Cowgirl

Cows are such curious creatures and this one was the first to come to check us out as we photographed the herd in Ontario. She hasn’t even finished the grass you see sticking out of her mouth. I guess she was making sure we weren’t going to be a threat to her calf and the rest of the herd.

To see more of my images of animals, go to my animals gallery here https://stevenkennard.com/blog/skgallery/animals

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Winter Kale Fields Under Threatening Snow

Winter kale fields under threatening snow- Steven Kennard 2016
Winter kale fields under threatening snow- Steven Kennard 2016

In fact the snow began as soon as I took this and got back in the car, a real blizzard, one of the ugliest days of the winter (so far). I don’t know what this crop is, but though I wanted to identify it, the weather was so cold and miserable that I just couldn’t bring myself to go into the field to find out. It’s not Brussels sprouts as I thought at first. Let’ hope Spring is soon coming.

Edit: I now realize that this is a field of kale.

Joni’s First Experience of Sheep Herding

Joni's First Herding Experience - Steven Kennard 2015
Joni’s First Herding Experience – Steven Kennard 2015

She took to it like a … border collie to sheep herding! Covered in mud at the end of the afternoon, she slept in the car on the way home and was tired for almost 2 days afterwards. Tired, but so happy.

A friend of her breeder’s helped us to get her into it and supplied the expertise and the sheep. She said that Joni has a great natural ability.

Corn Fields, October, Québec

In album NovaScotiaLandscapes

As we were leaving Waterloo, Québec to head back to Nova Scotia, it was raining and overcast. These corn fields on the side of the road had a beautiful light quality about them, with the metal farm buildings behind.

This is by way of a reminder of #farmfriday  tomorrow. We, the curators of this international theme, myself (+Steven Kennard), +Ellie Kennard and  +Sofie Løve Forsberg all look forward to seeing your submissions tomorrow. Don't forget to include the hashtag (#farmfriday), the curators and the page, +Farm Friday. You can also share with the community if you like, here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/103710541887749382238/communities/117381070777397783222 (If you don't want your postings to appear twice on your profile, you can disable the display of community postings there in your settings.)

#Québec

Also for #landscapephotography +Landscape Photography +Landscape Photography Show +Margaret Tompkins +Carra Riley +Jim Warthman +Kevin Rowe +jeff beddow +Tom Hierl +Carolyn Lim +Tom Sloan +Howard Smith +Jack Stepanyan +Kai Kosonen +Tony Heyward +Sheila B. DuBois +Sandra Brown

Karlsruhe Flower Market

In album Germany

Farmers in some parts of Germany grow fields of flowers and they bring them into the markets to sell. Not the usual Farm Friday posting, but certainly a kind of farm produce shared for one of my favourite themes,  #farmfriday   #farmingfriday +Farm Friday by the farm team +Sofie Løve Forsberg +Ellie Kennard and myself.
Also for:
#worldsmarketsfriday +At the World's Markets Friday by +Ken Ilio +Lauri Novak
#colorsonfriday +ColorsOnFriday by +Britta Rogge +Karsten Meyer
#floralfriday +FloralFriday by +Tamara Pruessner

Saxon Street Gulls

In album NovaScotiaLandscapes

Gulls flying low over the prepared fields, before the stormy clouds gathered over the North Mountain.

For our very own Farm Friday  curated by  +Ellie Kennard +Steven Kennard #farmfriday +Farm Friday

Also for #Gulloftheweek  curated by  +Melanie MP +Renee Hawk #Gulloftheweek +#Gulloftheweek
and for Landscape Photography  curated by  +Margaret Tompkins +Carra Riley +paul t beard +David Heath Williams +Bill Wood +Jim Warthman +Ben T #LandscapePhotography +Landscape Photography
Landscape Photos  curated by  +Robert SKREINER +Landscape Photos
NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY +NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
+Canada  #canadianlandscape   #novascotia   #novascotialandscape  

The Odd One Out

In album Animals (52 photos)

This girl was the only one of her breed on the dairy farm near where we live. The rest of the cows are Jerseys. The reason they always have one like her is that when their mother came to the farm to marry their father, she was given one of these cattle to bring with her. So it is a sentimental tradtion that they like to keep up. She also likes to wear odd earrings! (That's because she's a modern girl, of course.) 

For +Farm Friday  #farmfriday  curated by +Steven Kennard and +Ellie Kennard 

VIctoire and Friston

In album Animals (50 photos)

Victoire was a Hafflinger mare, at the time about 6 years old. This was her first foal, Friston, only a few minutes old. We knew that Victoire was very close to giving birth and we had been watching from a safe distance, not to disturb her. At one point we briefly left the scene and in those few moments Victoire produced Friston. They really don't like to be watched when giving birth.

In France, according to INRA regulations, horses must be named in a particular way which will indicate the year of their birth, a little like the registration numbers on cars in the UK. So Friston was born in the year for the "F" horses. All horses are registered in France, whether pure breeds, as in Friston's case, or not. The papers for these must be carried at all times when transporting animals as transport vehicles can be stopped by the police at any time to verify the registration.

Hafflingers have been used for light draught horses on farms for various duties since the 2nd World War. They were used during the war for artillary haulage and they are animals of extraordinary courage and willing hearts. They are not big horses, but very strong and will carry adults easily. I rode Victoire myself and never heard her complain.

An early posting for +Farm Friday  #farmfriday  as I shall be out all day tomorrow and don't want to miss sharing with our theme. Curated by +Ellie Kennard and myself +Steven Kennard – check out the theme page and follow it to see some wonderful farming related images. And please feel free to share your own and tag the page and curators. Also for +#EquineTuesday   #equinetuesday   curated by +Jillian Chilson