Cliff took it when they were out walking by Sweitzer Lake here in Delta.
Marvelous! A Gift! I still haven’t seen one for myself this year, but I’ve been so blessed to get to share in the ones people send to me!
Thank you! Each and every one! Thank you, Cliff.
Linda
Aren’t they cute!!!
All those sweet babies!
Yes, I know they can be pests! But—-AREN’T THEY DARLING!!!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
I love light! I love looking at things that expand and filter, and
Showcase light
Did you know that a person who loves light is called a photophile: a person who loves light?
I never knew.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Chapter Three
One day—well, humm, I would say around after daylight, and before I go into the house for my nap. I was outside doing some scouting by the gated pipe. Mom, Dad, and Boo were up at the Biggest Corn field setting water in the new alfalfa field. Well, it’s really not new; it was planted last year, but this year is the first year it could be harvested. See it takes that long for the baby alfalfa plants to become strong enough to handle being cut three times a year.
Dad says some people do cut the alfalfa the year it’s planted but he never does; the stem on the plant is very fine and extremely full of protein. That protein is so strong it can cause an alfalfa eater to bloat and, well, die.
Therefore, Dad Never cuts alfalfa the first year of growth.
Now on the second year of growth, the plant has become an adult. Therefore, the protein is distributed throughout the whole plant and not collected in just the stem. Also, the leaves—the yummy, yummiest part, are full and round and hold a perfect amount of protein, minerals, and other good stuff for alfalfa eating animals.
I DO NOT EAT ALFLAFA!
Boo Berry does not eat alfalfa. Just say’n.
Hooved animals eat alfalfa!
So anyway—back to my story!
Since this new alfalfa field was getting water again (one cutting had already been hauled away). Mom and Dad and Boo Berry were setting up the syphon tubes to start the water on the just finished being cut, baled, and hauled field when Dad stopped everything.
“I Know! I KNOW!!! I’m the one who told you what Dad saw!” Boo Berry yelled excitedly. “It was a BEAR!! Going into the corn field right by the house and right next to the gated pipe!!!
Right!!! I confirmed.
Like I said, I was out there, scouting around—
hummm, skunk here last night. Squirted someone…oh, squirted the fox. Silly fox!
Yep, that black cat was here again.
GRRRRR!
I kept on sniffing and learning things.
Suddenly, a squirrel dashed in front of me. I was so startled I didn’t even give chase. Besides, I was full. Yummy canned cat food mom got me that I ate down without gagging.
I was looking this way, sniffing that way, when suddenly coming right toward me was a BEAR!!
Oh! My Heavens! I’ve never really, ever seen one up close and personal.
It was big and super furry and had hooked claws and was BIG!
I stopped, stunned and scared.
The bear looked right at me.
Then the bear turned into one of the corn rows and disappeared.
I ran to the house as fast as I could and stayed next to the back porch and awning for the rest of the day and the next day.
I always sleep inside at night — I know I am safe inside.
Joy! Joy! To you and me —-that amazing, glorious moon, rising through the haze, seen peaking at us from beneath clouds!
Shadows under the Willow tree— giving shade to any who wish
One! (1) lonely Heavenly Blue Morning Trumpet—what an amazing glimmer
And then, when I am a little on the sad side, or the worried side, or just feeling a bit down…I am gifted kisses from the earth!
Oh! Lift up your heart! Sing loudly from your soul! Who can ask for more?
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
We are seeing more clouds—some storm-laden.
The grasses are turning red
Something I’ve really never noticed before.
They are actually rather beautiful.
The trees are starting to turn yellow–a true sign, if there ever was one.
Spider webs dot the landscape
The light is changing!
Yep–no matter what the calendar says, the earth, the sky, and all the plants say fall is here!
I am so thankful, happy, and very, very grateful!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
(This is looking into the west)
I was taking a wee walkabout, enjoying the shadowing of the earth from the setting sun and the gift of a rising full moon
(Taken with my phone—-it’s not the best, but oh, well.)
A brilliant, brilliant, moon — if a little bit of cloudy, sky. (This is to the east)
(This was too the west) When
silently overhead an owl, went hunting by. (No dog or cat was with me, thankfully)
GIFTS!!! Glimmers! Huge delights all rolled into one!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
We did it!!!
The last set of irrigation water has occurred. Tomorrow, Terry will turn off the water to the farm. The only time we will turn it back on is if we don’t get any rain and the alfalfa starts to suffer.
We are not only winding down. We have WOUND down!
(The irrigation water stays in the canal until the first week in November. Many farms below us still have crops to irrigate. It’s just that we are done.
The canal is not done.
YAY!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm
Linda
It doesn’t look like much unless you’re standing out there with the chainsaw and rake, to rake up the little bits and pieces (hooves get caught and create havoc to the animal).
It took us four days of working, two hours every morning and four hours on the last day: cutting up the usable firewood, loading the branches into the loader, hauling them away, cleaning up all the broken bits and pieces. (It gets too warm in the afternoon)
Finally! Done. We finished on Thursday. And it’s still taking time to recover. We hope to be up and running again by Monday.
