We have the shingles off
And started putting down the boards.
Come Monday —- “If the Good Lord is will’n and the Creek don’t rise”, we will have the tar paper on, and the metal roof.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Mom always checks the weather on the weather apps. She says it gives her an ‘idea’ of what the weather is going to be.
Then Mom goes and looks at the Uncompahgre Plateau—if there is a line of huge big black clouds over the Plateau in the west…
Then Mom knows a BIG STORM is HEADING OUR WAY!
If Mom sees a mass of clouds already in the canyons, dumping moisture then she knows in a few minutes we are going to get ‘it’.
And Mom is always right! The only thing Mom can’t predict is how COLD it’s going to get, by looking at the canyons or the Uncompahgre Plateau, but she can tell by the feel in the air, the crispness,
the look of the sun, as it shimmers through the sky, and sometimes by seeing Sun Dogs.
Then Mom starts warming up the hen house by putting in a red heat lamp. Red—because if you don’t use red the hens will start picking on each other. Something about seeing everything better, I suppose.
She makes the heat lamp turn on when the temperatures drop way down to 10* and stays on until around 9 in the morning when the birds can start taking care of themselves.
As for keeping me warm, she says I’m smart enough I can go outside if I want, or I can stay inside, or I can come and go. She says I decide since I’m not living in the hen house.
Mom is funny, don’t you think? I would never live in the hen house.
Ever!
TLC Cai-Cai
The tractor shed (the oldest building in our place) needed a new roof.
So, Monday, Terry and I started the process of removing all the tiles, and the nails. (Yes, I help.)
It was a wee bit of a mess (like this wind-strewn mess of corn leaves)
But we are making it. Soon we will add on the sheeting, the tar paper, and the new metal roofing.
Then we will tackle the new garage doors and add some new windows.
There is a deep sense of peace in repairing old buildings.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Winter usually comes in, Winter!
Well, for us, here on the western slope of the Great Divide, in the state of Colorado, winter usually happens…how would I know? I’ve only been alive one year.
Well, my year started in WINTER, so this is my second Winter!
An expert I am then—winter usually happens sometime in December, before Christmas, and after Thanksgiving. It can happen at any moment or take F.O.R.E.V.E.R. to come.
When we have that F.O.R.E.V.E.R. to come— then the weather people say we are in a drought. This means we are still waiting for the weather to come in a blanket
to cover the earth with clean shiny snow.
Otherwise, we just wait. The air does cool/cold down.
It colds way down so Mom starts sorting, hauling, and loading up the woodstove with firewood: plus getting up at night to make sure the fire is going.
Once all that starts, then I know it’s WINTER!
TLC Cai-Cai
It seems we are always doing something—-always
Even though we are in that cold of January Terry has decided to re-roof the tractor shed, and hang a new garage door—(the wind blew in all the corn leaves, so we had to clean all that up before we could begin.)
Our days start early (as always) and
End at sunset. The days are long, but not as long as a summer day. 🙂
Suddenly, Terry backed the corvette out and said…we need a treat!
He was right.
We did need a break; play is good for the soul.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
I had gone out to check the electric fence in front of the house (it was snapping and shorting out)
When I thought to myself; even in the growing dark, the light is lovely.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Sometimes the sky looks bruised, just before the sun comes up. Although, these are my favorite colors
I must confess, I love the evening sky, as the setting sun kisses a wee stream of clouds
Back to early, early morning when the trees and all seem like dark shadows of themselves
Then that amazing golden hour when the land is touched by, well…gold
Winter is hard, but still, just there, yes, right there, is the beauty of a most unusual kind. 🙂
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
One thing I’ve learned in my FULL YEAR of being alive…is outside is FULL of WEATHER!!!
I see it every day…sometimes it’s wonderful, sometimes not wonderful.
My perfect day of weather —is soft and a little on the cool/cold side. When it’s like that I think outside is BEAUTIFUL!
Other times it’s, well, AWFUL! There is wind—I detest wind,
there is rain…it’s the worst,
there is snow…I can do snow if it doesn’t melt on my fur, but the most horrid of all-weather is
HOT! I spend all my time panting just like Black Beauty Dog!
Miserable!
BUT I can be outside (I LOVE OUTSIDE) much, much longer than in winter when the days seem very short!
So, for this wee series, I am going to tell you about the weather, here on the farm,
and how Mom, Dad, and I deal with it!
TLC Cai-Cai
WOW! Just thinking of that new age to be is amazing really!
But for right now! I’m still 72—then tomorrow 73!
Wow!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Gradually the snow is melting
This is the snow from ‘before’
Now there are only patches of snow, laying in shady places
Only very cold weather now
The snow is all gone. Vanished in silence…
Just terribly cold, but warming up in the afternoon.
(The above photos are from the last snow. We are pretty brown now)
Perfect to melt the icicles. 🙂
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 