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

Fuzzy Blogging on Friday–Mom Cooks Outside

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Dayphoto

The moment Mom comes outside and lights the grill I know good smells are going to be coming forth soon.

Boomer gets really excited when the grill gets lit he says in his former life he always—A.L.W.A.Y.S. got to have some of whatever was being cooked on the grill.

That doesn’t happen here.

Dad would be upset if Mom cooked our dinner on the grill.

Mom would probably do it if we begged really hard, but she says she doesn’t know how to make canned dog food burgers.

Once the grill gets to going Boomer steps right up and goes and sits right next to the grill. He pokes his nose up high in the air to catch as much of the smells as he possibly can. He looks sort of stupid, but hey, each to their own.

I mosey on over to the patio rocking chair and set myself down behind the chair. That puts the chair and Boomer between me and the grill. Boomer says I should move in closer just in case someone trips and drops a steak or something.

I’ve found out if you sit too close to the grill you will get yelled at —like—“Get Out of THE WAY! Move! MOVE! You are going to trip someone!” You know stuff like that. I don’t like to be yelled at, tell me once that’s enough.

Mom came out and put the meat on the grill…but only after telling Boomer “Move Boom, you are in the way and going to get burned.”

See, what did I tell you?

Boomer moved back to the rocking chair, now we were both sitting by the rocking chair.

Mom put on the meat and cloud of white lovely smoke filled the air with fumes of such delicious proportions that both Boomer and I started to drool. Mesquite smoke and grilling meat. Yummm! Sniff! Sniff! Slurpppppppppp!

Our mouths began to water and our ears perked right up as the meat sizzled and popped over the glowing coals.

Boomer whispered to me that he thought we ought to rush the grill and see if we can grab us a hunk of meat or two. I sure gave the thought a serious consideration for several minutes.

But Mom is very suspicious of begging dogs; she always has a watchful eye on us just in case we want to poach a hunk of meat or so.

Boomer thumped his tail on the ground and gave her his most sincere look. He had to work at not looking like he was begging but just really interested in what she was doing. I had to look away, Mom would know what I was up to and besides I only have a short stump of a tail so I can’t whack it on the ground.

Then everyone was there, handing their plates over to Mom walking around laughing and talking, I told Boomer we had better get out of here or we are going to get yelled at.

Boomer said he wanted to stay a little yelling never hurt anyone.

I headed over to my dog house, I know if I’m suppose to get something Mom will bring it over and scrape it out in my dish. I do NOT like getting yelled at!

Suddenly there was a sort of cash sound, the tickle of silverware falling and a little child crying.

I looked for Boomer just sure as anything that he was right in the midst of the mess. But he wasn’t.

He has slipped way over to the other side of the patio and was just laying there watching everything.

Then I heard Mom saying about not a problem there is lots more.

I waited.

Boomer walked over to where I was waiting.

Then Mom showed up with the spilled food, scraped it out in our dishes.

We too got to go to the cook out.

Fuzzy

Delta County Water

Wordless Wednesday–Fertilizing the Corn

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Dayphoto

Linda

Traveling by Stage

Strange Weather

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Dayphoto

We had very strange weather for this late in June….very cool, even cold. There was up to 6″ of snow in the mountains 10,000′ or higher. It’s been raining off and on for about two days. Bitter wind (again)!

Last evening the wind grew really strong and blew away all the clouds and the moisture.

As the storm was leaving….

I saw a rainbow framed within the cherry trees!

Linda

Water on Grand Mesa the Year 1890

Look Quick Before the Weeds Appear

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Dayphoto

I’ve finally got my yard weeded. What a job! In between working with Terry on the farm, it’s taken me until 9:30 last night to finally get everything weeded.

It didn’t help that we cut down that tree and I had to do something there

Or the fact I was given a HUGE, DOUBLE HUGE pile of old railroad ties, that I needed to figure out what to do with

Which first had to have all sorts of hardware, nails and wire removed (they were an old corral before I got them)

And I felt like I just HAD to use them….they were really cool

Then I needed to find some more cross-arms. Everything took time. The weeds ran away from me. But finally I did it !

Weed Free! For a short while anyway!

