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

Thank you all —Late Autumn—Sunday, November 2, 2014

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Dayphoto

A storm blew in yesterday…although the temperatures were warm…75*. The weather people are saying there is a strong possibly of (lots of) snow around the 8,000 feet by this evening and Monday morning.

(Which is good) it’s good to be busy.

I got the house completely finished painting on the inside of the house…HAPPY DANCE!

I will start on the trim on the outside of the house and the fence. Also, raking of the the leaves. The work is starting to end down there…(which is another good thing)

Tuesday Terry will check the corn again to see where the moisture content is…the ranchers are already combining their corn. They feed up the corn, as they combine, so they can use high moisture corn.

I wish to thank each and everyone of your for your heartfelt condolences about my Fuzzy. I hope to get each of you answered as time permits. Please know that I appreciate your thoughts and kind words. I know he was ‘just a dog’ but what A Dog he was!

Your friend on a Colorado Farm,

Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer—Fuzzy

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Dayphoto

I’ve been thinking, Boomer.

What, Fuzzy?

I’ve been thinking about life, Boomer. Life and all the good things that make up life.

I like to think about life also, Fuzzy. What are you thinking?

Just this—If I could give you the gift of my years I would tell you to:

Never turn down a ride in the back of the pick-up
- Oh! You are so right, Fuzzy. There is nothing like the wind in your ears and the ruffle of the air on your fur…like the ride in the back of the pick-up
Don’t forget riding with Mom on the four-wheeler. It’s the best. She goes slow enough we can always smell the smells and see the sights and….
- And Never worry about falling off, Fuzzy!
- Right, Boom, we are always safe with Mom.

Cats are okay….even if I like to keep Sam-Sam from eating out of my dog dish—I still pretty much like him.
- Me too, Fuzzy, me too!
The really fun things to do are barking the mailman and the FedEX man and the UPS man down the lane. Helps Mom and Dad know we are guarding the place and lets them know we are the boss.
- And all the trucks coming in for hay.
- Oh, Yes I forgot about the hay people. You are right!
Don’t forget helping Mom with the leaves…leaves are fun…it is fun to run and bark in the leaves while Mom works.
- It is Fuzzy, it is!

There is just so much I would like to tell you, Boom, but I think you know.

I think you know.

Please let Mom know also, Boom. It’s been wonderful here on the farm with Mom and Dad and you, my Buddy. My-Fuzzy-Dude-Brown

Oh, Fuzzy…How do Mom and I go on? How?

One day at time…that is all you can do.

Good bye- my Friend, Good Bye.

best-friends-for-ever-more-

Fuzzy passed away today, Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 11:00 am. He died in my arms with Boomer lying next to the dog bed. We are devastated. All of us… Terry, Myself, Boomer and the cats.

Thank-you for loving Fuzzy as much as we have. I will be back Sunday or Monday or Tuesday…I need some time right now.

Friday Adventures will continue with Boomer and myself, for life goes on, albeit much more lonely. Fuzzy 006

Fuzzy “The Dude” Brown

2000-2014

A Crisp Fall Day–Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Dayphoto

The trees on the way to the other house are just lovely. As are the trees AT the other house.

The other house in the thicket of trees that you see across the way. Trees with lots and lots and leaves on them. It’s been freezing every night…we had 26* this morning. You and I know what that means…all those leaves are going to be falling down into the yard. What that means for me is a whole other job…raking leaves. I rather dread it. I have this yard with it’s leaves and now I have that yard. SIGH!

Anyway all I have left to paint is the ceiling in the dining room, then I’m done with the inside of the house. YAY!

Oh, yes. I still have the outside and now the yard, but I’m making headway.

Our neighbor to the south, has brought his cows home for the winter. He just put the heifers in his back field which connects to our Upper End. It’s nice to hear them talking and conversing with each other. 🙂

Your friend,

Linda

October Irrigation — Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Dayphoto

We started the irrigation water back up. The alfalfa field was just too dry to make it through the winter.

Early morning and every evening is very cold here, although it is warming up some in the afternoon.

Yesterday was horrible with wind and cold and just plain nasty.

Boomer thought he was going to freeze to death so I took off one of my jackets so he could warm up.

The storm blew on by and left us with another killing frost—no ice on the running water though.

