About Dayphoto

My name is Linda Brown. I live on a farm on the western slope of Colorado, in the high mountain desert. I’ve lived here all my life, hailing back four generations on my father’s side. Today I blog about our farm, the everyday activities that keep the farm going. I also write about my thoughts and dreams and goals. On Friday’s I always write about TLC Cai-Cai. Our sweet kitty who helps keep the farm safe. And Boo Berry Betty, a breeder dog learning to be a Farm Dog! The lovely thing about blogging it opens the world up for all of us to reach out and meet people from many different cultures and different ways of life. You can find me every day (but Saturday) at https://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/ Your Friend on a Western Colorado Farm, Linda Brown

The Adventures of Boomer on Friday—Night Work

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Dayphoto

The reality of a dog’s life…a farm dog’s life, that is—is we work at night.

There is much we have to do:

First I go with Mom and Dad to change the water one last time before bed.

Then, when they are inside watch television, I’m outside so I can check out all the places the fox have been. We have a lot of fox. A group of fox is called a skulk, beats me why they call a group a skulk. (Mom assures me this a fact. Weird)

Mom always asks me to come in to spend the night; I go in and try to rest. BUT there is so much going on out outside I head back out. When I’m tired I can always bed down in one of the dog houses.

I’m really always on guard…well, let me clarify I don’t really guard, I sniff out and then I either give chase or I holler for Mom or Dad.

But why holler for Mom or Dad for the common night creatures: fox, owls, cats (Sam and Monkey), mice, deer ….ugh … skunk…those sorts of every day critters that share the farm with us.

Now I do holler when the coyotes come around…so does Mom!

Shudder, shiver…I sure don’t like coyotes!

Mom and I go for a walk around mid-night. After which I usually come in and crash for a spell.

Then come morning…well, you see, I have to get back out there and see if anything came through while I slept.

As my grandpa would say— I’m a very busy feller!

Boomer

Catch a Falling Star — Thursday, July 23, 2015

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Dayphoto

After Terry cut the alfalfa and I stopped painting for the day–meaning after supper, we went out and worked in the pinto bean field.WE FINISHED!!! The pinto beans are free and clear (for a spell)

There will be weeds appearing again, but for Terry and I— we are done. The pinto beans are starting to shoot the feelers. These little vines will grab onto to each other and cause the rows to grow shut.

The sun had set and we were heading back home, when I noticed something flashing and twinkling in the late evening sky.

Drifting down, down, down we saw it land gently in the upper part of the pinto bean field. Hopeing it would NOT get away I hurried to the upper end of the pinto bean field, to see a helium balloon shaped like a star resting among the pinto bean rows.

A fun little gift from the heavens!

I nestled the star on the four-wheeler, laying a large rock on it’s string, tucked my weeding knife securing under the bars and brought the falling star home.

Your friend on a Western Colorado farm,

Linda

Ella had it Right—Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Dayphoto

Blue Skies, nothing but, blue skies…(Ella Fitzgerald)

The rains have gone, soon to be replaced with triple digit heat.

I’m painting on the this side of the house today.

Yesterday and the day before was up here! One thing about it, I could see for miles. Although, I tried NOT to look down.

In the evening Terry, Boomer and I weed the pinto bean field. It’s not toooo huge, only 20 acres. We work at it morning and evening. Once the beans shoot the feelers and the rows grow shut we won’t be able to weed anymore. Weeding is terribly important…if you get too much trash in the pinto beans the elevator docks you for the cleaning of the beans.

We take a break; sipping iced tea outside, in the cool of the shade. Resting a spell and listening the bees hum as they gather pollen.

Your friend on a western Colorado farm,

Linda

A Soft Morning–Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Dayphoto

It rained during the night, leaving the earth moist and damp with a faint chill of autumn in the air.

Fall is just an illusion, for tomorrow the heat of summer returns, gradually bringing with it triple digit weather—perfect for cutting the alfalfa to make into hay.

But today …. today Terry is cultivating the pinto beans and I am getting closer to finishing painting. (I have the top of the house done and part of the north side. All that is left is the large area of east side and a section of the front/north porch.)

A very ordinary day! But the sheer ordinariness is comforting in and of itself.

Your friend,

Linda

A Space to Fill Forever—Monday, July 20, 2015

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Dayphoto

On Sunday the work slows down to just the things which must be done

We changed the water in the pinto bean field (that is our house and barns in the distance)

And changed the water in the smallest corn field. (Grand Mesa is in the background) Flowing

That is all.

I walked through my yard, watering the pots and deadheading some of the flowers.

It was like walking through a cloud of perfume, in some places. The low hum of the bees filled the air along with the chirps of the birds.

The peace was strong enough to fill forever.

I am blessed beyond measure.

Your friend,

Linda

Up on the Roof Top—Sunday, July 19, 2015

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Dayphoto

The west side of the house is done!!!

YAY!

And the south side was finished last night after supper. Terry had to come help on a couple of scary (for me spots).

Now all that is left is 3/4 of the east side (with a very scary part surrounded by the metal roof…I don’t know if I can do all threes sides of that upstairs jut-out! I just don’t know. I can do the east part, by hanging out the window…the two sides will require I am in a safety harness. That alone has me trembling in my flip-flops.

Then there is the north side of the house…sigh!

Double sigh!

It is the tallest part of the house and the steepest. Terry doesn’t even like working up there. The scaffolding will work on part of it….I just have to get my head around the whole process before I can tackle the front of the house.

