The smoke is back, seeping into everything (again)
We have made it to the third cutting of alfalfa…both fields are cut and drying now
It will take longer to dry since the nights tingle with Autumn cool
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
I like it when I can find ditch foam. It’s not rare but it is unusual. (TLC Cai-Cai is walking with me)
Then there are the NAUGHTY Girls, who broke out of their pasture
Yep. Not a good sign.
Thankfully I was home and able to catch them and put them back in the corral.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
The hot, hot sunlight is gone, in place is more of a crisp bite in the air in the early morning–a shiver, which often-times ripples over your warm skin.
The day warms to up to show glistening heavy dew on all the plants.
Thankfully, the sun heats the day hot enough it still feels like we have the gift of Summer.
Nighttime is a wee bit darker, even if there is a moon or a slew of a million zillion stars
Daylight starts later, with evening shadows crawling quicker and quicker
Autumn…a different kind of peace is now on the land.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
My little flock of Hummingbirds is starting to dwindle
Gradually the feeding at my feeders is becoming less and less
I have gone from 12 feeders
Down to two.
And the reality is, I really only need one. But I keep up two so they don’t have to fight for a spot.
Soon the Swallows will follow. When that happens the Summer birds are all gone.
Sigh!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Although, these two photos were taken a day or so ago; joy is in the air, here.
We are having a momentary break in farming!
It’s raining!
Yes, there are still hay bales in the second field (30 bales).
But this lovely shower of air-cleaning rain is just perfect for the soul! (and everything and everyone else 🙂 )
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
It wasn’t so long ago, the spray plane would pass over our farm on its daily routine
We think we know where Mindy is…she has left us to go to another neighbor. He is a person who really likes cats and seems to have a few of them. (Which is nice, because our area gets lots of cats who have been thrown away.)
(See all the birds sitting on the tassels?)
But we saw her (or a cat that looks like her) in his arms, getting lots of pets.
I guess she didn’t like the idea of TLC Cai-Cai; choosing to go live with the man who doesn’t have a TLC Cai-Cai.
Of course, I’m not sure it’s her, but I hope so. For her sake.
We are in a massive rush to finish up the second field of alfalfa.
Terry is out baling now, then this afternoon we will haul it in
They are telling us a very large monsoonal storm is due
Heavy enough rain that the 1-70 Corridor through Glenwood Spring Canyon will probably be closed again.
Anyway, time is flying by—
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
The smoke is back, low-hanging and thick
As I turned and straighten bales, I thought to myself
How the low-hanging smoke closes in on the earth
Making the farm feel silent
Reminding each of us, how fragile we really are.
The sun turns red; the sky orange and yellow
Creating a restless foreboding…a sense of doom.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
The sky, the air, the light
Has all changed.
Terry says it feels like the middle of September now
I agree with him.
Autumn/Fall is early this year.
Maybe it (Autumn) will linger on longer than normal,
Allowing those of us who are very fond of this time of year,
(See the spider in her web…waiting, waiting…shudder)
To enjoy its perfection.
From my world to your heart,
Linda
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes….Including you.” –Anne Lamott
Our internet service was down yesterday until late, late in the day.
Thankfully it is back now.
Although, it isn’t as important as heat, water, and electricity…it is important. 🙂
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
“Farms, any farms, well, all Farms have Tractors”, Mom picked me up and sat me down on her lap. I was trying to hide because Dad had just started one of his tractors and was heading out of the farmyard. “You are right to run fast away from big noisy machines, of which tractors are one.”
Mom and I sat down in one of the outside chairs, me on Mom’s lap, and Mom’s hand petting me.
“You see, TLC Cai-Cai, Tractors are how all the groundwork gets done. Tractors are the ‘heavy-lifter’s of the farm, they pull implements to make the soil on the farm in a very lovely soft loamy state so Dad can then plant the fields. The tractors even pull the planter which does the planting.
Then there is the water, tractors use special pieces of equipment which make the ditches and help keep the ditches clean so the water can flow onto the farm, and down the rows, the tractor created right after the crop was planted.
There are other BIG pieces of equipment on the farm, like the swather and the combine, but I will save that for another time. For right now just know that there are many tractors on the farm, and each one has its own special job to do.” Mom said softly to me all the while petting my head, my ears, my back, my sides, my…………smile purr. Humm.
“I am so proud of you for being very careful around all the tractors and the big noisy things like cars and trucks, for Dad and I want you with us for years and years and years.” Mom whispered—“years.”
I really am not sure all of what Mom was saying, I was purring very, very loud, while Mom talked softly to me and petted me. I kept on purring until I think I must have fallen asleep.
Which is a very lovely thing. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
TLC Cai-Cai
Life on a Colorado Farm 