Step Three/Pinto Bean Harvest—September 12, 2016

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Dayphoto

The pinto beans are harvested with a pinto bean combine and pinto bean header.
This is how it works, gently lifting up the rows and moving them through the combine, where it breaks out the pinto beans and put them in the hopper

The trash—everything that is NOT a pinto bean is thrashed and left behind. Now if you have cockaburs, sunflower seeds, or Canada Thistle seeds they will also be combined and flung into the hopper with the pinto beans.

Once there they all go into the truck and hauled to the Beanery, where we are docked for trash in the beans. Therefore, now you know why we always hand weed our fields–the cleaner the beans the more money we bring home. (You can see some of the ‘trash’ [in the back of our truck] which wasn’t cleaned out in with the pinto beans…this is also trash, which will dock us.)

The other problem, with those seeds, is when the pinto beans go over the shaker at the Beanery, they are the same size as a pinto bean and shake right with the beans. If you have too many and have to have the pinto beans triple cleaned….well you get the picture.

A storm is coming in…I hope it stays far way. If it rains we will have a mess with the pinto bean harvest in the field that is pulled. 😦

Your friend on a western Colorado farm,

Linda

Step Two/Pinto Bean Harvest—-Sunday, September 11, 2016

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Dayphoto

Step Two is to blade the beans—which means the next day, after the pinto beans are pulled Terry goes back in with a special blade

Designed to go under the rows of beans, lifting them up and cutting off any weeds or beans the bean puller missed.

All of this MUST be done in the very cool of the morning—it would NOT do to have the pinto beans pods shatter and spill all the pinto beans onto the ground; lost in the dirt.

Once the stems and weeds and pods get to the right level of dryness we harvest!

Your friend on a western Colorado farm,

Linda

Pinto Bean Harvest— Step One—-Thursday, September 8, 2016

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Dayphoto

The pinto beans are ready for harvest. The leaves have dried and fallen off leaving only the pods.

Early, early Terry headed out to put the bean puller on the tractor and get into the field.

It was cool enough he had to put on a jacket. It’s important to go early…long before the sun heats up the earth like an old-fashioned flatiron.

The pinto bean plants need to be cold,so when the tractor goes through the pods stay on the vines, and the pinto beans stay in the shell.

The process is in steps–first the pinto beans are pulled

Laying the beans in neat rows to dry.

Then the bright morning warmed up, gilding everything. It was time to stop.

One field down, one more to go.

Your friend on a western Colorado farm,

Linda

That Hour Before the Rise of Darkness—Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Dayphoto

Yesterday was the ending of summer.

We turned off the irrigation water

and cleaned all the ditches. Terry created this little device. It is pushed along by the water, lifting and flinging the mud in the ditch in front of it, leaving the ditch clean behind–you can see the different in the water behind the scraper—the water is clear enough to reflect the weeds.

A tiny bit of magic for the [forever] cement ditches. It preserves your back from shoveling.

We finished in that hour before the rise of darkness.

The farm was slowing down, pausing —sighing deeply as the heat of the day cooled and the summer bees slowed their echoing buzz, as they headed toward their hives

Yesterday was end of the growing season.

Your friend on a western Colorado farm,

Linda

An Afternoon Like Honey—-Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Dayphoto

It was late afternoon yesterday — I was mowing the lawn and Terry was blading the long lane from the house to the county road, when suddenly

Bladen came riding in on the bike!

What a huge delightful surprise. Being the wonderful grandson he is; he finished mowing my lawn for me.

Then the others showed up…Blade kindly helped Linkin along (sigh! ) Hurrying them into the house. Grandpa and I were ecstatic, to say the least.

Then their parents came over—they had all stopped at Aunt Shannon’s first.

All too soon it was time to leave–Misty wanted to buy groceries in Grand Junction, Colorado, before they headed back to Battlement Mesa, Colorado.

What a superb way to spend Labor Day. The fall sun was thick and warm…like honey all glowing with golden light.

Family and friends– the thing that makes our lives rich and full and joyful.

Love,

Linda

The Soft, Bright Glow of the Sky—-Monday, September 5, 2016

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Dayphoto

We have had a series of storms move through last week.

Along, with the overcast sky we were gifted with many rainbows— The sun’s rays glinting off the rain droplets settling the stretched and frayed sky

From here to my friend, Rene’s sky in Paonia. (A rainbow over the Paonia Ragged Mountains)

A closer view of the deep storm tangled Raggeds wrapped in hues of wonder

Even my zinnias wrapped themselves in the colors of the sky

The rainbows wrappedthemselves around our small corner of this big magnificent world.

