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 — March

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Dayphoto

Finally, Fuzzy and I, Mom and Dad have made it through the mud days of March. March is spring for us here in Western Colorado…..well, at least our part of Western Colorado.

March is also the time of mud, wind, and little green shoots of weeds and such.

March is still cold. There isn’t much anyone can do about it. Fuzzy and I are still wearing our heavy outside fur, and Mom and Dad are still in their carharts and sometime mud shoes.

But the bulk of the calves

and the lambs have been born and the best of all……the days are growing longer and longer!

Winter’s darkness (which squishes you at both ends of the each and every day) is gone! Gone until sometime next year! GONE!

Fuzz and I love it!

Around here everyone is glad to see March arrive. It’s the time when all the farming starts, and well….that’s what we are about. Stirring the soil, having the seeds delivered, fertilizing the ground, getting everything ready to plant.

Dad has started ‘opening the ground’, which means he is doing tractor work, which means there is always some little grandchild that likes to ride with Grandpa, up and down, up and down. They do get bored after about three rounds, but they still want to be up high on the tractor with Grandpa.

I love helping Dad…we go out and do shovel work together.

Fuzzy would like to go, but he has trouble doing too much. We do lots of chasing of things around the yard, but he really can’t walk much past the haystack area.

I love Fuzzy. I only go with Dad if he invites me, because I worry that Fuzz will be disappointed he can’t go.

Anyway spring is here, folks! And Fuzz and I are happy dogs!

Boomer

Spring is in the Air—Wordless Wednesday

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Dayphoto

Linda 🙂 🙂 :)!!!

The Mind of the Raven

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Dayphoto

I just finished reading this most amazing book. As all of us who live with animals know…they have emotions, insight, and can communicate to us. Bernd Heinrich brings to us the Mind of the Raven, which I can say is very, very eyeopening. If you ever get a chance to read it, please do so.

Linda

Cat Found

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Dayphoto

Here is the answer to “Where is the Cat” post on February 29th!

It really is hard to see in all that junk, but once more, once you find it, you will always see it!

Hope you have fun, I sure did!

Linda

Sunday Stills–Through and Opening

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Dayphoto

For this next Sunday Stills challenge find an opening (a window, knothole, fence…) and use it to frame something on the other side.

Okay this was hard!

I tired…I could not find anything really neat or cool or even exciting…so I settled for—-

TA DA

Through the window of the 1948 Willy’s Jeep. A rather neat jeep that Terry named after me and in honor of the jeep on the Roy Roger’s show, Nelly Bell!

I give you Linda Bell!

Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday—The Government Hunter and Trapper

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Dayphoto

Boomer and I have been seeing and hearing those wily coyotes quite a bit lately. Ever since we did some night singing with them, they have been, hum, well, L.O.U.D! They have even been right in the fields between Hank’s house and our place.

I guess we shouldn’t have mocked them the other night. (It was fun.)

We’ve been real silent when we hear and see them in the fields close by…the last thing Boomer and I want (and Sammy the Cat) is those wild yellowed-eyed mean ‘ol coyotes coming on INTO the yard, ours or Hanks!

I think the main reason they are so close, so very close, so very, very, very close it is uncomfortable is the new calves popping up all over the place.

The other new predators we have are the ravens and the crows. Mom’s been trying to get a photo of the two of them (the ravens and the crows), but they are slick, slick, slick. Just as soon as she gets close enough to take a photo they fly off.

Now the reason we don’t want the ravens and the crows hanging around is the same reason we don’t want the coyotes….the brand new baby calves.

You see ravens and crows love nothing more than to eat eyeballs. And if they can peck-out a newborn’s eyeball and smack it down for a delicious little lunch, then by golly they do. The Mom cows are pretty good about taking care of the new little kidlets, but still all in all those huge black birds are a danger.

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Boomer and I run out into the field whenever we see the huge black birds hopping alongside a new born calf, barking and baying. They flutter up with in a swoosh and then settle right back down. But if we have done a good job, the Momma cow has moved in even closer so we dogs can’t get up by the baby. Or she has run off down the field with the calf, either way we hope the birds leave.

They really aren’t afraid…the birds, I mean. They just fly up a short ways in the air, then settle back down after we turn around and leave.

It took Mom and Dad a little while to figure out we weren’t trying to chase the cows…..I WOULD NEVER CHASE A COW IN MY LIFE—–I AM A COW DOG!!!!! And Boomer?! Well, Boomer just runs along doing whatever I do, so he is basically harmless. When they yell at us to get back into the yard… NOW! We hurry back as fast as our legs can takes us. Then I look at Mom and Dad with indignation and hurt written all over my face. Boomer just smiles and swaps his tail on the ground in a most sincere way. (I can’t whap my tail as I only have a tiny little short one).

Since we seem to be having lots of predator activity Dad talked to the Government Hunter and Trapper. He said there have been a slew of complaints about the coyotes, the fox and the ravens. He said they are working to thin down the populations in the draws surrounding us for about 5 miles in both directions. So I guess we just wait and be very vigilant.

