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

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Dayphoto

Snowing here! Again. Tiny, tiny flakes with a sharp wind.

But on Friday… We had beautiful Sunshine! It was a pleasure to chop and haul wood.

Tonight it the temps are supposed to drop to -10* (I think that is -23 c, but I’m not sure) and hover there for a spell. Then we warm way up to Zero or a little above.

BUT there is supposed to be sunshine. Lovely, sparkly sunshine (!) and NO wind!

WOO HOO!

Well, off to scrape the sidewalk and mush my way out to the turkey and the chickens.

Your tired of the grey friend,

Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — Boy, It’s Cold

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Dayphoto

And I do mean cold!

It’s so cold I can hardly stand to be outside!

Although, (yes you guessed it) Mom does make me go outside WITH her!

We always have to bundle up…Mom and I.

First Mom gets ready.

I just watch her…there is a slim chance I won’t have to go out if she is going out….If I just stay here by the fire she will forget me!

She doesn’t ever forget me!

Ever!

So after she gets her jacket on, then her boots, then the big Carhart, and BEFORE the gloves she CALLS me…

“Come on Boom, it’s time to go outside. We have lots of work to do and you need to help.”

I try to squish down on the floor and well, just melt into the carpet so she can’t see me.

It never works! I get…

“BOOM! Come on now, we have to go outside!”

So I slink over to her with a big cheesy grin on my face and my tail whapping the air…

“Here you go, Boomer!”

BAM!

It’s done! I have my coat on and we have go out into the frigid air…it was 3* this morning when she so rudely wanted to go outside and check on the chickens and the turkey and gather wood and feed the wild birds and well, tons of other stuff…

Guess what!!?

The coat does keep me warm and being outside is really nice…there are always lots of smells and things to see and do…

I guess Mom does know what keeps a Beagle happy!

Sometimes it’s more than a nice fire, or a snuggly blanket…it is a WARM COAT!!

Well, it’s 18* out there right now and Fuzzy and I are going for a walk to the combines…I smelled Freddy Fox’s footprints and came back and told Fuzzy. He loves to go for walks; he just has to go slow. I don’t mind going slowly (after I search everything out first).

Fuzzy is a buddy ever more.

(Oh, by the way…Fuzzy still likes to sleep outside. Mom goes out and gets him and MAKES him come into the house for the night. I think Fuzzy is really part Siberian Husky.

Brrr!

Boomer

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Dayphoto

The storm is here! Yesterday we had extremely warm temps–57* by four o’clock, then by midnight it was raining. Three in the morning rolled around complete with a ground blizzard and tiny specks of nasty biting snow.

That is pretty much where we are right now…side blowing snow with gusts around 20-30 mph full of little stinging flakes of snow. The trip to the chicken house was fast!

Terry has an appointment he needs to keep so has been struggling if it will be worth the drive. Blizzard conditions are never good. Our oldest daughter had to drive to work in Grand Junction and she said it was horrid. Our daughter that lives in Grand Junction and works for CDOT says the roads are a mess everywhere.

Terry called the man he was supposed to meet with and was pretty much told that the man made it in…geez.

Well, it’s up to him.

Your friend in a blizzard,

Linda

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Dayphoto

The storm is supposed to start here any minute now. It’s supposed to be a huge wild one…with rain, then snow and blizzards in appropriate places.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND JUNCTION HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND LOCAL BLOWING SNOW…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO MIDNIGHT MST WEDNESDAY NIGHT. The WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

THIS AFTERNOON. SNOWFALL WILL INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. SNOW WILL THEN CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING
* SNOW ACCUMULATION…4 TO 8 INCHES…WITH LOCALLY HIGHER
AMOUNTS UP TO 12 INCHES AT CERRO SUMMIT.
* WINDS…SOUTHWEST TO WEST 15 TO 20 MPH WITH LOCAL GUSTS TO 30 MPH THIS EVENING OVER EXPOSED HIGHER TERRAIN

We are ready. (Although, we still don’t have a furnace, we do have lots of wood 🙂 )

(This is what the sky looks like, day after day, after day.)

( At least we have a tinge of a sunset…nothing for a sun rise)

What I will be glad about is sometime after the snow leaves the SUN RETURNS!!! We have been without sunshine for over a week now. Beautiful sunshine. Threecollie wrote a wonderful post about sunshine, which so speaks for me also.

Yes, I know that the temperatures are going to plummet to way below the normal for this time of year, dropping to 7 or 3 or even zero Fahrenheit, but I can handle it if there is sunshine. These gray days are horrid.

Anyway, if you are in the path of this monster storm and arctic air mass

I hope you stay safe and warm and dry!

Thinking of you and sending you warm magic thoughts,

Linda

Monday, December 2, 2013

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Dayphoto

I have a little hawk…he/she is an extremely friendly….

He/she sits very close to me looking for mice hanging under the firewood

I’ve never had a hawk be so…hum…NOT shy. But this one is.

He/she even let me go into the house, get the camera, come back and take his/her photo. Of course the wild birds have fled…I would too if I were potential dinner. 🙂

As for the mice…he/she can have all that can be eaten.

Hauling wood is an even most pleasant chore!

Your farm friend,

Linda

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Dayphoto

Well, here we are! The last month of the year. The older I get the faster time goes…flying by, as they say.