Now I need to reseed the lawn, in places, and get the weeds out of the hedge. But for today, I’m just going to enjoy having this big job done until I have to start again on Monday.

You know weeds just don’t stay away, they will be back.

Happy Father’s Day to all you Dads out there!

Linda

1890 Trees in Delta City

Fuzzy Blogging on Friday ——-Coyotes!

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Dayphoto

Boomer and I were down on the equipment hill, the other night. We were scouting around looking for anything of interest. Dad goes out around mid-night to change water so we like to go with him.

It was a moon-lite night, with a big old huge round moon hanging in the sky almost over-head. We left Dad picking up and moving dams and trotted on over to equipment area. My eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be, I have dark areas where I can’t see anymore. The vet said there were cats a racks growing on my eyes. There had better NOT be cats on racks in my eyes…grrrrrrrrr, growl!

Anyway, because it’s a little hard to see I decided that I didn’t want to chase bubbles in the ditches, Boomer wanted to smell what he could and I knew there were rabbits and squirrels living over there so off we went.

Things were going on pretty well…we found lots of cool odors out there, saw that the bunny family had made a home in Dad’s roller (they were too far in for us to get a good look at them), found that the squirrel family was hanging out in the leveler, and that about 40 million mice had scampered all over the place.

We didn’t bark or anything like that…barking with Dad always gets us yelled at “FUZZY!! Boomer!!! That is enough! You Dogs don’t need to be barking!” So we don’t!

We were having a really great time when suddenly over the hill 6 coyotes came running right at us! They were between us and Dad! We didn’t have any warning; they were just there lean, dark, shaggy and mean looking. Quickly I grabbed Boomer by the collar and drug him behind the stack wagon. I whispered to Boom that we needed to get to Dad fast and asked him if he could see Dad.

Boomer whispered back that he could see and hear Dad but Dad was busy picking up the tubes and setting them down so Dad didn’t know the coyotes were close by.

The coyotes started milling around sniffing the ground, I hoped not for us. Boom and I waited; it seemed like forever, Dad was still busy. The coyotes started catching the mice, we could hear the snap and the crunch as they ate their dinner, then they started yipping to each other. “I have some, come over here, this is the nest of about twenty…yip! Yip! Yip! Loud they were.

When they started that Boomer and I made a dash for Dad…we didn’t want to be the rest of their dinner!

Whew! We made it just as Dad started up the four-wheeler heading for home. I don’t run like I used to either, but Dad came by and picked me up. As he was picking me up I looked over where the coyotes were … they had vanished.

Good.

Dad said it was a good thing we dogs were close by or we could have been coyote food. I don’t think he realized how far away from him we really were.

Boomer told me later that he was really scared…those animals are big and snarly and wild.

Whew.

He is right.

Fuzzy

Delta’s Country Doctor

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Dayphoto

Better them than me

Fuzzy

Real Steals in Montgomery Ward 1902 Catalogue

First Cutting of Hay is Done

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Dayphoto

Finally we finished up the last of the hay

I finished picking up the corners around 9:00 last night and Terry stacked the last load just before dark.

The irrigation water was set on the hay at 5:00 this morning.

It feels good to have the first cutting done. We sold 60 bales on the first field even before we got it hauled in

I was so tired last night I couldn’t sleep well. Still it’s nice to know rich, green leafy hay is stacked.

Next on the list?…

Cultivating the corn and the beans.

Oh, yes! The beans are up and rowing out.

Life is good

Linda

First Lawyers Home Served as Hospital

The Gunnison River

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Dayphoto

The Gunnison River is flooding! Farms and ranches all along the river bottome are covered in water.

The peak is supposed to happen sometime next week. I know those people waiting for the water to go down will be more than glad.

Linda

When You are Nine and You Want a New Bike

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Dayphoto

You ask everyone you know if they have a job or two that you can do to earn money. For his Dad he is helping put in a new lawn at their rental property, for Grandpa its rolling bales so the stack wagon can pick up the bales easier, and for Grammy….its weeding

We found lots of cool things to look at while weeding, worms, butterflies, and a snake skin

Since I have lots of weeds, I hope he stays with me even after he gets his bike purchased.

