Author Archives: Dayphoto

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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

We Took a Fun Trip Last Week

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We took a little trip with Terry’s sister and her husband last week.  We went to Green River, Wyoming, then to the Teton National Park and on to Yellow Stone.  On the way back to Green River we traveled a small way into Idaho.

One of the fun things we did was crossing the Continental Divide (we are easily pleased) not once but four times.

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In very simply terms the Continental Divide separates the water sheds of the Pacific Ocean from those of the Atlantic Ocean.  It runs the crest of the Rocky Mountains.  And, since I love history —

The western part of it from Glacier National Park in the Rocky Mountains to the Great Lakes watershed marked the northern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase and was the border between the United States and British North America until it was superseded by the 49th Parallel in the Treat of 1818.  

But I digress.

There are many other hydrological divides in America, however the “Great Divide” the Continental tends to follow a line of high peaks along the main range of the Rocky Mountains, at a much higher elevation than other divides.  I’m sure there are readers of this blog that know more about the Continental Divide than I do.

For me and my fellow travelers just finding the signs and knowing we were standing on the top of the Continental “The Great Divide” was picture worthy.

Linda

 

The Party’s Over—Corn Harvest is Near

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Willie Nelson
The Party’s Over

Songwriters: Daniel E. Stein

Turn out the lights

The party’s over

They say that

All good things must end

Call it tonight

The party’s over

It froze last night….

I am always rather sad this time of year. (the first killing frost time)

 

A bitter sweet sadness always take over on me.  Although, I enjoy the thought of no more dragging the hose to water, and weeding the gardens, it also means that the dark, dreary days of winter are looming just ahead.

Time to think of putting everything to bed….digging the tropical plants and storing them in the basement, cleaning up the walkways of weeds, picking up all the garden ornaments and the summer furniture.

Out in the fields Terry and I will be adjusting pipe and I will gather and bring in and store the siphon tubes for another winter.

The good thing about the freezes is the field corn will start to get closer and closer to drying down for harvest.  Depending on the how fast everything dries down harvest will start sometime this month.

Happy Sunday,

Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — News

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Since we had the fire and Dad sold the cows, Dad decided that he wanted to square up one of the fields.  So we all helped him.  First the fence had to come down, then the fence posts had to come out.  That was the part we helped him with.

Then Dad took the scraper and other big equipment and went up and worked by himself.  We stayed with Mom.

Then we all went up and worked on everything together.

Well, I think Fuzzy might have helped more than I did.

I wanted to, really I did.

But….

There is just so much to learn about out there in the brush…

I mean…

  • like the rabbits are making their burrows deeper and warmer
  • The badger is still just a mean as ever, I make a wide circle around him and his territory
  • Freddy Fox has built a hollow back in the old tree
  • The porcupines are building a nest in the trees at the back end
  • Nope, so far no coyotes—they do pass through regularly, but no dens
  • The ducks are doing good
  • Six crows have taken up residence at the equipment yard
  • A gaggle of Canada Geese are swimming around with the ducks
  • I scared up FOUR pheasant hens (which was REALLY, REALLY, COOL!)

Mom said she sure misses the cows, she has never seen the weeds so big and nasty as they are this year.

I rather thought they looked pretty neat all colorful and all.

Fuzzy and I checked out the deer path in the corn.  We like the deer path, no weeds, nothing.  And if we get back in there far enough we find the deer wallow.   Dad really doesn’t like having the deer in there as they knock down the corn to make the wallow and they EAT the corn.

Oh, well.  They are in there! (Until Dad combines the corn, that is.)

Fuzzy and I chased mice.  There are LOTS of mice.  We had a blast!!

The day was just perfect.  Not to hot and not to cold.

It is colder here, by the way.

Low 40’s at night and only getting up into the 70’s in the daytime.

Fuzzy says he can feel winter coming in his bones.

Mom said she can feel winter in her bones also.

Dad says there is a still lot to do before winter.

You know something, I really don’t care.  I love all seasons.

I really do love living here!

Boomer (and Fuzzy)

 

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — Storms

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It’s been raining here—lots!  Big dark clouds, full of wet stuff, lots of lightning and THUNDER!

BOOM!

CRASH!

CRACK!

Fuzzy is having a very hard time, not because of the rain, or the clouds or even the lightning, but because of the thunder!!!

 

(Dad had to turn on the water for 24 hours to soak up a piece of hard soil.  Dad worked several days on opening up a new field for next spring.)

That’s a big rain storm coming our WAY!!!!

Most of the time we are in the house with Mom, because Fuzzy turns into this shivering, nervous, wreck of a dog!

Sort of amazes me.  That loud noise doesn’t bother me at all.

But if Mom isn’t home and the thunder comes crashing around us Fuzzy always runs off into the corn field.

He says he feels safe in there.

I don’t know why—it’s still wet, and loud, but we are surrounded with the corn.  Fuzzy says that helps.

Now if DAD is home and Mom isn’t Dad doesn’t let us come in a hover with him until the rain is over. Dad says he really doesn’t like a hot, panting dog crowding up on him when he is trying to do bookwork, or something important (like watching TV).  So he tells us to go into the garage!

We don’t, you know, we head to the corn field!

We sit out there until Mom comes home and we hear the four-wheeler start up and she comes to look for us.  She has to go to ALL the corn fields as we don’t always go to the same one all the time.

After a while ( we don’t come out right away, Fuzzy wants to be SURE the thunder gods have passed before we venture out of the safe corn field) we come out and head home.

