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 Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — The Swallows Left

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Dayphoto

Yesterday, while Mom was washing the windows and the screen for the Living Room and the Dining Room the Swallows left the corn field – flinging themselves off the top of the corn tassels and into to the air to land on the electric lines way above our heads.

They gathered in huge bunches.

Mom hurried in to get her camera.

But well ….. I barked and barked at them — and they flew away.

I was sad.

So was Mom.

Mom said she wasn’t mad at me, she was just sad because when the Swallows leave the Hummingbirds will be next. After they leave it will start to freeze and the snows will come with huge winds that rip your face off your head.

She gave Boomie and me a huge hug and went back to washing screens.

We’ve been working with Dad in the New Hay field for several days now. The hay just wasn’t drying down.

This is Dad checking the hay to see if it is dry enough to bale.

Yellow Strips where the hay laid until it was dry enough.

Thankfully

last night we got the last of the hay bales

straightened

and Dad

got all but two loads hauled in.

Altogether he has ten loads!!! COOL!

He is hauling the last as I write this!

One of the raccoon’s ran through the yard last night….

Boomie took off after him, so today Boom says his knee is hurting rather more than usual.

Mom gave Boomer lots of pets and a dog aspirin in a SAUSAGE!!! (I got one also, but I didn’t tell Boomer!)

Well, the day is warming up nicely and I see a really nice hole that has my name on it. Boomer is resting his leg, but I think I’ll rest my eyes!

Talk to you tomorrow,

Fuzzy

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Dayphoto

Terry and I spent all day working on the First Year hay field.

The dew was so heavy he wasn’t able to even start baling until 10:00 in the morning, by noon he stopped. Two hours of nice dew…another sign of fall weather.

He hopes to get the rest of the field baled today.

After lunch Tallen and I went out and straighten the crooked and fallen bales so Terry would not have to get off the tractor fix the hay bale get back up on the tractor start again.

By that time of the day it was HOT! But a nice little wind was blowing so the biting flies and mosquitoes were unable to land.

He worked until supper then stopped for a break.

After that the dogs and I went out and gathered the loose hay (sometimes the baler misses chunks) and picked up any broken bales (a broken bale is where one of the strings didn’t tie) and brought those in. By the time we were done it was too dark to continue.

The day was actually a really nice day….I finally got my kitchen and back porch cleaned, the windows and screens in those two rooms washed and the stove and refrigerator sparkling. Sure felt good.

Coming in I noticed how nice the Cannas looked against the firewood. I feel just like a squirrel … everything is starting to come together before the seasons change!

Today I tackle the BATHROOM! In-between the last of the hay field.

Your catching up with ‘stuff’ friend, Linda

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Dayphoto

The day’s are shorting now…around 7:30 in the evening we head out for the last check of water for the day.

We also are monitoring the pinto beans. The field is turning yellow, which means the pintos are now ripe and ready to be pulled.

Probably next Friday Terry will pull the pinto’s so they can start drying.

We will need the days to stay hot and dry once they are pulled.

(see the nasty bull thistle seeds)

(The steps for pinto bean harvest is — pull the plants and leave them lay until nice and crispy, combine the plants, which is taking the beans out of the dried plants and putting them into the hopper then the truck to be delivered to the Beanery, have the beans sacked and the sold—DONE for the year)

He is baling the new cutting of hay as I write this. The first of second week of September will be the third cutting of the old hay field. Dry weather needs to prevail for at least a month now. 🙂

The moon was lovely last night.

I also saw a small rainbow from the storms playing around us.

My four o’clock photo of the Daily View features my Sun dial garden… rich and lush with 4 O’clocks. The Hummingbirds love this area!

A very contented friend, Linda

Monday, August 19, 2013

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Dayphoto

Terry and I are still working on the five cords of rounds and ends we had delivered to our place. We would have gone and got our own but this year it just wasn’t going to work out.

Gradually we have everything sorted and hauled.

We just have a few more piles to cut then we are completely set for the winter. (We hope). If a killing frost comes early and Indian Summer/Fall is short we just might need more come next spring. Only time will tell.

Every day we work on this giant ends dwindling the size to a manageable firebox length.

As for now it looks pretty good.

Rain played along the top of the Uncompahgre (Un-come-pah-gray — with the accent on the ‘pah’, which means (take your pick) ‘rock made red by water’, ‘rocks that make red water’, or just plain ‘dirty water’.) Plateau all last evening.

