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 County Dump

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Dayphoto

So far we have over an inch of rain and it is still raining. The weather people say it is supposed to turn to snow today around 2 o’clock in the afternoon. I haven’t been taking any 4 o’clock photos since there really isn’t anything to see but rain and fog.

For a really short while yesterday the clouds broke and sun came out. A great cry of joy went up from the cows and the chickens and the cats and the dogs. Everyone was in a frolicking kind of mood.

Terry and I quickly grabbed all our trash and headed out to the dump. We only make the run if we absolutely have too. We were at the absolutely spot…if we didn’t go then I was going to have to go by more trash barrels, which I didn’t want to do as we really do have enough of trash barrels now.

There really isn’t anything really interesting at the dump, but we did get to see the rubber grinder at work grinding up all the tires. I don’t know what happens to that huge pile of ground up rubber but I’m sure they have figured out some way to recycle it or they wouldn’t be doing it.

As we were there the fog settled back down. After we got home the rain started again. No complains on the moisture. It is just very odd this type of rain this time of year.

Three more days until February….I’m into the count down! 🙂

Linda

Winter Rain

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Dayphoto

We are having the oddest weather for January. Weather more along the line of July. An unusual warm air mass has funneled itself up from the Gulf of Mexico, giving us RAIN.

Friday we were rather warm with heavy fog, the weatherman was calling an inversion. But we never cooled down to below zero, instead we stayed warm…22* all that day, into the night, and even into the next morning.

Visibility was very poor.

Then the weather people started telling us about the odd weather pattern we were now in.

Fog is beautiful.

We see very little fog here. As a child I was always fascinated that (for us, here in the high mountain desert) when we have fog it is really a cloud sitting down and surrounding us. Living in a cloud made me feel rather ethereal—light, airy, not earth-bound. It still does.

Then it started to rain…a very wet drizzle, you could walk in it for thirty minutes before getting soaked, but very steady. On and on it rained, all day, all evening, all night, until about 4 in the morning. Then it stopped. But the heavy fog didn’t leave.

Visibility, as I write this is 1/4 of mile. We are surrounded in cloud. It isn’t raining …. yet.

But it could start.

It might snow! The water guys are saying that it is snowing in the San Juan’s and up at Gunnison. That is good news. I hope it dumps FEET of very wet snow! 🙂

For FEET of snow I can enjoy living in a Cloud! 🙂 🙂

Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday —Doing Better

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Dayphoto

Today, in just a little while, I go with Mom to get my stitches out!

I’m ready!!!

Those things itch! My back paw fits right where they are and it feeeeeeeeeeeeels so good. Then Mom grabs my back leg and tells me to stop, “can’t do it right now, ole boy”, she says. And pets me until I forget I had the itchys.

My tumor was right behind my shoulder blade and had grown into the shoulder blade area which is why I was having so much trouble walking.

But not anymore!

Every day we go for a walk and I made it clear around half the place yesterday. Who says old dogs need to be put out to pasture?!

Mom, Dad, Boomer and I were looking at all the really early spring work (or is it late winter work?) Dad and Mom want to get done before the farming season starts.

Boomer and I were looking for anything of interest!

We saw lots of birds. Some Mom was able to get a photo of but mostly she didn’t.

Boomer had to run off to the upper end and over to the back 40 (I sure would have liked to go) and we all heard him YELP. He hollered at me the rabbits were hopping about, but I just couldn’t do it this time. Next time I told him, not today. You give chase for both of us!

And he did.

We were up there a long, long time. When we started back home the cows were heading up to sleeping draw to spend the night. They were early because a storm was coming in and they wanted to bed down before it hit.

I was glad to get back home too…that bedding down idea sounded really good.

Boomer said he would take a nap with me; that’s what buddies are for.

Well, anyway Mom and I are off to get the stitches out! Everything is looking up.