Terry had the corn tested yesterday one field was 18 and all the others at 19. We have a long ways to go to get to 14 moisture content. If this cold stays we might get there in two weeks or so.

Two weeks will give me a nice amount of time…I’m just about done painting INSIDE the house. I have the trim/cabinets/doors in the kitchen and the ceiling in the Dining Room. I dread that ceiling as it’s very tall, that is why I keep putting it off. Still I should be able to get to it either today or tomorrow. YIPPEE!

Then I can start on the trim outside and the fences.

Once the corn is harvested we will have to work on getting all the fences on the place cow/calf proof so Mr. Davis’ cows can come to the Brown Nursery. I call our place the Brown Nursery since all the spring’n heifers (first year to calf) calve out on our place. They were babies here two years ago so they are delighted to arrive back. Lots of kicking up of heels and running when they first come in—then they wander everywhere checking out to see what has changed. It takes them about three days to settle down to the place they want to graze first. I always enjoy having them here.

But first………..there is the house to finish and the trim and fences to fix. Oh, and the corn to harvest! (and the irrigation water to change until the ditch is shut off on Saturday).

Your friend,

Linda

The Song of Fall—Monday, October 27, 2014

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Dayphoto

Soon now. The stalks and the ears are getting that ‘look’. Soon.

Sometime today Terry will go out and pick a ear from every field —shell each ear in it’s own test bucket, then take the ear to the elevator to get a moisture test. To harvest our corn the moisture needs to be at 14, any higher than that the corn will mold in the elevators. If you are selling to a feed lot then can take a higher corn moisture….but not where we take it.

Our haystacks are shrinking! Very little left now. The man that is loading out will take that whole stack he is working on, as I took the photo. There is a smaller stack (100) which goes to a horse woman, and the stack that is still covered (we cover all the hay) goes to Delta Elevator. Terry’s goal is for the hay to be gone before winter sets in and Hank’s cows arrive. We have to build pretty good fences around the stacks if we still have hay and cows; preferably we just give them the run of the place otherwise.

In checking the ground in the alfalfa field we realized that it’s terribly dry, so we will start the irrigation water this week. We MUST do it this week since the Ditch Company will turn all the water off November 1st. A week is enough to get the whole thing wet then the alfalfa will go into the winter nicely. The wind is blowing now and it’s cold. A cold front is moving in today and will linger for at least five days. I love walking in the fields with the wind blowing —- here is an old video from a long time back of the wind in the corn…

I find listening to the wind in the corn as lovely as wind whistling through pine trees.

Late afternoon Fuzzy, Boomer and I go for a four-wheeler ride around the farm…up to the headgate, through the Upper End, into the Back Forty, down the road by the alfalfa field, sometimes over to the equipment area and then to the other house, or we just drive into the corn fields and sit and listen to the sounds.

Peace floods my heart, mind and soul. I am so thankful to be able to live and work here.

Life is Good, My Friends, Life is Good!

Wishing you the best of the day!

Your Friend,

Linda

A Bit of Fun—Saturday, October 26, 2014

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Dayphoto

We took Saturday off and headed up to the Devris and Olathe Fire Department Punkin Chunkin and Classic and Antique Tractor Pull in Olathe, Colorado.

There were booths of fun things to purchase and activities for the kids to try. The radio and local Television was on hand to report the activities of the Punkin Chunkin,

complete with a helicopter drop of a huge basket of pumpkins at the end of the Punkin Chunkin contest.

The tractors lined up waiting for the pull to begin; allowing people to see and touch the tractors of yester year. (Although, in our case we still use ours for every day work on the farm.)

Ours turned out to be a fun tractor for families. Several families asked if it was okay to sit on the tractor “SURE, GO RIGHT AHEAD!”

(Tractor’s LOVE attention!)

It was also a chance to visit with old friends and to make new ones. There were only 21 tractors in the pull.

Gradually #19 was ready to take his place. I had a hard time taking photos because I had to face INTO the sun. If you like to see #19 make his pull the following is a short video. He got 4th.

Your friend on a Western Colorado Farm,

Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer—GO!

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Dayphoto

YIPPEE! WHOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO! We finally got to go with Mom to the other house!

