I believe in Magic…sometimes when I open my email there is a gift to me of pure Magic
And this morning was one of that marvelous Magical moments
A long-time blog reader sent to me these photos of the moon around 3 p.m. at his place
After an exquisite ice storm swept through
The beauty of the ice-covered trees, a jet flying over-head, and that magical moon!
Thank you so much, Mr. Cooper! Your photos dazzle us!
From my world to your heart, Gentle Friends,
Linda
In particular my maternal grandparents, Bill and Ruth Thomas
My memories have made that wee curtain into a thin and frayed veil
Although my grandparents are now shadows in my memory, they are still with me as more than whispers in my heart and soul
I welcome them — these gifts from beyond
When my mother was growing up (in the Great Depression) my grandparents had a home and a business in Corona, New Mexico. Which at the time had a railroad station and was a throughway onto bigger places.
Granddad’s business was a gas station and garage.
Will built it with his own hands, and he built the house they lived in.
Grandma planted Heavenly Blue morning glories on either side of the front porch and they put a white picket fence in front of the house.
The back yard was just fenced in.
Anyway…one of the stories I keep remembering fondly is the tramps would ride the rails into town jump off and then look for places to eat or live or just hang out until jumping back on the train.
Or the people moving from the Dust Bowl broken and frequently so discouraged to almost seem dead, having to stop because of vehicle problems.
My grandfather never believed in giving a man a hand-out or credit. If you couldn’t pay or were desperate he always had you work — sweep the floor, help to do ‘something’. He would tell Danny (my brother) and I: “A hand-out never gives a person self-respect. Always, always give them self-respect THEN help them out. And when you help them out, it’s okay to give the shirt off your back, because it always, always comes back to you in a different way.”
Now, back at the house, just up the road a short way, and not far from the railroad tracks, Grandma always kept a big pot of soup on the wood stove. If a person came hallooing at the front gate, either she or Momma would ask the person in, dish up a big bowl of soup sit it in front of the person with a hunk of buttered cornbread.
Then the person would doff their hat (for almost always the person was a man) say: “Thankee, Ma’am, sure is a fine meal.) And move on out the back gate heading toward the gas station to see Mister Will.
Now, since most activities were in the back of the house and through the iron gate back there Momma and her family never really went to the front of the house. But one day Momma had walked down to the garage and decided to come back to the house through the front picket fence gate.
When she got there she was surprised to see lines scratched into the pickets next to the front gate line which looked like this IIII IIII IIII
Running into the house she brought her mother back out who just stood there non-plussed. Not knowing why or what it meant she sent Momma down to the Garage to get Will.
When Will got back and looked at the fence he broke out in laughter. “Well, I’ll be,” he declared…”Now I understand why we get so many folks eating soup.” The drifters marked the fence letting folks know here is a good place to eat and where to get a small job.
Memories…a small tear in the veil from beyond,
From my heart to your world,
Linda
Friday night a storm started blowing in
The moon once clear, but with a halo, became fuzzy with clouds
By morning we were in a series of storms
The clouds grey and vaporous, dark and wraithlike
The wind pushing them along in a haunting song of winter’s lullaby
The wind was so sharp and cold it could peel your skin
All around the storm’s outriders turned the world to grey and then white
The wind howled and the rain fell flat and stinging
But by evening the lashing storm had spent itself, moving onward to other parts of the land
The clouds turned to gold and the air filled with sunshine.
Although, we are cold today…the day is beautiful; singing a much different song then yesterday!
From my heart to your world,
Linda
First thing early Terry got out the tractor and blade and headed out to smooth up the lane and the farm roads.
The cows had made lots of nice little holes in the mud making going down the farm roads a little on the hard side.
And the long lane to highway had holes worn in it from the tires.
Then in the afternoon, the grey tumultuous clouds came rushing in, covering the Adobe Hills at the base of Grand Mesa
There is a beauty in the snow/rain/mix of those clouds only a photographic vision can express.
The girls had to come over to see what Terry was doing
So I took out treats to these bright rays of horse sunshine.