Terry got both hydraulic pumps fixed on the 4010 –over $2,000.00 later and lots of his own man power the tractor is back to work. Sometime this week he will put the loader back on and be good to go with that tractor.

There is always something it seems. Our furnace in the house is now requiring repair. Whew! If and when we get through this repair cycle it will smooth sailing for a while. The nice thing about the furnace is it is just a back up…we heat with firewood, as you know. Still there are times (if we take off for a short trip or the wood burns too fast while we are in Grand Junction) that having the furnace click on if the temperatures in the house drop below 40 is a good thing. Frozen pipes are not a good thing!

A strong cold front is due in here —

(AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL BRING BIG CHANGES TO THE WEATHER STARTING TUESDAY. STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY AS THE COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST. VALLEY SHOWERS MAY INITIALLY START AS RAIN BUT WILL QUICKLY TRANSITION TO SNOW AT ALL ELEVATIONS BY TUESDAY NIGHT. SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL IS POSSIBLE THROUGH WEDNESDAY FOR ALL THE MOUNTAINS OF EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL VALLEYS MAY ALSO SEE SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS COULD CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND. FRIGID AIR WILL POUR IN BEHIND THE FRONT. AFTERNOON HIGHS MAY NOT BREAK THE FREEZING MARK FROM THURSDAY INTO THE WEEKEND. MORNING LOWS COULD BE WELL BELOW ZERO IN THE MOUNTAINS AND NORTHERN VALLEYS.)

So having the furnace as a back-up would be nice. It’s not going to happen for sometime yet, but Terry does want it in place if and when we go to Nebraska for the combine motor.

It is lightly snowing right now. Anyway, all things come to an end-once we get through this break-down/fix-back-up period I’m sure we will be good to good for a long time.

Your friend that loves December,

Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — The Living is Easy

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Dayphoto

We had snow!

Lots and lots of snow!

Then it turned to rain, which turned to mud!

Lately we have been having fog full of frozen crystals, then the sun comes out, then the fog comes back…days of this.

Fuzzy and I don’t mind!

Really we don’t.

We help Mom out…we decorated the tree, hung some light on the porch, helped cook meals…although that always gets us banished to ‘the other room’.

That is what Mom always says when she starts making those yummy smells from the kitchen… “Out boys, you have to go to the other room now!”

So we do…

Going to the other room is okay doaky also…HEAT!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!

So it’s okay what goes on outside, for Fuzz and I…………….THE LIVING IS EASY!

OH!!
WAIT!!

I just about forgot.

Remember when I was new to the farm and I was terrified of the tractor and loader…

You have GOT to see this!!!

Chaco and Balou meet the COMBINE!!! (Turn your head so you can watch, it was taken with Shannon’s cell phone and Mom doesn’t know how to fix the video so it’s upside right)

Fuzzy and I rolled on the ground! After all it is just a combine!!

Mom told us that wasn’t funny, after all she reminded me I was afraid of the tractor when I first got here!

Oh, well!

Back to all the warm heat from the wood stove!

Just hang’n around and enjoying winter!

Boomer

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Dayphoto

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We have reached the place whereby all our gardens are now put to rest,

the freezers are filled and the cellars full,

firewood is stacked in huge piles by the door

as the fire heats the house in a warm cherry glow.

Although, this year has brought tragedies untold,

It has also brought friends through the internet bold,

I thank you all both near and far for the magic of Friendship

Is a one of life’s great blessings on this busy little farm!

Happy Day of Thanks Everyone!!

Your friend in Western Colorado,

Linda

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Dayphoto

The snowman is about gone

The only spot of white left on the lawn

His stone eyes and wooden arms picked up and carried away.

Leaving only cherish thoughts of that other day!

Happy Wednesday! I’m sure everyone is busy cooking and cleaning today.

Your friend,

Linda

Tuesday, November 26, 2013 — Change

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Dayphoto

When my brother and I were small our Dad owned and operated a Sinclair bulk plant and gas station in Delta, Colorado. (we also lived on a huge fruit orchard–lots of work on both ends for everyone in Eckert. But that is another story for a different time.)

As far as my memory can go I think I was about 10 and my brother about 7, when this photo was taken

Terry said he thinks he was around 15, so this may/might/could possibly be about 1959 when Delta had one of their huge spring floods. (No longer does this happen because of extensive work along the Gunnison River.)

The arrow is right on top of my Dad’s business. The water had crossed the railroad and had risen to the top of the little rise where his business was located.

The town proper of Delta is higher than the river so it was spared, but North Delta wasn’t-the flooding water reached way back and touched upon lots of farms.

If I could show you this area today you would be amazed…the land across the river from my Dad’s business now houses City Market Grocery, Ace Hardware, Tractor Supply, McDonald’s and many other businesses, plus the Rec Center.

The other side of the road, where the most extensive flooding occurred has even more businesses.

Please go to this site to see an even older photo of a time when Delta flooded.

Sometimes change isn’t a good thing, change just for the ‘heck of it’ is never a good idea, but change to improve, to make better, to stop destruction—well, that is always a good thing.

Today we do not have floods, which is good. I so remember the real fear and concern my parents felt in this really large flood of around 1959.

When our children were little we had another flood, just as big and just as damaging. It was at this point the City Managers and the Army Core of Engineers said “ENOUGH”.

Thank heavens!
Your grateful friend,

Linda