(Yes, we are old — I am a septarian and Terry is an octogenarianhttp://Someone in their 80s is called an octogenarian. This term refers to a person whose age is in the eighties, or between 80 and 89 years old, and can be used as both a noun and an adjective.)
No matter our age – we do get ‘er done!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
I’m the Boss here. The Leader, the Decider, the Protector, the, well, EVERYTHING.
The Farm runs on TLC Cai-Cai. Mom says the farm runs on Dad, but I know different!
It’s ME!!!
Farms are about raising things: many plant type of things. Oh, yes, we have other things here on our farm…two horses and one mule. They belong to my oldest hooman sister, but they live out on the farm. At one time, Mom and Dad milked cows, raised sheep, goats, and pigs, and raised cows for meat. Not anymore. Mom says they got old—-so just taking care of growing plants is all the work they can do now.
Fine by me.
Anyhoo, we live on a farm that grows plants. Our plants are for animals. Not hoomans.
Our crops start out teeny tiny, and they grow great BIG. I like it when we have great big crops right by the house….I like to hide in the corn field (it’s cool in there). I also like to play in the grass and alfalfa crops when they are right by the house. Mice and grasshoppers, and crickets, and other things like to live in the soft shade of growing plants.
I’m a cat—I am a carnivore…just sayn’.
My workplace is the FARM, by the house…up to the end of the equipment area, where the cross over pipe lives (snakes live there also—I love to catch snakes!).
Then over to the end of the pipe with gates in it to let the water out onto the field.
I also go down the long, long lane to where the electric pole crosses over onto the farm. Not to the paved road. Ever! It scares me!
I have a big area, you see.
Boo Berry Betty likes to help me out sometimes, but not very often. Mostly Boo Berry hangs around Mom wherever Mom is. Even if Mom is way, way, way out on the farm helping Dad. I don’t go there.
Nope! Never! I cannot stand that loud blue four-wheeler. I run and hide when I see or even hear it.
Mom takes care of the house, the yard, and helps Dad.
Dad does EVERYTHING ELSE!!! EVERYTHING!!!
Still, no one, but no one, does what I do. I take care of the farm yard, the house, Mom, Dad, and the dog. Sometimes I think the dog is going to be the death of me.
Boo Berry says Mom is really good at understanding me. I wonder. Mom seems so dumb sometimes….dumb. So I just reach my mouth out and bite her!
Yep! Don’t mind to say that I do….because I DO!!!
Mom can be so plain stupid. For instance, she gives me poison for breakfast—-gag! Hack! Fake Puke! I try to cover it up, but the chair doesn’t cover anything up. Then I just sit there and glare at Mom. She pretends not to see me.
GRRR! I even lightly growl.
Then Mom will say something really stupid like,: “TLC, there is nothing wrong with your breakfast. It’s canned meat. If you don’t like it, eat your crunchy ummy cereal”.
Then she keeps on working on Boo’s breakfast, Dad’s breakfast, and her breakfast.
Makes me so mad that I bite her when she walks by.
Of course, that always gets the poison picked up. And the crunchy cereal is left.
Still — I showed Mom. See, I’m the Boss!
Well, anyway, my day is very busy!
I wake up as soon as the grey light of dawn seeps through the windows. It’s at this time I know I HAVE to get Mom up.
UP MOM! I run across her really hard. (I ran across Dad one time, and I startled him awake. Let us just say a quick bounce off the bed isn’t a fun morning ritual.)
If one run won’t do it, I crawl on her pillow and start messing with her hair. That ALWAYS works!
So being the alarm clock is my most favorite inside job! Yepper!
I am good about sleeping all night on the foot of the bed, so Mom puts up with my wake-up signals.
Right after breakfast, I head outside.
OUTSIDE! Outside, where the wind and I are free. FREE!
I then set out to patrol the farm yard—I check on the snakes, the squirrels, the spiders, lizard —-FUN— and anything else that might have trotted around in the night. Like that Black Cat who lives at my hooman sister’s place.
I take care of the dog. Sigh! The dog is shy, careful, friendly to the wrong things (think, Squirrels), and doesn’t recognize danger when it happens to her. (Like big birds with big beaks and large flappy wings)
In the evening, I spend a lot of time on Mom’s lap. Getting Kitty Pets, head scritches, under the chin rubs, purring. Ahhh…just purring myself to bliss.
I have one more responsibility — Making sure the company is welcomed and Mom takes care of them. I don’t want to be picked up and petted by anyone but Mom (I will saaaa and try to bite if they try to pick me up), but I do like to be around company. Even company made up of dogs.
Well, there you have it. My jobs…responsibility! As they say. And that is what we are going to do for a few more chapters….my responsibilities, and you get to come along!
TLC
(ME TOO! I GET TO COME ALONG!!! Boo Berry)
Life on a Colorado Farm 