We are finally at the end of January. It is always the longest drawn out month. I don’t care if I have a birthday in it… it is just not my most favorite month of the year. I can handle February a little better (having the fewest days of any month helps), then in March we start farming!
So good-by January…on to February!
Linda
Finally! The end of January is approaching. Winter is gradually giving way, although we have at least all of February if not part of March.
The days are getting longer, which always helps with the winter-time blahs.
I’ve decided that I want to take a photo of the trees each month at the same time …there should be an awaking as we move closer and closer to spring.
Here is the cottonwood and the weeping willow on this last day of January!
Linda
Sadly we are now void of cows. In all my married years we have never NOT had cows. We milked for many, many years, then raised spring’n heifers for the local dairies, and then moved to free-range beef.
The last load went out Thursday morning.
I was going to do a Sunday Stills, but really couldn’t find what I was looking for— although, this is not a frame of nature it is a frame of a fond good-bye.
Linda
Boomer and I decided to go up to the cow pasture, without Mom. Well, Mom was around — she was over on the sagebrush hill looking for something that nature framed for the Sunday Stills assignment.
The snow is gone and the mud is thick, we headed up early so the mud wouldn’t be a problem, you can’t go late because late would be would be way early morning and none of us would like to travel up there in the dark.
Boom and I saw lots of stuff…the bees were out. It warmed up enough they wanted to see if there was anything to eat and to do some house cleaning. We didn’t hang with them too long.
We checked out lots of smells…
raccoon, skunk, and a couple of badger dens. I think the badgers must still be sleeping. Boom left his mark everywhere. I tried to match him, but I just couldn’t keep up with that young bladder.
“Hey, Boom!” I yelled. “There are skunk smells over here!”
“Wow! Really! Wait just minute I’ll be there!
We sniffed around quite a bit, then decided that maybe we had better NOT follow the skunk smell. It was pretty fresh so we knew we could find it and where it is holed up for the winter.
“Er Fuzz?”
“Yeah?’
Maybe we better not go any further…the last time I found a skunk Mom made me get three baths and to sleep outside for several days. And that was spring. It’s still pretty cold to sleep outside and I don’t think either one of us really wants a bath, let alone three baths.”
“Good idea, Boomer! Let’s head on over to the Fox den and see if Freddy the Fox is still sleeping in there. He might be gone because Evan has been hauling some of the wood over to his house for his fireplace.”
“Cool, Sure! “
“Come on let’s go!”
So off we went. The pile was a little slimmer, but not much. We sniffed around for some time. Mom was way over on the cactus hill (that’s what Boomer and I call it, because it has lots of cactus and you have to be careful where you run). We could see her so we knew she was alright.
Suddenly I got a strange sensation, sort of like a creepy feeling…the hairs on the back of my neck picked up …. I cut my eyes both ways and then put my nose to the wind.
Boomer was busy sniffing in the hole and all around the wood…
“Yep, Evan’s been here. Oh, yes, and so have Mom and Dad….humm, I think they took about a cord of wood…
“Boomer!” I whispered.
“Boomer!” I said a little louder “something strange is happening!”
“Yeah,” he whispered back…”there are two coyotes standing right over there looking at us.”
“HUH?!?!” (This getting old is not good; I used to have really sharp eyesight and keen hearing).
“They are?” I asked. “What are they doing?”
“Well, hum, they look sort of hungry and they are heading our way”
(to be continued………)
Fuzzy
After the snow yesterday it warmed up to 39*, without the wind.
We now have mud on mud on mud.
Tomorrow we haul the last of our cows to market. So this morning was spent getting everything ready before it warms up enough for the mud to thaw.
I do think we are going to have a early spring.
Linda
After my computer crash in December, my Microsoft program just didn’t act right. I took the computer back in to have it reloaded and re-checked out.
Days later I have it back.
Although, I had set up some posts in advance I couldn’t respond to any comments. I hope to get caught up today and tomorrow now that my third arm is back! 🙂
The weather has been strange…we went from this
(a gradual melt)
to this
In one day. Mostly because it started to rain.
Mud season. Mud season in January, not February.
Then this blew in last night and is still here
A very chill wind is also blowing. It’s the wind that is always the problem. The temperature might be a toasty 22*, but the wind can drop it right down to 12* in a second.
That is what we are experiencing…brrrrrr!
Anyway, I’m ever so glad my computer is back and I can stay in contact will all my friends!
Linda
The Sunday Stills assignment is birds this week. I’ve had a hard time getting photos of the many birds around the place so I had to settle for a photo of my chickens before the snow came.
At least they are birds 🙂
Linda
Our snow didn’t last very long. Well, let me rephrase that…the sky snowed all day and part of the night, but the next day warmed up to 35* so it all melted. (—except for the stuff that was left from December and is frozen solid to the ground!)
Then the temperatures dropped back down to around 28-30*. Cold enough Boomer and I stayed inside most of the time.
Mom said she was getting cabin fever so we all had to go outside.
Darn it.
I like just lying around and sleeping by the fire.
Boomer sleeps right next to the fire, but I don’t. I sleep on the back porch where it’s cool enough I don’t start panting and Mom makes me go outside to cool down. For the record, if Boomer starts panting he has to go outside also.
Anyhoo, Mom was feeling house bound so we all took off for a ride on the open fields. I ride with Mom. It’s hard to jump up anymore, but Mom lifts me up and away we go.
Boomer loves to run, so he gets to run.
Everything was ever so much fun!
When we got back, Dad had company. The neighbor down the road had ridden his four-wheeler over and his dog, Pepper came with him.
I hope Dad doesn’t see what Pepper did…Pepper will get really yelled at.
This is Boomer, Dad won’t yell at Pepper, because Pepper isn’t his dog, but Dad will NOT be happy, let me tell you. Then we dogs will get a real talking too about NOT PEEING ON THE SAME SPOT!
Sure is hard to not add our smell to Pepper’s we try really hard to wait until Dad leaves and goes someplace else and can’t see us.
I guess you know what happened when Dad when in the house.
Heheheh
Fuzzy and Boomer
We had snow yesterday. Nasty snow, the kind that comes at you with a side wind.
The chores for the day were easy since the cows didn’t like the weather and came in to huddle in the warming shed, all we had to do was go out and throw some hay in the manger.
All four of my hens decided that they really don’t like being outside unless the Mom/Rooster is present so they didn’t even ask to go out. Actually they haven’t been wanting to go out much since the attack.
Which reminds me, the hen that was attacked is doing good. I just have to wait for her feather to grow back in…as damaging as the attack was I am wondering if the feathers will grow back. The other hens are not pecking on her (chickens can be so mean). I keep lots of fresh stuff for them to peck on and a peck block so I’m hoping they will not get bored and find the bald hen interesting.
Cow prices are holding firm at a good price so we will be hauling the rest of our cows to market the end of this month. Sure seems sad to me, but Terry is tired of working with the fences, which means the cows will have to go. In my secret heart-of-hearts I am hoping he will miss them and we will get more. I wouldn’t even mind some bottle babies. I guess we will just have to wait and see.
Today has arrived with lots of sun and very cold temps, which will hold until Wednesday when another snow storm is to come in. Typical of January. The December snow was looking rather tired, if I say so myself.
Hope this finds everyone well.
Linda
This week’s Sunday Stills assignment was Corners.
Here are a few from around our place…even the tractor shed complete with the old standing lamp, Terry is saving to work on sometime.
Thanks for stopping by!
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 