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

My Project at the Museum

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Dayphoto

I’m working on this huge camera collection— which is taking lots of tedious time, but should be a really interesting display later on!

Linda

CAMERA COLLECTION ALMOST COMPLETED

Work on cataloging the large collection of cameras and accessories described in the last newsletter is almost complete. The cameras vary from a 1908 Brownie No. 2A box camera up to once very pricey Pentax and Canon models dating to the 1970s. The collection includes over 40 cameras plus an assortment of flash units, lenses, and other accessories.

The museum already has on exhibit the large camera collection donated by Ben Walker years ago, and this collection is on permanent exhibit. Add to this a number of additional cameras in storage, and the museum now has a rather extensive collection of cameras and related artifacts

We are currently planning a huge – temporary – camera exhibit for later this year.

Jim

Museum Director / Curator and Newsletter Editor

Jim Wetzel (970) 874-8721

deltamuseum@aol.com

Linda

https://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com

April 23, 2013

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Dayphoto

A very cold winter wind is here!

The lovely spring day we had yesterday is just a distant memory now. A tease of warmth and loveliness.

The wind turned cold last night, waking us up to freeze warnings until tomorrow morning sometime.

The fireplace feels good!

Still the work must go on.

We got word that we just might be able to have 55% water, instead of the 50% so Terry made the decision to go ahead and plant pinto beans. This will put 70% of our farm into production. ( I was hoping for alfalfa, but pintos don’t take as much water and their growing season is much shorter.)

We’ve started the water in the established alfalfa field — another field that has an earth ditch and siphon tubes. This morning when changing the tubes…moving the water on down the field … there was ice along the rows.

Alfalfa at this stage of it’s life can handle some freezing, but newly planted and just starting to pop up alfalfa would be killed.

Today Terry has finished leveling the pinto bean field (putting a slight grade on the land so the water will run ‘down’ the rows and on out to the waste ditch), and started marking out the rows.

(Terry is marking out the bean ground, even as I type)

As soon as we are through the alfalfa field we will start water on the pinto bean field.

I sure hope this last nasty/cold winter wind/storm is the last of winter’s hurrah! It’s been so cold the snow hasn’t even started to melt in the mountains…which is a blessing and a curse wrapped up as one.

Well, enough of this whine at least it must be snowing somewhere, its just that cold. And snow means water and water means less worry about drought and less drought is good for everyone.

Stay warm, my friends! At some point winter really will leave and spring will arrive! When it does—We all will be ready!

Linda

Monday, April 22, 2013

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Dayphoto

The 4010 is sick. The hydraulic’s aren’t working very well.

So yesterday, Terry and a good friend of his, started helping the poor old Deere to feel better. This tractor is one of the main workhorses of our small but might fleet. Each one has a particular purpose, with this one being the tractor which has the loader on it.

The loader is another workhorse; used for so many things.

Today is wonderful…it is warm enough I am able to open the windows upstairs (where the rooms get unbearably stuffy and hot). This where I keep my computer and tiny little office.

Just look at the beautiful sunlight shining on the Roubidoux Canyon!! You can see that our mesa, California Mesa drops off and then the canyon starts.

The wind is just now coming up, although it seems to be a warm wind.

My favorite little spring time flower is blooming…I so enjoy these cheerful and bright little ‘weeds’!

Today I’m working in my yard, there are things I have been wanting to do — I’ve just been waiting for a nice day to do them in.

My wish is that this is a wonderful day for you, full of the perfect weather for your area, and you are able to accomplish whatever you set out to do—even if it is to rest. Resting is very necessary; as much as work is.

Best Wishes My Friends,

Linda

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Dayphoto

Finally we are warming up!

Yesterday, Terry and I went to Grand Junction to so some shopping…Sam’s Club, Whole Foods, Michael’s, Hobby Lobby…all the places I save up for so we can do it in one day.

Terry goes to Home Depot, Sears, Western Implement, Sutherland’s ..it’s a busy big day when we make the trip.

Last night was just lovely

And today even better…we plan on getting rid of all the trash today, changing water (always) and getting a few things done that are restful, not huge.

I hope everyone has a peaceful Sunday,

Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — The Earth Ditch

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Dayphoto

Fuzzy and I have been helping Mom and Dad.

You can tell it was really windy the last few days by looking at Fuzzy’s fur.

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh……really Fuzzy helps…I like to run around and see what I can see and sniff what I can sniff and eat dried out milk duds and well…

I (harrumph) I have LOTS TO DO!

We had snow and cold and wind for two days, in fact it is still cold! Mom is having us sleep inside, although Fuzzy really doesn’t want too….BUT I DO!!!!!

Mom told Fuzzy when the nights warm back up we can go back out to our covered and snuggly warm dog houses, but until then she would prefer old arthritic dogs and thin-furred dogs to sleep inside.

SO WE GET TO SLEEP INSIDE!!!

YIPPEEE!

Oh.