Mom tells us to stop doing that, if Fuzzy was to have a heart attack out in farm some where she wouldn’t know where to find him.  She says PLEASE GO INTO THE BARN!!!

But, of course we don’t.

Mom is always really glad to see us and we are always glad to see MOM!  Dad is okay to see also, but we know with Mom there is a big warm old blanket to dry us off and we GET TO GO INTO THE HOUSE until Dad says: “Okay, that’s enough panting the storm is over you dogs need to go outside!”

Which we do!  (Mom always takes us out with a really nice dog cookie and lots of hugs and petting).

 

(The things I put up with…..Linki made a face on a tomato and said it looked like me!!!)

I don’t get the thunder thing, but I always go with Fuzzy.

He would be very afraid if he was by himself.  Fuzzy is my bestest friend.

What is it that Tallen calls Aunt Shannon?

Oh, Yes!!!  I remember!

BFF….Fuzzy is my BFF!

Boomer

The Hills Come Alive

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The storms playing around on our mountains are just beautiful!

Linda

 

It’s Raining Here

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And with rain, there is sometimes a

RAINBOW!!!

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Linda

 

Sunday with Grandparents

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The grandson had soccer at Aspen again.  Both parents were able to go, and the youngest granddaughter went with them Because ‘There A Kids To Play WITH’.

But our oldest granddaughter wanted to stay with us.

So we baked cookies, gathered eggs, walked dogs and petted each and every kitten and cat a the shelter then after lunch we watched the Bronco game.

Because she loves to play on the monkey bars at school she wanted to show us what she could do…

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Then it was time for supper and a bath, before her parents came home.

It’s a tad bit fun to have a day all to yourself with your Grandparents!

Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — Fall Work

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Well, let’s see….first off Boomer and I helped Mom clean the chicken house.  Boomer really doesn’t help; he just bounces around in the house while I am looking for mice. If I see mice, I grab them up and snap them.  Mom says I’m a very good mouser.

(Although, I don’t see as well anymore, but don’t tell Mom, I don’t want her to not let me come in to the hen house with her and hunt mice.    I talked to Boomer about my ‘little problem’ and he said he would watch me and try to do what I do.)

Anyway, there was only one mouse; Mom said the two snakes that had been living in the chicken house have done a good job.  She dreads this winter when the mice will run all over the place again.

Mom washed out and cleaned all of the live traps because they now have to take the place of the hibernating snakes.

Then we got on the four-wheeler and headed up to where Dad is re-building fence….remember that huge fire we had last spring?  Actually two huge fires?  Well, the main fence that runs along the west of the place still hasn’t been fixed.  Long story.

The damaged fences on the top of our place Dad has decided we better remove.  He says we won’t have cows anymore so he is taking down the fences that have huge fire damaged wire. The range cows won’t have to be fenced out of the fields because they come in the winter and run the whole place anyway.

Lots of work, but necessary, you can’t have a cow or calf walk on a burned and down fence, get tangled in the barbed-wire and go down, get cut up, and hurt.

No, sir!

So we are all helping Dad.

I sit by the four-wheeler lots, unless Mom moves somewhere then I go with her.  Boomer runs around, gets the news then comes back and tells me what’s happening out there.

We work until sunset.

The corn is drying down well.

Before supper Shannon comes over and we take a walk with all of her dogs.  We like walking with ‘the pack’.

Hank even comes with us!

OH! YES!  The old tree that was burn last year by our second huge fire the next day…IT IS COMING BACK!  Mom was so happy she petted that tree!

Lots of our farm neighbors have told us how they miss that tree…well maybe it will be back stronger than ever.

Mom said we will just have to wait and see!

(That’s the fixed fence the ditch company burned and have now RE-BUILT!)

Fuzzy

Water—-The Lifeblood of Life

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We received notice yesterday by the Ditch Company that the irrigation water is to be shut off early this year and (depending on the snow levels over winter) to start later next year.

Although, we have turned our water off, there are those who have planted winter wheat and also those who have just cut their hay and will need to water the alfalfa field one more time before going into winter.

“Due to drought conditions and the heavy usage of stored water this summer, the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association –UVWUA- will be shutting the Gunnison Tunnel off two and a half weeks early this year. The shut-off date will be October 15th. This decision has been made to conserve Taylor Reservoir water for next year. Growers planting winter grains should plan accordingly. Pending the type of winter we have this year, there is a possibility water will be turned on later than normal next spring.  For questions or comments call the UVWUA.”

 

You are looking upon our head gate for the irrigation water to our place.  Our share of this canal (the Ironstone) is taken out at this point.  It goes back in at the end of our farm.

We were watching the Rural Farm News (yes, we do things like that) and the report on there was this drought is the largest drought in years, and years, and years, encompassing most of the United States clear into Canada.

As much as I dislike snow and ice and the dark and cold of winter….I’m sure there isn’t a person out there that doesn’t want a lot of moisture this winter.

Finger crossed and toes crossed for moisture for drought stricken regions everywhere!!!!

Linda

Fall Maintenance Work

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Terry and I spent yesterday switching out the broken gated pipes for new pipes,

putting in new seals in the pipes that needed them.

He also decided that he wanted to not replace the four broken pipe but extend the dirt ditch further into the field.

If he likes this he might (MIGHT) turn the whole ditch into a cement ditch…heavy on the might.  The cost will be high, but the work load (after the ditch is made) lots easier.

Fall Maintenance work just makes spring work that much easier!

Linda