Saturday in Parishville

We got to spend part of this past weekend at the old farmhouse in Parishville, NY. As usual Aiden woke us up at 5:50 AM on the dot and wanted to play, so we handed him over to Timber (and my mom) who also likes to get up at 5:50 AM (Timber, not my mom), and Andy and I sneaked out for a little walk in the fields and forests. It felt more like Fall than the last day of June on Saturday- the air was crisp and dry and chilly and perfect for hiking. There were lots of birds singing, though nothing too unusual except a Blue-Headed Vireo and an Eastern Bluebird pair nesting in one of the boxes in the meadow, and a few Broad-Winged Hawks calling and circling overhead.

We did see lots of butterflies as it warmed up a little, mostly monarchs (and their caterpillars on the milkweed) but also viceroy, common ringlet, skippers, white and red admirals, and a few interesting dragonflies. We hiked out to the old fishing shack in the woods, and then around to the top of the hill for a nice view of the farm below before joining Aiden Aiden Poop for breakfast.

Some scenes from the farm: the old fishing shack is the upper left

Above is a nice view of the farmhouse. Sadly, the big cottonwood tree in front of the house is really starting to rot at the base, especially on the house side, which isn't a good thing. This tree is so enormous- it was planted in 1912 by my Grandma Dean and Uncle Elwood, and its growth has been fed by springwater pumped up to just in front of the house. The fact that the pump is no longer running could be contributing to the cottonwood's decline, but cottonwoods don't live all that long anyway and this one is probably in its old age by now. It will be a shame when it goes (or, more likely, it comes down because it's a safety hazard) because it's so much a part of the farm.




We had to put Aiden in front of the tree so you can see the scale! Aiden's not a small baby but the old cottonwood definitely dwarfs him.