Linda

First Resident of Paonia

Fuzzy Blogging on Friday (Really This is Boomer)

Posted on June 10, 2011 by Dayphoto

Fuzzy Disappears

Yesterday was really hot, so hot Fuzzy and I did anything we could to cool off. First we went down to the canal and tried wading in the water, but it was running way too fast so that didn’t work.

While we were there Fuzzy told me about the time he fell into the canal and couldn’t get out until he got to the next head gate a mile away. He kept thinking Mom would come get him out, but she didn’t.

I guess, how it happened, Fuzzy hadn’t been living with Mom and Dad very long maybe a month or so, not a full two months yet so he was getting use to all the ‘stuff’ around the farm.

Fuzzy loves water and he loves bubbles in the water. The canal is water (huge, rip snorting, fast moving, and thundering water) and the water makes lots of bubbles as it crashes along.

Fuzzy was down at the little slide spot where we all get a drink of water staring transfixed at the bubbles when suddenly a river monster jumped up and pulled him into the canal and tossed and turned him every which way. Many times he tried to swim but the current was way too strong for his 30 pound body.

Mom was working in the yard when she missed him and started calling for him. She told Fuzzy later she looked everywhere for him, but she never even considered that he had fallen in the canal.

Anyway, Fuzzy said he was swept along so fast he had a heck of a time getting his balance when suddenly he was pushed into Shay’s head gate. And that is what saved his life. Once in the head gate he could get his feet under him and climb out. Fuzzy laid there for some time then got up, got his bearings and started walking home. He got there in time for supper. Mom knew immediately what must have happened because Fuzzy was still wet (although not AS wet) and he was exhausted.

Fuzzy said he got lots and lots of petting’s that night and even got to sleep INSIDE!

So here we are on this miserable hot day, the canal was too scary to cool off in, Dad gets upset if we lay in the furrows out in the field and Mom comes unwound if we dig nice cooling holes someplace in her yard.

So we just sat outside on the back step and panted. Our tongues hanging so far out of our mouths we must have looked like old shoes.

Dad felt sorry for us and asked Mom if she and the dogs would like to go for a ride down to the river.

Yippee!

We are going to the river! Fuzzy and I LOVE the river. There is a really cool, shallow spot where we can swim and shade all around, and best of all there are really neat smells down there.

Golly geez the ride down to the river is just wonderful…so much news on the wind I feel like I’m in heaven. Fuzzy and I keep trading sides just so we don’t miss anything.

Once down at the river we all splashed and played for ever so long. Then Mom wanted to take a walk so we all walked on down the road and up the draw to see where Davis cows traveled up to the White Ranch and then on to the Plateau.

The whole experience was delightful!

Suddenly I realized Fuzzy wasn’t with us. I tried to tell Mom. I got a real worried look on my face, wrinkled up my brow, whined a little bit and ran around in circles sniffing the ground. I sat down and tried to beg a little, then got up and wagged my tail end in a sort of sad drooping way.

Mom just said “Come on Boomer, we have to get back to the truck it’s almost time to change water again.”

That really upset me….”Where was Fuzzy, we couldn’t go without Fuzzy!” I whined and squeaked and really tried to tell them I was worried about my wonderful old friend.
Mom said “Come on.” Sadly I did. The walk back was horrible. I would stop off and on and bay —hoping Fuzzy would hear us and come running.

I tried to bay really, really loud because Fuzzy is losing his hearing and doesn’t always know even when the Mail Man comes.

The whole way back was agony. I was so afraid Fuzzy was going to become bear bait I could hardly go back I wanted to go look for him.

After awhile we made it back to the pickup. Mom told me to get in the back. I couldn’t even jump in I was so sad. She had to pick me up and put me in. I jumped right back out. Then she grabbed me and tied me in.

Blackness just descended…I didn’t know where Fuzzy was and now no one was going to look for him.

It was horrible.

Then I heard Dad say: “Jump in Fuzzy, you should be cool enough now after your swim and you nap under the truck.”

Fuzzy was found!

He was never lost!

He was just sleeping under the truck.

I was so happy I howled with joy when Fuzzy jumped into the back of the truck.

Mom laughed and untied me and I kissed Fuzzy all over the face!