and out from the fields but return to the village at night. This works well for creeper photographers longing for a close up.

tractor front

This fabulous vintage tractor was parked at a farmhouse down the street last week. I noticed it driving home from an early morning errand and thought about Rebecca's awesome tractor pictures. I figured this was my best shot.

tractor model

I toodled down the street and snapped a few quick shots. It was good thinking too. They had been working on the old empty place and moved the tractor shortly afterward.

tractor

Who Walks Down the Road

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Aidan dogs feb 11 1 web

                                                        A boy and his dog make a glorious pair:
                                                        No better friendship is found anywhere,
                                                For they talk and they walk and they run and they play,
                                                    And they have their deep secrets for many a day;

                                                And that boy has a comrade who thinks and who feels,
                                                    Who walks down the road with a dog at his heels.




                                                    He may go where he will and his dog will be there,
                                                            May revel in mud and his dog will not care;
                                                            Faithful he'll stay for the slightest command
                                                           And bark with delight at the touch of his hand;
                                   

                                                                  Oh, he owns a treasure which nobody steals,
                                                            Who walks down the road with a dog at his heels.

 
                                                  No other can lure him away from his side;
                                                  He's proof against riches and station and pride;
                                                       Fine dress does not charm him, and flattery's breath
                                                                Is lost on the dog, for he's faithful to death;
                                                            He sees the great soul which the body conceals--
                                        
 

 
 
                                                            Oh, it's great to be young with a dog at your heels!
                                                                                            - Edgar Guest