A storm has blown in streaming moisture and clouds across the heavens
It’s supposed to be a one day visit. Leaving our area this afternoon sometime on a stiff brisk wind.
Corn harvest waits a tad bit longer.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
We still have not started the corn harvest. Although, Terry is checking the dryness of the corn weekly now. The last moisture count was 15.3%. It must be 15 or below to begin.
So we wait.
The days are sharply cooling down…the ground is more leaf-littered each and every day
Last Friday we had the bliss and excitement of a thick marvelous fog
Of which, I had to go walking in.
After all, it’s rare (in our part of the world) to be able to actually walk in a cloud sitting down on the eath. 🙂
It was breathtaking.
The steady flow of water in the canal is turned off today. It will take a week before it is gone at our farm—for you see the water travels all the way from the Blue Mesa Reservoir, Gunnison, Colorado, to the Gunnison River at Delta, Colorado…irrigating farms all along the way.
There is a definite snap in the air, causing us to enjoy the evenings with the heat of the wood stove.
Autumn is moving rapidly toward winter now.
BUT—-
O! The excitement —-while out on the farm a flock of bluebirds flew by Boomer and me on their way through (they don’t seem to nest here on our farm) to who knows where–
I capture two of them on camera! I was elated! Jubliant and Overjoyed to get their photos, even if it was just the back of them as they flew by.
From your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Rocky turned 11 last week…only he celebrated his birthday in STYLE
Birthday cake and little kids to read to him.
Boomer
Although I love summer best, my heart leaps into my breast with flares of joy for spring and then once more for the bright lovely days of Autumn
Autumn to me is more than a dying time, or a song sorrow, or a lament to the Old Gods
Its a time of remembering—as the leaves fall down on the weary ground and the plants close up for another year
The sky seems to [also] brighten into strong colors even more so than the brilliant summer skies
The air is not full of the smell of green growing things and thirsty soil like it is in Spring
Nor is it full of the spices and floral scents of summer
But it is full of the smell of leaves turning yellow and falling, drifting toward the earth where we mere mortals tread.
From my world to your heart,
Linda
I ran into a couple at the big-box store recently…they were newly arrived in our community and struggling a wee bit to find something in the store.
Since I was picking up an item in the same aisle, the gentleman asked me for help.
Of which I gladly did.
One thing led to another, (they were very friendly souls); leading them to ask me where I lived —- thinking I must be in a sub-division or in town.
I smiled and told them my husband and I have a farm and we live out a ways from the city proper.
Then the lady shocked me totally by placing her hand on my arm her voice dripping with true sympathy…she patted my arm and expressed something to the effect she was sorry for me in my very narrow existence.
I should not have been shocked.
But I was.
For you see my existence is not narrow, nor is bleak…it’s not void of experiences or adventure or new and unusual things to see and do.
I smiled and wished them well. Going on down the aisle to finish up my purchases.
Because of each of you, I forget that the common thought people have about farmers is they are either “corporate” or people who are uneducated, uninformed and walk around with a hay stem in their mouth.
But you, each and every one of you understands that this wondrous, joyful life we have here on our farm is anything but bleak or narrow nor is it void of adventure or beauty.
Yes, the work may be hard, but it isn’t boring for us. Its just part and parcel of who we are and how we live our lives; each day marked upon our hearts.
From my world to your heart,
Linda
That beautiful wonderful Moon
Can you hear the shimmering song it sings in the sky?
So far away, yet close enough to light the earth and the sky with silver.
From my heart to your world,
Linda
Sunday was the last Car Club meeting for the year
Terry and I were late joiners to this delightful fun group of people.
Everyone is so positive; all the talk is about cars or trucks or motors or shows.
Everyone is happy for YOU. It doesn’t matter what kind of car you have, just that you like old cars and want to drive them and be with like-minded people.
The last meeting even had a wee poker run, of which we drew a very poor hand, but had a great time doing it.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
There is still much to do, farm work does not stop just because it’s Autumn
It actually speeds up for this season is the accumulation of winter, spring, and summer
It’s a good time, though. It’s the time of Harvest where the demands of the day increase.
The corn harvest is getting very close. We were thinking we would start Monday, but not quite yet.
The moisture content of the kernels is 15.5% —as soon as we hit 15% the combine will head into the field, the big grain truck will follow it and there we will be…
in the harvest.
These late Fall days, cool and growing short, deplete our energy, but the work nourishes us.
Winter nears—the leaves are falling like yellow flecks of light on the tired ground.
Everything and everyone is singing the song of Fall.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Mom’s computer broke…well it really didn’t break, nor did it die, but the nasty “Time to Update” happened—after which Mom’s computer would NOT OPEN.
So Mom called her Computer Repair guy. He was out on a call and would come by late afternoon to see what he could do.
So there was nothing to be done on the computer—-all day. Which didn’t mean Mom did nothing.
She and Dad worked on removing nails from a building they salvaged,
cleaned up around the hay stackyard, loaded out another load of hay, cooked lunch, patched a roof on the tile house…
and in general, kept really busy!
Then late, late in the day! The computer was repaired and good to go again!
Mom, Dad, and I (also Mindy and the two chickens) all danced with joy.
But more than all us…Mom was more than delighted!
Off to bed now. It’s been a long day!
Boomer
We have a new crop being tested about two miles from our farm.
Now you MUST understand it is NOT us raising these test acres of Hemp, but three of our neighbors close by.
The above is one of the test fields almost ready to harvest. Hemp looks like little furry Christmas trees, or (to my eye) Kochia weed. (I don’t know if I spelled that right)
One of the growers allowed us to go into the field and look at the plants. They are very sticky. You put your hand on the plant and it feels like fly paper (sort of) and it has a very distinctive smell.
It’s harvest time now. This is one of the combines/tractors used to harvest the hemp. (This hemp will be used to create CBD oil…although there are other uses for hemp, i.e. rope, material, and many other things. ( I am still learning about all this)
Here the combines/tractors have just entered the field to begin harvest
The tractor/combine cuts off the plant and conveyor the fluffy plant into the back of the truck. The truck is driven along side of the tractor, both pieces of equipment moving along together up and down the row until the truck bed is full.
The truck then hauls it to a metal building with a cement floor
Where it is allowed to dry for two days.
NOW after this point, I don’t know what happens. I don’t know how they remove the oil, I don’t know anything. Maybe I will get to see, and if I do I will ask permission to show you. Other than that…this is the harvesting of the new crop in town….called Hemp.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 