Fuzzy

Not to be Outdone

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Dayphoto

The city of Delta is the winter home to many Canadian Geese,

They are thick along the Gunnison River’s banks

and in the waters of the Confluence Lake.

One thing I have noticed, very few of the geese are coming out to our fields, (they used to), but now with the Sand Hill Cranes here, it seems the geese are staying ‘in town’ and letting the cranes be the country birds. 🙂

Along with the Canada Geese are lots of Mallard Ducks, of which I wasn’t able to get a photo of

And a Bald Eagle.

The Bald Eagle hunts along these banks, looking for the ducks…just the right size for a swoop and kill….yummm lunch!

Terry and I haven’t seen the Eagle in action, but people who live and work along the river has seen the Eagle making a very swift dive and hauling off a duck.

I think, if I were a duck I would look for a different place to spend some time. Trying to hide in with geese is just NOT working!

For the geese this is just right…no hunting in town! HA! HA!

Linda

January 21, 2013

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Dayphoto

I tried to get the Sand hill Cranes in flight but no such luck.

Anyway, for those of you who enjoy these delightful creatures I give you the following:

A crane just landing….I hope you can see it

They are here all the time. I took this series of photos around 5 O’clock in the afternoon

There are hundreds here in this one field. The corn is field corn, not sweet corn. Sometimes a group of birds leaves, but another soon lands…always a large, large number feeding at anyone time.

They also spend the night here, I guess they feel safe with the calves present.

Last night I heard coyotes from three directions ….

Linda

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Dayphoto

We are having our January thaw. Sure is nice. After last week’s -21*f and a slight warm up to -18*f at night…..this weather is outstanding!

The temperatures at 2 in the afternoon.

If the weather man is right it will be here for at least the rest of this week. I’m not going to hold my breath that it stays since this is, after all January. Our worst month for horrible cold is always February. Thank Heavens it is a short month….one/two days less than all the other months, but it does count.

By 4 o’clock in the evening

Usually we can start farming the middle of March. We will have to see this year.

The Uncompahgre Water Users are staying the Taylor Reservoir is 60% of it’s normal capacity. February and March can be our snowiest months….fingers crossed this holds true this year.

So saying, Terry is NOT going to plant pinto beans this year…maybe next year if the water conditions improve. But probably never again in his lifetime, he is saying…we will see.

Oh, yes…that reminds me….Terry has decided to farm one more year (are any of us surprised?!?!) The reduction in bean acreage will take off some pressure…it isn’t the growing of them, but the harvest of the beans that is so hard.

Anyway, enough our pondering on farming.

The 4 O’clock evening sun was delightful….I had to take many photos, hope you enjoy!

Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday —A Healing Time

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Dayphoto

Fuzzy had his operation 8 days ago. He is slowly doing better. Most of the time we don’t go outside because it’s been really cold; Mom doesn’t want us (Fuzzy) to get chilled on top of the operation.

But yesterday was a little warmer, so we all went for a walk.

Fuzzy really didn’t want to be on the walk, even though there were some neat crows to chase. Mom said Fuzzy was having an ‘off day’.

Today he is doing better…he wanted outside to just be outside. I went with him. It is warm enough I don’t even have to wear that coat thingy that Mom makes me wear when it’s below 10*.

WONDERFUL!!!!

I rolled everywhere on the grass that didn’t still have snow on it!

This afternoon Fuzzy and I will go for another walk with Mom, to build up Fuzzy’s strength.

Every day is another day to having my Buddy back. Please keep sending Magic Thoughts, please. Maybe next week Fuzzy and I will have a really cool adventure to talk about.

Boomer

January 16, 2013

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Dayphoto

I am ever so humble by all of the wonderful Birthday wishes! Everyone of you have made me feel very special indeed.

It is still cold here. The back door always has ice on it when we wake up in the morning, ALTHOUGH, it was warmer last night….it only got down to -5*. I’ll take it! The closer to zero the warmer it feels. Of course ABOVE zero is really nice.