Well, while Mom and Dad have been busy and Fuzzy has been in charge of the four-wheeler I’ve been checking things out.

The hay is starting to look nice…Dad will mark it out and start water when he gets done with the corn ground (soon).

The trash has been horrible in the ditches and in the canals…

Here is the trash at the head gate

Dad cleaning out trash in one of the ditches

And piles of trash already cleaned out along the canal

Wind does most of the trash and winter…winter knocks down lots and lots of weeds that the wind loves to carry here and there.

Dad started water in the earth ditch. We have more than one earth ditch, but this is the biggest and the longest and takes the most work

Dad uses siphon tubes in the earth ditch…works just like siphoning gas out of a car tank….just saying. Dip the tube in the water, hold the other end closed, pump several times, fling the tube into the just dug out little furrow and BAM!

Water!

Works every time…unless Mom is doing it and she has to work at it a bit longer than Dad. Earth-Ditch Just saying.

I saw a killdeer…he wouldn’t look at me, but at least he stood still. I was really good and didn’t chase it…I don’t chase things, not even rabbits.

People say I’m a weird Beagle, Mom says I’m perfect!

(SMILE 🙂 )

The sun set last night flinging color all over the San Juan Mountain Range…pretty cool.

Well, Fuzzy and I are off to go check out the yard and bark HELLO over to Hank…I see he is outside his fence now. (Hank stays in the house most of the time with the little kids).

I want to find out what is happening with him!

See Ya!

Boomer

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Dayphoto

We fought wind and dust all day long yesterday. Sure was a mess!

And of course it had little bits of rain with it…nothing that does any good, just helps the blowing dirt stick to stuff.

Here is one of our windows to give you an idea…that isn’t rain, it’s dirt.

I went to bed thinking I will be glad when the weather settles and I can get the windows and screens washed.

This morning we woke up to this-

Yep! And we still irrigate even though there is snow.

Terry and I were talking about those that have corn seed in the ground ready to ‘water-up’–sort of scary, because this type of moisture will cause the seed to swell and break out roots and a stalk, if the water doesn’t hit them at the right time the seed will die.

That is one reason we water the ground first, wait for it to dry to the right stage of moisture and then plant.

Everyone has their own theory and knows what works for them, but for us this is what and why we do what we do.

Also, this type of weather is a mess for those in the ‘prep’ stage of ground work. You get the soil to the point of being a really nice sponge; it will act like a sponge. In our clay type of soil sponges turn rock hard if you don’t get on it right at a certain point.

As in all things timing is everything.

There is an old saying: “As in gambling so is farming” there just might be more than a grain of truth in it.

Well, moisture is moisture so we will just keep the fire going, the water flowing and know that someday, at some time, winter has just GOT to end! 🙂

Linda, from Canada sent me some bulbs of her Tarda Tulips, last year we were so dry they didn’t bloom, but this year they are lovely.

Of course they are covered up with snow right now, but the photos I got yesterday show you how beautiful they are

Spring time in the Rockies or is it still winter time? Maybe a mix of both 🙂

Linda

April 16, 2013 — The Perils of the Head Gate

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Dayphoto

After a very cold day yesterday, we woke up to thick frost on the ground which quickly melted by 7:30 this morning. It was lovely.

Although…………….

We could see Utah dirt coming in from the Uncompahgre (Un-come-pah-gray .. accent on the pah) Plateau. By 8.30 it was here…nasty wind, full of red dirt.

The weather guy said we would not see this wind until around 2-3 this afternoon (I wonder if harder wind is coming in at that time), then it would change over to rain and then snow and would snow most of Wednesday then blow out of here.

I took a couple of photos of Terry cleaning out the head gate. The Head gate is the out-take gate of the main canal to your farm….our canal, the one that runs by us is called the Ironstone, the water that leaves our place goes back into the Ironstone and into the FNC Lateral…which is a branch of the Ironstone canal.

We are lucky because the head gate to our farm is right at the beginning of our farm…its easy to monitor because it is so close. Some farms have head gates as far as 2-3 miles FROM their farm.

All head gates have to be monitored for trash, dead animals, big garbage that someone up the way didn’t want to deal with…on the most part everyone is really good about NOT dumping stuff into the canal for the next person to have to take of. Sometimes an animal will fall in (or get tossed in) we’ve had skunks, sheep, calves and pigs that have been caught in the head gate. No goats so far, which is good.

I’m heading out to sort firewood, we have some green I need to get into a different pile and I want to do it before the rain starts.

Thank each and everyone of you for following and/or commenting! I always appreciate how wide spread the world of blogging is and how diverse our worlds are; yet how very close blogging makes us. I am most grateful for this blogging world and for getting to know so many people from around the world.

Sincerely,

Linda

Monday, April, 15, 2013–Packing the Rows

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Dayphoto

Terry packed rows last night and this morning!

Our soil is rather strange….if it rains (and we have had a nice 1 inch rain) the water stops going down the furrows.

Weird, but true.

