April 23, 2013

A very cold winter wind is here!

Storm-Moving-in

The lovely spring day we had yesterday is just a distant memory now.  A tease of warmth and loveliness.

The wind turned cold last night, waking us up to freeze warnings until tomorrow morning sometime.

The fireplace feels good!

Still the work must go on.

Bean-Ground-Readying

We got word that we just might be able to have 55% water, instead of the 50% so Terry made the decision to go ahead and plant pinto beans.  This will put 70% of our farm into production.  ( I was hoping for alfalfa, but pintos don’t take as much water and their growing season is much shorter.)

Watering-hay

We’ve started the water in the established alfalfa field — another field that has an earth ditch and siphon tubes.  This morning when changing the tubes…moving the water on down the field … there was ice along the rows.

Hay-and-boomerAlfalfa at this stage of it’s life can handle some freezing, but newly planted and just starting to pop up alfalfa would be killed.

Bean-Ground

Today Terry has finished leveling the pinto bean field (putting a slight grade on the land so the water will run ‘down’ the rows and on out to the waste ditch), and started marking out the rows.

Marking-out-the-bean-ground

(Terry is marking out the bean ground, even as I type)

As soon as we are through the alfalfa field we will start water on the pinto bean field.

I sure hope this last nasty/cold winter wind/storm is the last of winter’s hurrah!  It’s been so cold the snow hasn’t even started to melt in the mountains…which is a blessing and a curse wrapped up as one.

Well, enough of this whine at least it must be snowing somewhere, its just that cold.  And snow means water and water means less worry about drought and less drought is good for everyone.

Stay warm, my friends!  At some point winter really will leave and spring will arrive!  When it does—We all will be ready!

Linda

14 thoughts on “April 23, 2013

  1. I’m glad to hear that you may be getting more water than previously thought. We’re getting ready for the return of wintry weather tomorrow, but today is beautiful. Your first picture of the sky is gorgeous.

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  2. I see another busy season on the farm has begun…it is cold in Maine this day too, a wood fire is keeping the old homestead warm…I am happy I had the good sense not to pack away our winter clothes…certainly much needed for a while longer…

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  3. So glad you will have more water and that hubby of yours is a very wise farmer indeed! I can’t imagine trying to slope fields so the water will flow – or maybe it would be easy since I can’t ever make anything level either! 🙂

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