The rancher has moved his spring’n heifers onto the farm. The dogs and I have enjoyed these delightful ladies. (a spring’n heifers are female cattle about to have their very first calf. They are first time-to-be-Momma’s).

Since Terry had planted the corn all around the house this is where the cows want to be. They like to sleep in one of the draws at night, then with first light they come walking over to the corn fields.

I delight in their looks of interest as I move around in the house.

At first the dogs tried barking the cows away from the fence…the cows just looked at them as if they were some annoying fly or something. What’s a house dog compared to a coyote?

Come on, now get real!

No more barking, but the dogs do go and sit by the electric fence watching the ‘girls’ as they munch along enjoying the dried corn stalks.

If the weather man is correct…happy dance…we have a warm-up coming by this weekend. Anything around or above 32* will make for great delight for me. I have fire wood to sort, chicken pens to clean and hay to haul in closer to the house. Not doing it in bitter cold will be wonderful.

Then again….do I want to do it in mud!?!?!

YES!

It means I don’t have to wear five layers and a hat and hoodie to ‘get’er done’!

Linda

January 15, 2013

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Dayphoto

Yesterday was my birthday…I’m now 64 years old.

It always surprises me that I made it to anywhere after 50. I don’t know why it does, but it does.

I can remember sitting in my desk in the first grade of school, the teacher, Miss Mable Howard, was talking about the 20th century ending and the 21st century beginning…I remember thinking that none of that makes any sense at all.

Then she talked about the year 2000, you have to do the math, but this was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in 1955, the year 2000 was sooooo farrrrrr away that I couldn’t even get it to come into focus. Since it was so far away I decided that I would make it to the age of 50, which was really, really, ancient and just let everything else take care of itself.

As the years progressed I would think about that little girl so long ago deciding to be fifty and then let every thing else just happen as it would. Fifty seems like a real nice number, way back when. It still does.

When I was fifty I lost my best friend/sister, my beloved Grandmother, and both my parents. Strangely my life did end at the age of fifty. Every year after fifty has been a surprise and a gift. A year to treasure and be thankful for. I am not sick, nor do I have beloved family or friends ill, what I have is a new year that my little 6 year old mind could not comprehend in 1955.

A gift of life.

Many of you have emailed me birthday wishes, which adds richly to my birthday. My children and my grandchildren and my step-grandchildren have widened my life to a whole of completeness. I have become the matriarch of our family, which still seems like an odd thing, but also a blessing.

Really, life is truly a circle and one we all get to rejoice in.

This is me in 1951! What a hoot!

Thank you each and everyone of you for helping enrich my daily world.

Linda

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Dayphoto

It’s snowing here today.

Last night, I remembered that I hadn’t taken my 4 o’clock photo yet. I usually take it on Wednesday afternoon, but for some reason it slipped my mind.

Our days are growing longer, instead of 9 hours and 30 minutes long, we have reached new lengths of 9 hours and 42 minutes.

We are still cold. Although, three days ago we warmed up to above freezing for about two hours, I did the happy feet dance the whole time.

Our day was darkening down when I got outside, the snow clouds just starting to blow in over the Plateau. Our storms usually come out of eastern Utah, crossing the Uncompahgre, then moving on past us toward the North Fork of Delta county. From there I don’t know where the storms go.

Randomly and very rarely (right where we live) a big storm will roll into Montrose from the Durango area, blow itself around to the Plateau and then land on us. The storms from the San Juan area can lose steam at Montrose and never make it clear on down here to our Mesa.

Even rarer is the storm that comes in from Gunnison, spins onto Montrose, then to us. Usually those storms (the ones from Gunnison head into Peach Valley and the Black Canyon area, then into the town proper of Delta).

I watch the sky a lot……as if you can’t tell. The sky and the weather are major interest and concerns when you farm and have animals that live outside.