Since time is flying by I thought I would start the daily Four O’Clock view. I don’t know why I let it slip but I did.

Your friend in western Colorado, Linda

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Dayphoto

I had my first in a very long-time day to myself yesterday. I was able to get some stuff done in town that has been every so long in coming. 5 Weeks!

Five weeks of not really buying groceries…just running in for milk or something of that nature…you would NOT have liked my grocery bill…I didn’t either. 😦 Still I was thankful that I HAD rather stock piled some things and we had the freezer with some meat and the end of the jars I had put up last summer/fall. It all worked out for the best. Now I just need to start rebuilding, I’m down to four package of hamburger, many frozen chickens and some frozen vegetables, like corn. Going five weeks without really shopping and eating and feeding people straight from the larder is really nice.

(You can see the yellow leaves starting to appear)

When I was working outside yesterday I noticed the little Robins are gone. They have left us I know not when. 😦 😦 Another sure sign that winter is coming. We still have lots of swallows and the hummingbirds plus many others.

A crow landed in the old cottonwood tree as I worked and cawed to me he was back and fall was coming. I guess it is so.

Last week was my last full week of having the little grandchildren everyday. Since both of their parents….Misty (teaches) and Kelly (Assistant Principal) go back to work the First of August ————–THANK HEAVENS MISTY HAS FELT WELL ENOUGH TO GO BACK!!!! The kids stay with us.

Thursday (the kids and I) went to Fat Cat Pottery to create something fun, then Friday we had a fun day by eating out (JUNK FOOD) at Wendy’s, then going on over to the Miniature Golf place and played a round, after that we went to the batting cages to see if we could hit a few soft balls.

Then to top the whole afternoon off we headed to Dairy Queen for ice cream. I let them have the biggest ice cream they thought they could eat :).

This next week the two oldest will hop the bus and be in school. The youngest will stay with us until Thursday when it will be her turn to start school. Kindergarten rotates the little ones in so no one is afraid and can handle the new environment.

After that Terry and I think we will take a short trip just to unwind by ourselves, something over night but close by.

He has stopped irrigating the pintos and will start pulling them soon. Then it will be time for the last cutting of alfalfa. When that time comes he will have stopped irrigating the corn. Corn harvest will/should be sometime in October. Boy, this summer has flown.

I hope everyone has a restful Sunday,

Your very thankful friend, Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — A Couple of Things More

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Dayphoto

Mom said this is the shortest summer on record!

She says she lost most of July and is just now finding August.

Then it happened….

Boomie started limping. Mom tried and tried to figure out what was wrong…

Nothing in his paw,

No cuts,

No visible anything.

So Mom loaded up Blade and Boomer and headed into the vets.

Geez, Boomer blew his A.C.L!

Blade asked TONS of questions of the vet; Mom came home with ‘stuff’ for Boom and told us (Boomer and I) we can’t run after stuff like Batman and Superman anymore.

That works for me…I really don’t like to go for very long walks now. ALTHOUGH, I DO love riding on the four-wheeler! But Mom’s four-wheeler threw a shoe and Dad hasn’t made it to town to get a couple of new tires for the front of the four-wheeler. So Mom walks to wherever she is going now.

I don’t go. I walk to the end of the yard and wait for her.

Boomie still wants to go, and does go for a short ways.

Mom says it’s a really lonely walk out to the ditches without us, but that is just how it is right now.

Anyway…life just keeps on going on. It’s cool enough that I don’t like sleeping outside of the doghouse and have taken to sleeping IN the dog house. Boomer only slept outside in July he says its way too cold to sleep next to me outside. I agreed with him…so we sleep in our dog houses.

It won’t be long until we start sleeping inside the house.

Boy, where DID summer go?

Fuzzy

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Dayphoto

A chill is in the morning air everyday now. The plants are getting serious about setting seeds, or bursting forth into bloom so they can set seeds. This chill is a whole month early. I feel like I’ve lost summer, the season I most enjoy.

Oh, well…maybe we will have a very long Indian Summer.

Right in the beginning of our whole 5 weeks of extreme stress our giant Johnson Cottonwood dropped a huge limb. It was the limb that held the rope swing our children played on while they were growing up…a loud snap and crack in the middle of a lovely, calm, warm afternoon — then BAM! The whole giant limb was on the ground.