Even though the rows were packed BEFORE the rain, he had to go back out and do it all over again.

Terry like to use a Mormon Creaser, which is a tool that helps square up the row and packs down the walls and bottom of the furrow so the water can flow on through. Sometimes he just drives the tractor up and down the rows, it depends on what the furrow looks like when he gets there.

(See the tractor turning around? The tires mess up the rows so the irrigater has to make sure and dig out those furrows by hand or a flood mess will occur. Also, right at the gate – the siphon tube – the furrow has to be dug out so the water understands which row to head down)

The wind is kicking up a fuss today and it looks like there are storms in the mountains and canyons surrounding us…storms made of water is a very nice thought. It’s also cold. The weather man says we have a huge winter storm coming in complete with 45 mph winds and bitter temperatures. By Wednesday we should see snow, or at least as snow and rain mix.

We will not stop irrigating even if the rain and snow come in—another weird but true fact of farming in our part of the high mountain desert. (the secret is High and Mountain and Desert…)

The little rain here freshened up everything, even if it slowed down the irrigation. We will just keep on plodding along.

Some of the farmers are going to ‘go for the gold’ and plant 70% of their acres, but we are staying with the 60%, we would hate to lose a crop just because we tried to bluff our way through. By the middle of May we will know if we want to go ahead and add another 10% of our acreage. It’s a toss up if we plant pinto beans or alfalfa…it all depends on water — how much and for how long or if there will even be any.

Heading out now to do some things, I hope all of you have a good Monday.

Linda

Opening the Fields

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Dayphoto

We opened the fields Friday — which means we started water. This is a big job as all the ditches have to be flushed, the weeds cleaned out.

Hank enjoys helping the water move through the mud at the bottom of the ditches. He gets the mud packed into his nose. Such a goofy dog! (said with love)

Then the water is set in the proper fields.

Boomer only likes the water to get a drink out of, most the time he is out scouting around!

The day started out cold, warmed up, and then cooled down again. Of course when you are working you warm up fast!

We had help, Misty and Tallen, Hank, Boomer, and Fuzzy.

Fuzzy didn’t want to get off the four-wheeler so I just let him stay up there. This is not normal for him as he loves ‘chasing water’. I guess, he has decided he is just too old now and will opt for directing the other dogs on what to do. The patriarch of the dog pack so to speak.

I would set him down and he would hang out in the shade, go over and get a drink and then head back to the shade. Sort of sad really, but at least he still like going with us.

Tallen really does help…we gave her a row of her own and she truly worked at getting the water down it.

These little grandchildren may never live or work on a farm, but they are getting a good taste of what it takes to make a row crop farm go. 🙂

This photo shows you the gated pipe at work. The little gates are nice in some ways, in others not so nice….like having to clean the trash out of them. You have to reach clear inside and pull the trash out, lots of bending over and getting your hands and fingers wet.

The end of the day we were all back out there.

When you open a field every end of the row has to be dug out so your water goes down the row it is supposed to be in. Corn is watered every other row. Lots of digging when you first open a field, lots of digging after you plant and after you cultivate.

Terry always waters the corn fields first so he doesn’t have to worry about cold weather coming along and causing the VERY EXPENSIVE corn seed to rot.

We will soak the fields, let them dry, then he will plant.

In the beginning your winter body doth protest loudly, by the end of the season you are ‘fit as a fiddle’ — as my beloved maternal grandfather would say.

Terry packed rows ahead of us so we didn’t have to walk the water through the field, sometimes packing helps sometimes not. Yesterday and Friday it worked great!

I hope each and everyone of you have a really nice Sunday…a day of just doing whatever you feel like doing!

Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — Ready to Start Water

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Dayphoto

The mornings are cold and so are the nights! Mom told Boomer and I we HAD to sleep inside for a couple of nights. I didn’t want too, but after we got in a settled down I was glad.

Boomer LOVES sleeping inside. He wades up in the blankets and never moves again until Mom gets up at 5:30.

(Sam the Cat likes to go outside in the daytime and sleep in one of the old cars with the sun beating through the windows.)

Monkey doesn’t like to leave the house unless Mom makes her. So I won’t write about her today.

So, hummmmmm, well let’s see.

Yesterday the youngest tyke was with us all day…we, Mom, Tallen, Boomer and I, all walked up to the top of one field and started getting the siphon tubes ready. Then that afternoon Linkin and Tallen, Mom, and I (Boomer ran off to see what was going on in the back 40) worked on the other siphon ditch laying out the siphons.

We start water at 8:30 this morning. Misty and Mom and Tallen and Boomer, Hank and I will clean the ditches of all the trash as Dad sets up the rows. This is big…I mean BIG…HUGE job and will take us most of the morning.

I’m READY!

Talk to you later!

Fuzzy

P.S. Mom wanted me to tell you the apricot trees themselves were not killed just the FRUIT on the trees. She thinks she didn’t say that right yesterday!

Well, Dad is back from doing something and Mom is telling me to hurry so we are off!