altivo

At last, there are photos of the haypile. Our fall color is weak this year, probably due to dry weather in late summer and mild weather in September and October. The leaves are falling now, and the oaks, difficult to color up in any year, turned mostly just brown. Still, I found some nice scenes to shoot yesterday when I finally got out into the sun with the camera. As usual, click thumbnails for larger views.

Here's the promised photo of 620 bales of hay piled to the rafters. As you can see, we've exceeded our orderly storage. By Christmas, though, the overflow in front of the posts will have been cleared away and eaten. Scales (left center) are used to weigh out portions, insuring good nutrition without excessive weight gain.

Horse's eye view of the haypile. What Tess sees for a good part of her day in the winter, when conditions make it difficult for her to be turned out in the pasture. I suppose it must be tantalizing at times, especially since the hay smells sweet and grassy. Sort of like staring at a mountain of your favorite food that you can't get to. Fortunately she usually has a haynet with a measured portion in it, so she's certainly not starving, but she does let us know when it runs out. Free access to an endless supply of hay allows Haflingers to become so fat they look like haystacks themselves, so diet control is essential.

The Boys of Autumn. Asher (left) and Archie browse on fallen oak leaves. This isn't supposed to be particularly good for them, but how do you prevent it? Even when supplied with fresh hay, they will often comb the yard for any fallen acorns before attacking the haynet. Fortunately, they don't have delicate digestions, and though they've been doing this for ten years now, we've never had any colic incidents.

Tess, the fall princess, in her element. While not exactly slim and elegant, for a retired broodmare she is looking good. And happy, I should add, which is very important. This shot was taken facing north-northeast, from the pasture gate at the south end a good 500 feet or so away. I just discovered a telephoto feature that I didn't know my camera had. Tess is starting to develop her winter coat, even though the weather has been mild so far. I guess the shortening days help stimulate the fuzz and feather style.

Autumn foliage, 2010. Standing just inside the pasture, looking south toward the barns. The lane to the left of the fence remnant is the path through the woodlot that I follow with Tess to bring her in and out. Not as colorful as some years, but in the afternoon light it has a sort of idyllic golden quality that I love. There's a character to this season that makes me feel both the tremendous age of the landscape, extending back for millennia and well beyond the arrival of European invaders, and the repeating cycle of the seasons that is more like the individual ticks of a pendulum. This is the stuff of which poetry and paintings are built, and I'm snapping lots of photos to inspire me through the gray days ahead.

Bridge over the dry creek, no running water this time of year. The garden plot is on the right side as you view it here. The woodlot is behind the bridge, and the creek runs through it. The scene in the previous photo is just to the left of what you see here. During the spring floods, this treacherous little footbridge is the simplest way to reach the garden and orchard, assuming they aren't under water too.

Just one more. The last haywagon of the year stands at the northeast corner of the arena, ready for our supplier to pick it up at his convenience. We're getting ready for snow now that the winter supplies are in place. As I was taking these photos, Gary was working on a new roof and some reinforcements for the sheep windbreak. Their roof collapsed under last year's heavy snows in the spring. We probably still need to do something about the woodshed roof, too, but I'm hoping to make it last for one more year. Autumn is busy, but beautiful too. The weather is usually pleasant, and the approaching storms are still far enough off that they hold no dread. The animals are fat and happy, and there's a lot to look at and appreciate.