I must say the tree worked hard at not smashing any buildings or even any of my flower beds, instead forming a lovely arch that we were able to drive through for several days.

We were rather forced to leave it in place for a few days because of …. well, everything. Gradually Terry was able to start cutting it up while Shannon and I hauled leaves, branches and logs to the upper end.

Shannon’s tree climbing dog, Houston had a great time playing in the leaves.

Finally only the huge heavy parts are left…our tractor with the loader issue is still under repair (if it isn’t one thing….well, you know, then it is another 🙂 ) These logs will wait until we can get them into the loader and then haul them to the upper end to dry.

Now (possibly) we have moved through all the crisis and will be on the upswing again. Everything goes forward, you just have to go forward with it.

Once more thank you for being with us in mind, or body, and spirit!

Your hopeful friend, Linda

August 14, 2014

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Dayphoto

I am ever so grateful for all of you…Misty is back to work today! The family Doctor took her off the offending drug! She started feeling better and felt good enough to go to work.

HOO RAY!!!!

The rains have been lovely…my weeds are huge and out of control, but so are my flowers and other plants…

the good along with the bad.

My brother, his wife and her nephew were here over the weekend to go on a float trip down the Gunnison River. We enjoyed a HUGE full house of guests for few days. Dan even played for us and the little girls DANCED away the night.

The next day part of the group left and my brother and his family all headed to the river.

Terry and I ~~helped~~ watched from the shore. Then drove his truck out to the landing site they had pick out.

As we drove back I was very impressed at how green the desert was from all the rain so we stopped to see what was growing.

Sadly it was a hideous, horrid, poisonous weed!

This weed is called Halogeton, aka: Sheep Killer! Gosh, what a disappointment.

If you live where this stuff grows do everything you can to get rid of it!

Terry and I got the firewood all stacked yesterday and early this morning. The little grandchildren helped yesterday, but I think they were rather glad it was done this morning.

They will be staying with us during the day until school starts next week. After that I should be able to get back into my old routine. (Knock on wood)

Thanks for stopping by,

Starting to get it all together again, Linda

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Dayphoto

Fall is in the air! Every day I see more yellow leaves turning up in the trees!

We had to run up to our lake on Grand Mesa

while our company was here….stunningly we saw fresh snow on the ground.

The little chipmunks were very active – I think they now their time for storing is just about over.

Terry and I decided that we just can’t get away from the place to haul the much more needed firewood so we ordered more in, now we have a mess to sort through, but at least we are NOT having to go “GET IT”. It will work this time for us … we will see what next year brings.

Misty had a terrible reaction to a new drug so she is with me today. Please keep your prayers, magic thoughts and crossed fingers in place for a little while longer — we are desperately in need of them.

Your friend,

Linda

The Hyphen Between Time

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Dayphoto

We are gradually returning to almost normal. It’s been weeks and weeks, but today we are making some sort of headway.

Yesterday the Dog Days of summer ended! Along with that ending we have started seeing trees showing up with yellow leaves. The nights are cool enough I need to shut the windows in the early morning. Usually August is hot, but we are not seeing that here and now. It is feeling like September already. What a strange year this has been.

The pinto beans are ready for harvest. Terry finished the last set of water last week to allow the soil under the plants to dry out so he can start pulling them. He thinks the last week of August he will start pulling the plants so they can dry and he can combine them.

Where has summer gone?

Ever since Misty got sick and we got lots and lots of company I have been in a holding pattern. Whenever I get into that ‘just treading water place” I seem to have bad dreams of drowning.

But today I took a nap…and really slept. I also got almost four weeks of lawn mowed and the edges around the yard taken care of…you just don’t know how nice that is until you can’t find time to get to it. I am also getting my laundry caught up. Tomorrow I will go shopping everything I had has been eaten up… 🙂

Misty went back to work this afternoon, with our family doctor’s blessing. We are waiting now for her appointment with the neurologist in Grand Junction. He comes highly recommended so we have lots of hope.

The grandchildren will continue to stay with us during the day until each of their respective schools start, after that Terry and I will be back to normal.

Knock on wood.

The field corn is starting to dent — goodness this summer seems to have flown by while we waited for answers from the Doctors.

Once more I thank you for staying connected for your emails, and comments and concern.

Your friend,

Linda