Flickering like sunlight on the snow, spanning our daily work in an amazing manner–nothing lackadaisical, but stunning, and gorgeous, and wonderful!

From my world to your heart,

Linda

Moving to Delta, Colorado—Sunday, September 4, 2016

Posted on September 4, 2016 by Dayphoto

Yesterday we helped our daughter and son-in-law, in Grand Junction, Colorado load up some of their stuff to move to Delta–home for Kimberly and back to Delta County, for Cliff.

Terry made this trailer years ago to haul bulls, cows, and pigs. It has also hauled furniture to Denver, back from Denver, to Grand Junction, and now back from Grand Junction.

(I must brag a little bit here—my man is sure talented! If he needs it, or wants it, he figures out a way to make it. 💕 💕 💕–how lucky I am!)

We were fortunate to move them in-between storms. We’ve been having lots and lots of thunder and rain storms. It sure has been nice for the yard. A welcome gift for the plants and for me!

The tomatoes and peppers are coming on strong now. It’s canning time! My pears are ripening in big, thick, warm blankets then it will be time to ‘put them up’.

We are still working on the firewood, although the pile is MUCH smaller. Maybe this week we will finish it. I sure hope so. I’m a tad wore out. We are taking off today and maybe Monday, maybe not Monday, we will see.

(Early morning sun)

I hope your Labor Day weekend is a good one!

Your friend on a western Colorado farm,

Linda

The Last of Summer’s Hay—-Thursday, September 1 , 2016

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Dayphoto

Sunday we ‘did’ hay.

Because we had lots of rain and hail before we could get the hay up; Terry had to ‘turn’ the hay. Sunday Morning he raked the hay turning it over so the top will be the bottom, and the bottom will be the top and the top will dry.

Then about 1:00 in the afternoon the alfalfa had turned to hay. Off Terry went to bale.

And Boomer and went out to roll bales and pick up broken bales (there were only two) and pick up all the loose hay on the corners

Then we started hauling in the bales.

(See the twisted bales?)

I did have a sort of a fright…not bad, but I was very much startled. A huge bull snake was resting under one of the bales, when I moved the bale he jumped up and slithered off and I jumped up and out of his path! 🙂 🙂

We got half the field up and then finished on Monday; after we finished we worked some more on the firewood.

We are still irrigating, the alfalfa field will be the last field we set water on then we will be done for the year. BUT FIRST…the field has to be marked out so the water can get down the rows. Seems like there is always something.

It’s cold enough we must wear jackets in the early morning and late evening when we set water. Sure seems early for jackets, but it is what it is.

Next will be pinto bean harvest—soon…very soon.

(Terry and I are getting a tad tired right now.)

Your friend on a western Colorado farm,

Linda

Firewood—Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Dayphoto

Gradually the firewood pile is shrinking. Terry, myself and our son worked all day Saturday, ending just before dark—in that time called gloaming.

Thankfully, I was able to get all our corn froze for the winter, before we headed out to do the wood…I would have been too tired to do it at the end of the day.

Terry and Evan cut (Evan gets half and we take half) and I loaded everything in the back of the pick-up trucks

We are working every night, after Evan gets off from his job for the city.

So far, all day Saturday, take off Sunday (to do hay) , Monday, and Tuesday evening. And tonight. We hope to be done by Friday evening.

Of course, only time and good luck will tell.

Your friend on a western Colorado farm,

Linda

A Moment of Relief—Tuesday, August, 30, 2016

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Dayphoto

Last Thursday the heat of the afternoon bore down on us in such a wave of intensity I thought this fall weather had made a huge and dramatic turn back to summer.

Terry was gone for the day, having flew out of Montrose for a meeting in Brighton, Colorado; it was up to Boomer and I to check the irrigation and keep the farm running.

It was late in the afternoon; the gnats and mosquitoes were in swarms of carnivorous activity wherever we walked along the ditch bank—- when I felt the cool down from the swiftly moving clouds.

It started sprinkling just before we got back to the house. Then it started to rain.

Not a bad rain, a gentle rain, a moment of relief from the suffocating heat; enough so the sparrows hung out on the wire taking a bath.

Suddenly the sky turned into hail, the birds, Boomer and I scattering. The blows from the hail and the wind silencing everything and everyone as we hunkered down waiting for the end.