Today I’m taking the day off. My painting arm is exhausted so is my back and my knees. One day off will do me good. 🙂 Besides we always take of Sunday…a day of rest.

One nice thing is it hasn’t been hot. Lovely cloud cover most days, OR the day starts out sunny then the rain clouds come in cooling everything down.

Sure has been nice…roof tops are HOT and so are blinding white houses.

As Red Skelton used to say as he closed off his show: “May God Bless [Good Night]”

Your friend,

Linda

The Adventures of Boomer on Friday—NEWS

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Dayphoto

Mom buys me toys to play with…but I don’t like them.

Mom throws me balls…I chase them sorta…Fuzzy and I used to place chase with each other, but not really. We enjoyed chase the fox, or chase the squirrel, or splash in the ditch more. Well, ummmmmmmm, Fuzzy enjoyed splash the ditch; I liked (and still do) GATHERING NEWS!!!

LOL!

News for the day!

Mom moved a couple of the garden toads from under my dog houses to her corral garden.

They really seem to like it out there…works better than getting living under my dog house.

We have frogs in the irrigation ditches! I love, LOVE, to put my nose on them and watch them hop away.

Our yard is full of birds…they sing us awake every morning and chirp sleepy little songs in the evening to put us to bed.

Lots of Gambol’s Quail this year. Dad is really happy we have more pheasants than last year. We lost lots of pheasants a few years back and it’s taken awhile for them to recover.

There are baby raccoons in one of the trees in the yard. Cute little things!

There are raccoons in the yard, in the farm yard, and out of the ditch. There are as many raccoon as there are fox; is seems.

As for the home front—Sammy does a very good job of keeping the mice down. (I’m glad that his job…it’s NOT something I’m ever going to do—Fuzzy would do it, but NOT ME!)

Well, that’s the news for today. I’m off, now, to get ready and bark the mailman down the road…he should be coming anytime now.

Boomer

The Open Heart of my Life—Thursday, July 16, 2015

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Dayphoto

First light—-one would think that the air is silent but it isn’t, not at all.

The are birds calling, water rushing in the canal–

10:00 a.m. There is a rich green smell of the alfalfa field as the day heat up.

The birds and the insects are full voice, by this time, and the air dances with life.

Clouds scuttled over the top of us, causing the sun to highlight Hay Stack Mountain way at the end of Roubioux Canyon. When Terry and I were young the old-timers would tell that Hay Stack Mountain was scared to the Ute Indians. And (if) you were to climb to the top there you would see many Indian artifacts. Neither Terry nor I have ever been on Hay Stack Mountian. The road is closed to motorized vehicles, one must either walk or ride a horse.

Coming home (from a magnificent meal with our daughter and son-in-law who live in Grand Junction, Colorado) we drove in a rainstorm complete with a rainbow.

Colorado rainstorms can be abrupt and vigorous—the wind blows in black clouds– then they break dropping water in a rush.

Quickly the storm moved toward the north and the east…leaving us with a sky full of vivid color.

Your friend

Linda

Nothing New or Different—Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Dayphoto

Everyday, every four hours the water is checked and possibly changed.

I’m still painting on the house…most of the west side is done, I’m working on the eves. I have part of the south side, but still need to CLIMB up on the roof to do the next level…after than I have the east side (You are looking at the east side) and the north side.

Terry blading the ruts and holes out the driveway

There are always little joys, through out the day.

So from morning until

dark we just keep truck’n on. (At our ages we are very, VERY, thankful we can still truck-on, just as we always have.)

It’s still clouding up and raining here and there and all around. It’s nice because the rain IS keeping the heat at bay.

Your friend on a western Colorado farm,

Linda

A Fun Photo—Tuesday, July 15, 2015

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Dayphoto

Main Street in Delta, Colorado (shown in 1893), has two banks at the time of the McCarty heist. Despite the depression that has cleaned out many financial institutions across the country, both banks were solvent.

Jim Wetzel’s latest literary effort, a book titled, BANKS, BULLETS & BODIES; A Failed Robbery in Delta, Colorado, is available for purchase.

It is the story about the 1893 robbery of the Farmers and Merchants Bank on Delta’s Main Street in which two members of the McCarty gang were killed by Delta hardware merchant, W. Ray Simpson, during their attempted escape to safety. During the robbery, bank cashier, Andrew Trew Blachly, was also killed by one of the outlaws

This book not only tells the story of the bank robbery, but provides lots of background details about the people who were caught-up in the event. In addition, Wetzel has disclosed many details never before provided in previous writings of this event. Finally, he offers strong evidence that there were more than three gang members involved in this robbery, leading the reader in directions never imagined.

This book is the culmination of twelve years of research, and many hours of studying this event with the goal of correcting the written history of this story, so much of which has not been very accurate with regard to some details. As Wetzel says, “I question everything that doesn’t make complete sense, and that is very clear in this book.” Regardless of such questions, the stories surrounding the event make for fascinating reading, and this book tells it all.

The book retails for $16.95 and can be purchased at the museum or by mail.

MUSEUM DIRECTOR / CURATOR Jim Wetzel MUSEUM: (970) 874-8721 deltamuseum@aol.com

I must say—this is a VERY interesting book! If you like history, I highly recommend BANKS, BULLETS & BODIES; A Failed Robbery in Delta, Colorado to you.

Your friend,

Linda