The Adventures of TLC Cai-Cai on Friday —Step Four, Friday, April 29, 2022

Posted on April 29, 2022 by Dayphoto

Water is not only the backbone of the farm.

Water is a tool.

To irrigate properly you not only need to understand water, the needs of the water, and how the water performs on the land.

You need to also understand the land you are using the water on!

For some people, like Mom, watering yard…she just turns the spigot on, moves the hose with the sprinkler head here and there all over the lawn in 30 minutes stretches.

Also, Mom takes off the sprinkle head and puts on a soaker head so she can water her flower beds.

Yes, this takes lots of time, because Mom doesn’t have a sprinkling system.

But for the water on the farm, on this side of the Rocky Mountains, in the high mountains desert…water is moved through furrows.

Other places rely on rainfall—that will never happen here.

Some other places pump water out of a river, or lake, or pond, or an aquifer into huge sprinkler systems that never stop. (Because sprinkle systems only put down a tiny amount of moisture at a time, so the sprinkler has to be moving constantly to get everything wet down to the roots of the plant.)

Some places flood-irrigate…like rice paddies, for instance, or some other type of crop which moves lots and lots of water onto the crop then take it away and let it dry, only to repeat again later.

Here we take our water onto the land in a big head — the head is made up of shares. The Shares are the amount of water allowed for that farm.

Moving water onto the farm takes timing, balance, athletic ability (you have to stand or jump on the ditches), and an understanding of the farm and water.

Mom says there is something so beautiful, soothing, and marvelous about working the water on the land. Just listening to the water is calming; making sure the water is doing what it’s supposed to —

run down each row…the row that amount of water is allotted to is exciting.

Sometimes the water wants to ‘cut over’ into its neighbor’s row, or something jumps into the row—like a clod of dirt, or the remainder of last year’s corn cob/stalk — getting the water BACK into its own row and taking the block out can be a tad exciting (and muddy and stressful.

But seeing the water running nice and even, the sides of the furrow’s turning browner soaking up the water, watching the ground soak up the water all the water to the middle.

WONDERFUL!

At least two more chapters in the backbone of water—Stay tuned!

(See my gift to Mom—MOUSE!)

TLC Cai-Cai

That Tinkling Laugh Called Spring — Thursday, April 28, 2022

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Dayphoto

Joy is everywhere

Delight so profound it permeates everything

The bird’s song is so loud it actually echos

With bouncing walks

And twittering voices.

Colors always changing bright and iridescent

The beauty of Spring

Everywhere…full of jubilation, exultation, rejoicing, happiness, glee—every word which expresses Triumph over Winter!

From my world to your heart,

Linda

The Adventures of TLC Cai-Cai on Wednesday —Step Three, Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Dayphoto

Step Three—On the Land

Once the headgate is opened, Dad and Mom have forked out all the ditches in use, then it’s time to start the water into the fields.

Water is never, ever wasted. It goes into one field and runs to the bottom of that field in a small ditch, which takes the water to another field.

This goes on until the last field of the farm,

then that water goes back into the canal to go to other farms along the way.

This happens over and over and over again until the water winds up in the Colorado River.

Water is never wasted ever!

We move to step four—keep watching this place for more interesting information about the backbone of our Farm! (and wonderful photos of ME!)

TLC Cai-Cai

Linkin, our Granddaughter and Her Man — Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Posted on April 26, 2022 by Dayphoto

Ahh…Senior prom…Linkin is a Junior this year

And Caleb a Senior.

The delight of Prom entwining itself all around these two.

Scattering sunshine everywhere.

From my world to your heart,

Linda

Even After the Storm —- Monday, April 25, 2022

Posted on April 25, 2022 by Dayphoto

The world seems full of lace

Even though the wind tried to tear apart the lovely

Blossoms

The fruit trees stood firm

Against the wind, the hail, and the rain

Bringing joy to the sunshine now filling the land.

Your friend on a western Colorado farm,

Linda

POWER in the Form of Wind — Sunday, April 24, 2022

Posted on April 24, 2022 by Dayphoto

Friday the wind became more than over-the-top, it became so concentrated

That the electricity went out for three hours.

We had 65 m.p.h. wind gusts

Full of dirt and flying things.

Terry talked to a friend, at the power company, and was told trees in the Hotchkiss area were blown over causing outages; power poles snapped in our area.

What a mess.

After the wind left we had a hail storm. All these little white blossoms are from the pear tree.

Scattering bits and pieces everywhere.

Then at the end of the day—-the sun shone upon the bruises and fissures the wind breathed on the land.

Putting us all back together with its own unique rhythm of healing.

From my world to your heart,

Linda

The Adventures of TLC Cai-Cai on Friday —Step Two, Friday, April 22, 2022

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Dayphoto

Mom and Dad lift up all the siphon tubes out of the ditches, fork out all the trash

Before 7:00 in the morning, Dad calls the Uncompaghre Valley Water Users ditch rider. Our ditch rider rides for the FN Lateral. That is the canal from which we get the water that goes to our place.

Our headgate has its own number and everything. And our farm, just like every farm within the Uncompaghre Valley Water Users area, has its own share of water. This water was decided way back in 1902 — every farm gets its number of shares forever and ever and ever. And that farmer (owner of the farm) must pay for the shares…they are not a freebie. Just so you know, Mom and Dad say the cost of the water for each farm is more than the taxes on each farm. Water is an expensive part of farming.

Once at the headgate he lifts up the dam stopping the water from going into our farm.

After Dad talks to the ditch rider, he heads up to the headgate, opens the dam the amount the ditch rider says he can have (yes, sometimes you don’t get the 100% you pay for, sometimes you only get a percentage—it all depends on the snowmelt.)

The amount of water Dad can have, leaves the canal and heads onto the place—at that point Mom and Dad scoop trash out the ditches, so the trash cleaners don’t get over-whelmed.

Then they move to the first field they are starting the water on.

This goes on from the first day in April when the headgate is first opened until the last day in September when Dad decides the crops are finished taking in water.

Twice or more times a day…

Mom and Dad go out, check the trash,

check the furrows to make sure they are not trashed up,

and move the water to the next furrows on and on and on.

Step Three will tell you more. In detail. I think.

TLC Cai-Cai

Such a Huge Pleasure —- Thursday, April 21, 2022

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Dayphoto

Watching the water flow into the siphon tubes and down the furrows is such a huge pleasure to Terry and me.

He, because the ground is soaking up the water; getting ready to plant.

And I for the music of the sound of the water, the little splash as it comes out of the siphon tubes, the slender melody of the bubbles unraveling from the tube