Glory B (her papers say her name is Blaze of Glory) and T’Ata two of the sweetest, fun to be around furry equines anyone could ask for.
You folks have a great day!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) I have forever. Even as a child. Winter, for me, is a hard time. It isn’t actually winter, its the dark grey days. When the sun shines (even if it is cold) I have true joy in my soul.
But over time, I have learned to do many different things to help…the daylight producing light bulbs are a huge relief, getting outside and actually working my body helps, just getting outside helps…my worst thing for me is mild depression ( a feeling of being inexpressibly sad) and a subtle form of anxiety.
Nothing earth shattering —I can still function and move forward within my day. I am NOT a clinical case…if you are wondering.
As I’ve aged I realize that depression is lifted from being outside and viewing the world through my camera. Taking photos give me great joy…and that makes me feel renewed.
Surrounding myself in color is another thing that lifts me up. I even use Christmas lights all year, changing the colors to match the month…Blue for January, Red for February, Green for March, Purple for April, White for May, June, July, August, Gold for September and October, Multi-colored for November and December. I change the colors in my house also (just the table clothes and paper flowers to match the color of the month). That way I have color inside that matches the stunning colors of outdoors.
And paying attention to all those delightful and marvelous living ‘things’ which populate our earth; showing me that each day is a wonder and each day moves us toward another day, which then moves us toward a hint of spring, even if the day we are in (like today) is a firm reminder we are still in winter with cold winds and heavy drifting clouds.
WHEW! That was a LONG sentence!
Well, I apologize from baring my soul to you…but if you suffer from SAD maybe my 70 years of experience on how to help maybe just might help you.
From my heart to your world,
Linda
Even though the wind was terrible, blowing everything sideways and so chilling one thought the Arctic had suddenly slipped down to gather on the farm
The shadows were still beautiful
Shrinking and thinning as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky
The snow clouds fled and what snow was in the sky never stayed
But the joy of the whole day was this photo!
Finally a beautiful photo of the Red-Winged Blackbirds! Finally!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
It acted like it wanted to snow last night late, well, actually early this morning
But nothing is really sticking although the snow is coming in sideways and the wind is sharp
But yesterday was beautiful…warm and lovely and just delightful
So I hung out at the feeders
Trying to get a good photo of the Red-winged blackbirds in flight
They are actually rather hard to get a good photo of…
So I tried to get some photos of the other birds
(They wanted in the blog also 🙂 )
And then, of course, I had to get some of these magnificent birds
Then as the sun was setting
and the sky turned colors I got the Sandhill Cranes as they were circling to come in for the night!
From my world to your heart,
Linda
We are gradually melting, getting warmer, then suddenly the low grey clouds will arrive once more complete with a nasty chill wind
And winter returns…often times abruptly.
Even so, I can still entertain myself very well at the bird feeders
But yesterday….the signal that the New Year had arrived (I count my year as Spring, Summer, Autumn…with Winter as last…just so you understand 🙂 )
The Red-Winged Blackbirds arrived!
Adding their joyous voices to the melodies of the Sandhill Cranes and the tunes of the Canada Geese!
No matter what…cold/sleet/snow/wind/ once the Red-Winged BlackBirds come they bring with them the song of Spring!
From my world to your heart,
Linda
The Sandhill cranes are amazing this year. For Years and Years, I used to stand outside and wave at the Cranes inviting them to land on our farm
“Please land”, I would holler, you are most welcome here.
Then for some reason, only the Sandhill Cranes know and understand, we had three Cranes come in late fall and spend the days with us
Over time, we have had a steadily growing number
Then the other day those most welcome Canada Geese found us!!
Landing in the field to the east of our house.
We are alive with the sounds of large bird calls!
My heart is filled with joy!
From my world to your heart,
Linda
Well, it’s with fond hearts
And sad good-byes
We all watched the cows
being rounded up yesterday morning around 10:00
Heading to their home place.
The cranes were upset for a spell but came back. Which is a good thing.
Still, the fields feel empty without the cows.
Moving toward spring work now. Although, today we have snow and rain and not very nice conditions.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 