I’m late today…we just got back from delivering another load of pinto beans. 🙂
Merri sent me another photo (to share will all of you), of the stunning northern lights right out her door.
How incredibly beautiful her world is!
Your friend,
Linda
Our pinto bean harvest has begun in earnest now. (Fingers crossed we don’t have rain…rain would NOT be a good thing right now!)
We took the truck over and then Terry came with the combine. It was an all day thing, with more all day sort of things until at least Friday or Saturday of this week. (We are small farmers)
We sell our bean to the Beanery.
If you see sack of Red Donkey pinto beans you will know [possibly] there are pinto beans from our farm in them.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Merri, from Virginia, Mn, was sitting outside on her back porch a couple of evenings ago and thought I would enjoy seeing her stunningly beautiful sunset!
I did! I asked her is I could share it with you and she said yes!
Aren’t we all lucky to see what she gets to see every day!
WOW!
Your friend,
Linda
Autumn leaves,
Turning to gold, flying silently to the ground,
Leaving behind memories of hot wings of sunbeams
The evening light echoing the beat of my heart.
Your friend, as always,
Linda
With my head held high, I rode proudly with Mom to the middle field. It was here she and I and Dad are working to harvest the last of the alfalfa; now turned to hay.
Just going out to help my people is a very moving experience—I sometimes even get tears in my eyes. Of course, it could be because we are on the four-wheelers. Also, if the wind is blowing the little bits of dust does seem to make my eyes water. (Just saying.)
We went out early, then almost early, then sorta early, by this time it was getting hot. After that Mom and I came in and fixed lunch. I got (2) TWO, mind you chicken wing bones! I also got ½ can of 98% beef and a rub on the belly and both my ears scratched. There is always free-to-eat-anytime dry as sawdust kibble, but I don’t figure it counts are real food.
Since Mom and Dad were concerned that a rain storm was due to come in; right after the lunch dishes were done, we went back out.
It was HOT out there!
I mean so hot my tongue hung clear out of my mouth and dropped saliva all down the fender on my side of the four-wheeler.
I mean it was HOT! After the morning, which was sorta on the cold side, getting used to the heat was something else.
So when Mom came in with the second load, (Mom picks up the broken bales and the loose alfalfa –the stack wagon can’t get that stuff) of a broken bale. (There were three broken bales and two loads of loose stuff. Mom’s trailer holds one broken bale.) I STAYED HOME!
The second she drove into the hay barn I jumped off and headed to my water dish and my spot in the shade.
There I stayed even when Mom called and asked if I wanted to go back out with her…I just wagged my tail and laid my body flat in the cool shady grass. I would have gone if she had made me, but Mom didn’t make me. I heard the four-wheeler go out then a little while later, in mid-snooze, I heard her come back in. Then go out………………
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Boomer
Right after breakfast and the next set of irrigation water on the alfalfa field, Terry, Boomer, and I header over to hook-up the bean puller and bar.
This is the bean puller
And hook up the bar on the back of the 730. You understand that Terry does most the work. Boomer is off somewhere checking out the news and I’m pretty much there to give him a tool, or the handyman jack, or move something out the way. 🙂
That’s the blade…the puller pulls the beans out the ground and the blade cuts off any stems the puller misses.
The pinto beans are ready. The plant is dry, with only the weeds staying green and growing.
Up and down, careful, careful…you don’t want to run over the plants and loose your crop.
Slowly, ever so slowly,
The beans are put into rows. Once the day warms up, Terry stops— warmer air will dry the dew off the pods causing the pods to split and spill the beans.
Tomorrow (if all goes well) he will put on a different blade and go out and lift all the rows UP so they are fluffy and can have air circulate among the plants.
Then we wait. Terry says (if the warm weather holds and NO rain), in about a week the green weeds should be dry and he can start combining.
Harvest! A huge process with nice results.
Your friend on a Western Colorado farm,
Linda
Around ten o’clock yesterday, Terry exclaimed…”I’m tired of doing work! I’m tired. I want to do something different.”
“Okay,” I replied. “What do you have in mind?”
“Let’s take a little drive, nothing far, or hard to get too, nothing full of dirt and concern over hunters. Someplace we can see that is different from the farm.”
“Hummm”…..we pondered together.
“Let’s go to Ouray,[ Colorado]!” he announced. “We can get a bite to eat on the way up, stop and get my part for the pick-up on the way back, and be home by supper.”
So we did! 🙂
Your friend,
Linda
They weather held. What a good thing to have happen.
Although the mornings were a tad chilly, and it took awhile for the dew to dry to just the right point.
The hay crew and Terry got ever last bale in the field stacked and covered.
Monday it started to sprinkle around 9 in the morning, with a weatherperson’s promise of more to come.
Monday morning the irrigation water was started for the last time on the hay field. Helping it go into the winter in a good way.
Joy on the farm and in farm yard!
Your friend,
Linda
I love the light…first light of the daybreak…when things of the dark go to sleep and those of the day start their rustle and bustle
This time of year the air is sharp and chill,
but warms through the day, until a nice and toasty heat is radiating off the land
By nightfall, the things of the farm pause and draw breath, slowing for the long rest.
Brilliant evening light filters through every crack and crevice
The plants pause first, then the animals and birds slow, stopping their frantic search for food; if you are still and just listen you can hear the earth itself draw a slow and peaceful breath.
There are many, many names for God. The reason being; one small word is not enough to describe love.
As always your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Awhile back I got this really nice email from a gentleman, Jack Smith. He wrote he accidently stumbled upon my blog while looking for more information on chickens and chicken coops. Once there he said he spent much time checking back over my posts and decided he wanted to contact me.
Well, to make this into a short story, Jack Smith, is my guest today, providing us with a infographic about Chicken coops. Jack graciously explained a little of his interest in chickens and why he designed the infographic. He is also connected with the site…gardenholic.com, if any of you are interested.
Hello! My name’s Jack Smith and I’m very glad to have been given the opportunity to write here by Linda.
I designed the infographic you just saw above and I want to talk a little bit about why I created it and about keeping poultry. When I first started looking into how to build a chicken coop I was shocked at the amount of information there was. All the different types and the poultry lingo were all a bit much for me as a beginner and I felt intimidated.
Was I ready for such a huge task?
In reality, building your own coop is a relatively simple DIY project. Chickens aren’t as picky as you and me! My fear is that the vast amount of information on the subject will put off newcomers to our hobby and prevent them from taking the first step into keeping poultry. That’s why I decided to collect just 8 key features that you should have in your coop and put them into an easy to read and understand infographic. I hope that this will soften the entry for newcomers and show them that even just a simple coop is better than no coop!
If you are interested in keeping chickens then I would highly encourage you to get started. Not only do they produce some of the most delicious eggs I’ve ever eaten, backyard chickens are also a great pet for children [and adults] . I believe that children can learn a significant amount from animals and chickens don’t require nearly as much attention as dogs (trust me).
Another small gift from the readers of this blog to you!
Your friend,
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 