(this is the other house)

I was sure afraid that Fuzzy and I would never ever get to go again. Mom said I was naughty the last time I was down there—naughty only in her mind…that really yucky smelly dead thing was just perfect for a good roll and rub, but she didn’t see it that way.

Then she banished me from EVER going down to the other house ever again!

I think she really meant it too. She and Dad went down there tons of times and just left Fuzzy and I here. So I started trying to win Mom over…

I would do the Beagle Prance and walk ahead of her to the pick-up…nope didn’t work. Then I would follow her to the pick-up and look at her with pleading Beagle eyes…nothing. She just looked at me and shook her head no, got in and drove off.

Then I talked Fuzzy into begging…he’s pretty good at it…he just sits right by the door and politely doesn’t let mom get in.

That didn’t work either.

After putting our heads together we decided that we would just sit on the sidewalk and look pathetic.

AND IT WORKED!

Mom loaded us up on the four-wheeler and off we went. I had to stay inside, but that’s okay. We were with MOM! Going-to-other-house

After that we got to go every time…to take the vacuum and the big ladder down, or just to go watch Mom paint. She talks to us while she paints and we listen real close. Until Fuzzy gets sleepy then he naps. I stay with her in the house or I would go check around and see if that yummy yucky stuff is still there. Mom says I have to stay in the house with her. Okay, I will, just as long as I GET TO GO!

So far so good!

Boomer

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It’s Off to Work I Go—Thursday, October 23, 2014

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Dayphoto

Making huge strides now…our house is done, even the floors mopped and the windows washed.

I got most of the other house painted–just lack the pantry, a ceiling and the doors and some of the trim in the kitchen! HOO RAY!!

I have started the fall clean-up in the yard (while Terry is busy creating a new head gate for one of the ditches). I leave everything standing for winter interest and food for the winter birds, but I MUST dig up the tropicals. I started that yesterday. As I dig the tropicals I replace them with fall bulbs, works slick, since I’m already in that spot. It will feel good to get the yard taken care of and the other house, after that I wonder if I will be bored….hummmm!

Probably not. 🙂 The corn harvest should be close (if not) started. Then there is picking up all the siphon tubes, dams, building the fences…oh, yes and I forgot finish painting the trim and the fences at the other house.

One step at a time….slowly I’m getting there!

Your friend,

Linda

Checking My List—Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Dayphoto

I let the dogs go with me to the other house! I know, I know, I said Boomer couldn’t go anymore, but ….I just felt so sorry for him….those sad beagle eyes you know.

So off we went…then while I was there he had to come inside while I worked at painting the coat closet. He didn’t mind, although Fuzzy said he preferred sitting outside on the step in the sunshine.

This house is almost where I want it to forget it for a spell, all I have to do is mop (!) then I’m done for a time.

I also took our ballets in to the court house…there—- we have voted! YIPPEE!!

Now we just wait to see how the vote turns out. I really like this mail in voting…no standing in line—get your ballet- think about what you want to see happen, color in the square…put everything back in the proper envelopes, sign and date the back, then either walk it in and put it in the voting box or mail it. DONE!

Tomorrow I should finish up this houses’ to-do list and maybe get closer to finished INSIDE the other house. I would really like to get the trim and the fences done before the weather turns bad. I would also like to be done down there, before the corn harvest starts. I looked back over my blog and we started the 5th of November last year. That’s not to far off now. Although, it depends on the moisture of the corn…one year we were clear to Christmas before we got done, not being able to start until after Thanksgiving. I sure hope we don’t have another year like that!

With joy in my heart and a song on my lips–the list is shortening every day!

Your friend on a Western Colorado farm,

Linda

Coming Together—Tuesday, October, 21, 2014

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Dayphoto

Yesterday was a good day. I made huge strides on getting some of the very long list done. There is a certain satisfaction of looking at a list and either crossing off something or putting a check mark by it.

YAY!!!!

Today was “take Boomer in to the vet” for another ear check-up. So far so good. One ear is well, and the other one looks like it’s just about there. Happy Dance for both Boomer and I!!!

A storm blew in last night —we had a sprinkle of rain, but nothing here (so far).

We got the irrigation pump and the sprinkler system winterized…I got some more things done down at the other house…and I got most of this house clean.

The joy of seeing a list shrink is a true joy!

Your friend,

Linda