When the workload starts to over-whelm
And exhaustion starts to murmur and whisper
Then begins thrumming throughout your body
Then it’s time
To give yourself a little treat.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Spring is here now
Bringing to us a different type of day
On a daily basis.
Sometimes the morning feels like we are still in Winter
Then after a long day of Spring-time work
Our bodies feel like we’ve joined a gym
A gym that requires you to move at top speed
Gradually, gradually the last bit of winter is leaving
The plowing is now finished
The rolling, the leveling done
Terry and I cleaned ditches yesterday
Then while he worked on the land
I raked and cleaned in my yard
So, the work will hitch up another notch
When we start the water on the land.
Soon, probably Monday or Tuesday, depending on how much we get done.
Our simple life…but well treasured.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
We have BUGS!
Sometimes I try to catch them.
Sometimes I try to eat them.
We have bugs of all sorts: crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, ants, and spiders.
They all buzz, bite, and get in your ears! ALL OF THEM!
You know what? They don’t get in my ears! Nope, but they do get in the equine’s ears and in the dogs’ ears. I don’t know why they don’t bother cats, but they don’t.
Heheheh.
Well, I think we covered all our wildlife,
what a farm is,
how to live and
work on a farm…
I think the next and last thing I’m going to talk to you about is the life-blood of the farm.
WATER!
So, see you soon!
TLC Cai-Cai
First, there are
SNAKES!!
(this is a snakeskin)
We have two kinds, that Mom and I know of
(This is a bull snake. Photo is by Linda Pierson in Alberta, Canada)
Bull Snakes and Water Snakes.
Bull Snakes are non-poisonous…they can get BIG…Long…and they are fast. Mom and Dad see them, once in a while in the alfalfa fields, but Mom said they haven’t seen one for a long time now. She doesn’t know why.
Then we have
WATER SNAKES! They live here, there, everywhere. We have them in the farmyard, on the ditch banks…in the fields.
Mom has two that live in the hen house with the hens. I see them once in a while when I’m in the hen house.
They don’t bother anything, but the mice. One snake can eat one mouse a week.
They seem to eat everything whole, so if you are in the hen house and see a snake with a bulge in its tummy then you know said snake was helping me keep the mouse population down.
That said—they do scare me a bit and I have seen Mom jump a little jump when one of the snakes comes slithering out from under the nest boxes.
Mom and Dad try to take care of the water snakes, if they are laying on the bridge taking in the sun and the warm cement…then one of them shoos the snake off the bridge so the vehicle can drive on over.
If there is a snake on one of the farm roads – yep, Dad or Mom takes a shovel and lifts the snake off into the weeds so the tractor or four-wheeler can pass by.
Snakes. Fuzzy hated snakes, he would shake and snap them to death. Me…I just go the other way.
Other Things that are a creepy factor to them are:
Lizards—we have little greenish-gray lizards with strips along
It’s back and sides…I think they are called—six-lined race runner. I call them “FUN TO CATCH!” which is exactly what I try to do when I see one!
Frogs and Toads:
We don’t have lots of frogs
Once in a while, one or two will float down in the irrigation water,
but that’s all.
What we do have lots of are toads.
Mom LOVES toads.
She has little toad houses for them.
She tells me to leave the toads alone
She tells me to leave the toads alone they eat lots of bugs.
Mom doesn’t have to worry about that…they don’t even look good enough to chase.
TLC Cai-Cai
Cliff and Kimberly came out one day and
helped us get all the shingles off the other side
Then Terry and I began the next step
Measuring; getting everything so it will match up perfectly
After, which, we (Terry and I) started putting the boards up
I pushed the boards up and Terry caught them and nailed them down
The next day, Saturday,
Cliff and Kimberly came out
We had a great weather day to work in 🙂
Gradually, gradually
The end of the big sheets started to appear
Done! With the big sheets
Now Terry and I will hang the trim and put the cap piece on top!
YAY!
New roof on a very old (built-in 1924) building!
Saved for the rest of our lifetime!
Your friends on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
The wild apricot trees have burst into bloom!
Maybe apricots this year—
Maybe.
Only time will tell
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.” — Etty Hillesum
We’ve reached a place in life where farming the whole farm, maintaining the whole farm, the farm equipment, the buildings and stuff around the house is a tad too much.
Our neighbor, Sam, was looking for more land
a Win-Win for all of us.
Half the farm ground for Sam, the other half we will farm!
🙂 Big Smiles all around!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Now we are talk’n. I know lots, and lots, and lots about RODENTS!
What is a rodent—well, let’s see: They are usually small, with fur, four legs, two ears, one nose, one mouth, little black (usually) eyes, and VERY SHARP Front teeth!
The rodent I know very most about is called MOUSE!
We have mice (mice is what you say if you are talking about more than one mouse) —just so you know.
(Coyote watching mouse)
We have mice EVERYWHERE! In the sheds, in the haystack, in the ditches, everywhere.
Although, Mom and I are very careful to not have any mice in the house!
EVER!
I am a very good mouse hunter, a player with, killer, and eater of MICE! I usually can eat at least three mice a day!
That is a lot.
We have deer mice and field mice. My favorite to eat are the babies, the other ones taste good too, but my favorite are those little ones just learning to run!
Anywho—-we also have Rabbits.
Once in a while, we get a rabbit in the farmyard.
But mostly rabbits are on the farm. Over by the equipment area where they can hide IN the equipment and stay SAFE!
Mom actually likes rabbits. So do the coyotes, the fox, the hawk, the random eagle, you know…rabbit—yumm— good to eat!
So…so Mom and Dad let the rabbits hideout in the equipment area. They take care to make sure the rabbit nests are safe
Just know we have bunnies. Cute, soft, bunnies.
TLC Cai-Cai
Sunday we get a call for help from some good “Car” friends…
Off we went to the desert a few miles from us
Oh! My! The road gave way and the jeep did too.
They were very lucky Brett was going slow, or the jeep would have flipped over.
Brett and Marianne had been stacking rocks under the tires; we got busy helping them build ‘a bridge’
Then it was time to hook it up
Slowly, slowly, very carefully
No jerking, no driving fast, slow and careful
Out!
The jeep is fine, Brett and Marianne fine, the doggies fine… everything turned out well.
AND
At one point I saw a rock heart….it was then I knew everything was going to work out the best way possible!
I’m so glad they called us and we were able to help stack the rocks (they were a huge secret to keeping the jeep on track). Terry and Brett knew just what and how to position everything and the speed at which to pull—the results were EXCELLENT!
We all get by with a little help from our friends!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 