Boomer says we have to stay vigilant and valiant, Hank says he will help.

Mom said, “You boys, you just take care of your yard— the rest of the farm, the draws, the swamp, and the hillsides are up to the rancher, who is renting out our place for his first year heifers, the government hunter and Dad.”

I agreed, the 4 acres of yard, sheds, and barns are enough for Boomer and me.

Fuzzy

Find the Cat

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Dayphoto

This was sent to me in an email from a very good friend in Texas

Yes, there really is a cat there. Once you see it you will always see it. I will post later where the cat is.

Have fun!

Linda

The Gentleman’s Club

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Dayphoto

Only strict membership is allowed! The very convenient retreat for men who wish to get away from female relations.

Where only Gentlemen can relax in rich and opulent surrounding, mix with thier friends, enjoy outstanding food and drink, wonderful service, and that occasional rich Cuban cigar.

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Linda

Sunday Stills—Trees

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Dayphoto

This lucky assignment happened just in the nick of time. I was going to post my February Trees (I’m taking photos of the same trees at the same time every month—just so I can see the movement of the seasons.)

So here it is the last Sunday of the month and the Sunday Stills assignment is TREES! YEA!

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My last post of these very same trees can be seen here complete with snow on the ground!

We are almost to March, not long now. Terry said he will start farming in three weeks. Lots of the big farmers are already working up the ground.

Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — Night Singing

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Dayphoto

Friday nights are basketball nights. Well, not for Mom and Dad, but for Hank’s people. They load up in their van and head off to the local high school to watch the Girl’s play and then watch the Boy’s play. If they leave right after the kids get home off the bus they can watch the J.V. Girls play and then the J. V. Boys play, after those groups play, then the Varsity Girls play and then last is the Varsity Boys. It’s a long, long night of basketball.

Mom says you develop bench-butt, — after seeing all their kids through all the sports: Football, Volleyball, Basketball, Track, Swimming, and now Soccer (For Blade) she said they will wait until the grandchildren start the Jr. High and High School sport process to go sit for hours and hours on hard benches.

So off goes Hank’s family for hours and hours and hours of ball.

That leaves Hank at home……alone….with just his shock collar on, the four cats, and two goats, and their 2 chickens. (Hank can’t go out by the chicken pen; they fixed his collar to stop him BEFORE he gets to the chicken pen. I think it had something to do with the little incident up here last week that got him banned when Mom’s hens are out, I think.)

Just so you can get a good picture in your mind of how things happened you need to know that Hank lives a little more than a football field away from us. Hank has a white fence all around his house, but on the side that faces our house is a gate. When the family is gone Hank goes out the gate and sit close to the fence (he would get shocked if he goes too much further out) and ‘talks’ to us.

Fuzzy and I walk over to the hole in the hedge and sit outside the electric fence (we could run over to see him but we would get in trouble) and we ‘talk’ back.

It used to be Hank —- when it was really, really cold this winter that Hank would holler “Grammme, come get me!” for ever so long. Finally Mom would get in the car drive down and get Hank and bring him home to play with us. She would call Mom-mom and tell them she had Hank and that they need to come by and pick him up on the way home.

It’s warmer outside now so she doesn’t go get Hank.

Anyhoo, Hank, Fuzzy and I were talking back and forth: “Bark, Bark, Howl, Bay, HOOOOOOOOO, Bark, Bark, Bark!”

“Woof, woof, woof”

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“That’s enough!” Dad said as he was coming in from working out in the shop.

So we stopped for a little while.

Then Hank barked over asking us why we stopping talking. Fuzzy told him Dad pretty much told us to hang up the phone.

“Oh,” Hank replied. “Where is Grandpa now?”

“Inside”, I barked back.

“Good” We can talk again.” Hank woofed at us

The night was starting to get to going good, the sun had set and the sky was turning a dark blue, as we picked up our conversation where we left off.

Suddenly…

The coyotes started yipping into our conversation—“Hey, you dumb dogs; you are nothing but soft dollops of pudding pots.”

“What?!” All three of us barked back in surprise.

Then the game was on….

“Bark, Bark, Bark!” —Us

“Yip, Yap, Yip”—Coyotes

“Bark, Bark, Bark!” —Us

“Yip, Yap, Yip”—Coyotes

“Bark, Bark, Bark!” —Us

“Yip, Yap, Yip”—Coyotes

We gave them a good run for their money, and we were winning too.

Fuzzy warned both Hank and I not to get careless now, we are winning this deadly game of ‘copycat mocking’ so we high-tailed it back into our yards. (Hank to his back step and Fuzzy and I to our back step.)

Back safely I gazed around the whole yard…everything was quiet. “I guess we beat the coyotes at the copycat game, Fuzzy!”

We both felt so happy we starting laughing, we laughed so hard that we fell down and rolled in the grass and grabbed our sides it hurt so much we were laughing so hard.

Sure was a good feeling!

Boomer