Sunday, December 1, 2013

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Dayphoto

Well, here we are! The last month of the year. The older I get the faster time goes…flying by, as they say.

Terry got both hydraulic pumps fixed on the 4010 –over $2,000.00 later and lots of his own man power the tractor is back to work. Sometime this week he will put the loader back on and be good to go with that tractor.

There is always something it seems. Our furnace in the house is now requiring repair. Whew! If and when we get through this repair cycle it will smooth sailing for a while. The nice thing about the furnace is it is just a back up…we heat with firewood, as you know. Still there are times (if we take off for a short trip or the wood burns too fast while we are in Grand Junction) that having the furnace click on if the temperatures in the house drop below 40 is a good thing. Frozen pipes are not a good thing!

A strong cold front is due in here —

(AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL BRING BIG CHANGES TO THE WEATHER STARTING TUESDAY. STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY AS THE COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST. VALLEY SHOWERS MAY INITIALLY START AS RAIN BUT WILL QUICKLY TRANSITION TO SNOW AT ALL ELEVATIONS BY TUESDAY NIGHT. SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL IS POSSIBLE THROUGH WEDNESDAY FOR ALL THE MOUNTAINS OF EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL VALLEYS MAY ALSO SEE SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS COULD CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND. FRIGID AIR WILL POUR IN BEHIND THE FRONT. AFTERNOON HIGHS MAY NOT BREAK THE FREEZING MARK FROM THURSDAY INTO THE WEEKEND. MORNING LOWS COULD BE WELL BELOW ZERO IN THE MOUNTAINS AND NORTHERN VALLEYS.)

So having the furnace as a back-up would be nice. It’s not going to happen for sometime yet, but Terry does want it in place if and when we go to Nebraska for the combine motor.

It is lightly snowing right now. Anyway, all things come to an end-once we get through this break-down/fix-back-up period I’m sure we will be good to good for a long time.

Your friend that loves December,

Linda

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Dayphoto

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We have reached the place whereby all our gardens are now put to rest,

the freezers are filled and the cellars full,

firewood is stacked in huge piles by the door

as the fire heats the house in a warm cherry glow.

Although, this year has brought tragedies untold,

It has also brought friends through the internet bold,

I thank you all both near and far for the magic of Friendship

Is a one of life’s great blessings on this busy little farm!

Happy Day of Thanks Everyone!!

Your friend in Western Colorado,

Linda

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Dayphoto

The snowman is about gone

The only spot of white left on the lawn

His stone eyes and wooden arms picked up and carried away.

Leaving only cherish thoughts of that other day!

Happy Wednesday! I’m sure everyone is busy cooking and cleaning today.

Your friend,

Linda

Tuesday, November 26, 2013 — Change

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Dayphoto

When my brother and I were small our Dad owned and operated a Sinclair bulk plant and gas station in Delta, Colorado. (we also lived on a huge fruit orchard–lots of work on both ends for everyone in Eckert. But that is another story for a different time.)

As far as my memory can go I think I was about 10 and my brother about 7, when this photo was taken

Terry said he thinks he was around 15, so this may/might/could possibly be about 1959 when Delta had one of their huge spring floods. (No longer does this happen because of extensive work along the Gunnison River.)

The arrow is right on top of my Dad’s business. The water had crossed the railroad and had risen to the top of the little rise where his business was located.

The town proper of Delta is higher than the river so it was spared, but North Delta wasn’t-the flooding water reached way back and touched upon lots of farms.

If I could show you this area today you would be amazed…the land across the river from my Dad’s business now houses City Market Grocery, Ace Hardware, Tractor Supply, McDonald’s and many other businesses, plus the Rec Center.

The other side of the road, where the most extensive flooding occurred has even more businesses.

Please go to this site to see an even older photo of a time when Delta flooded.

Sometimes change isn’t a good thing, change just for the ‘heck of it’ is never a good idea, but change to improve, to make better, to stop destruction—well, that is always a good thing.

Today we do not have floods, which is good. I so remember the real fear and concern my parents felt in this really large flood of around 1959.

When our children were little we had another flood, just as big and just as damaging. It was at this point the City Managers and the Army Core of Engineers said “ENOUGH”.

Thank heavens!
Your grateful friend,

Linda

Monday, November 25, 2013

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Dayphoto

Yesterday it started to rain. It rained and rained, taking with it the lovely snow.

It rained and rained and rained…very miserable with a stiff nasty wind.

By nightfall we had nothing but mud

So we have gone from snow to mud in just one day! That is always the bad part of snow…mud season!

I would have walked out to the fields to show you this, but I had to go upstairs and try and get some decent photos for you

This is one of the corn fields from this summer

We have lots and lots of these huge wonderful birds (and bird poop).

Last year I used to see them flying overhead and holler at them inviting them to come land on our farm—please come! We will be good to you, the dogs don’t chase birds (unless it’s Hank) and I only want to take your photo! “Please come!” I would shout as they flew over my head.

Here is a very short video of the sounds they make (they are extremely noisy birds). I took it while the grandchildren and I were taking a walk one cold winter day. You can hear my voice and one of the grandchildren.

Now if the mud will just dry up…..

It’s still nasty and drizzly. But we have BIRDS to entertain us!

Your friend on the farm,

Linda

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Posted on November 24, 2013 by Dayphoto

“The first fall of snow is not only and event, it is a magical event.

You go to bed in one kind of world Winter-1

and wake up in another quite different, Winter-2

and if this is not enchantment Winter-4

then where is it to be found?”

J.B. (John Boynton) Priestley

Through the eyes of child….

The excitement and wonder fills your soul

Really, who could ask for more?

Your friend,

Linda

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Dayphoto

Our storm arrived….bringing with it the most delicious, gentle, kind drizzle of rain you can imagine. It started just after sunset with tiny sprinkles here and there.

By 8 o’clock in the evening Terry came in from working on the 4010 and announced the skies were weeping! I went to see, both dogs following, then choosing to stay outside. (It was a warmish evening and Fuzzy wanted to be outside…Boomer doesn’t like to be somewhere Fuzzy isn’t)

All night the delicious gentle rain fell causing a mist to surround us and all the trees and bushes and plants. This morning we were wet, but not so wet it was miserable. The dogs came in and laid down, Fuzzy by me and Boomer as close to the fire as he could get. It wasn’t long before they were panting but reluctant to go back outside. It’s hard to do something when everything is dripping.

Gradually they went out…first Fuzzy and then Boomer…WHEW! The fresh air must have felt good for them.

Today I will be helping Terry put his hydraulic pump back on the 4010. He fixed the back pump first and now we will do the front one. We had to wait for a pump to be delivered from Abilene, Kansas, which came yesterday. It will take both of us…and a jack and other things for those pumps are are heavy, heavy, heavy.

Sometime after we get this fixed we will take a very fast trip to Bridgeport, Nebraska to get a motor for the combine — the one that he cobbled together by drilling holes in the thermostat.

It’s been a farming season of things breaking in a huge way, then having to be fixed…the 4010 with the hydraulic pumps, the bean combine with the auger, the diesel combine’s motor and the gasoline combine’s major chain under everything, which not only broke but ripped up the bottom metal and sucked into the loading chute. Once these are fixed we should be ‘good to go’ for several more years…anyway that is what Terry is saying. 🙂 🙂

I found the sky amazing last night…that long strip of …whatever … shows up close as a spot in another cloud.

The storm is here until Sunday…with rain supposedly turning to snow tonight. I guess we will see in the morning won’t we. The mountains all around us are showing snow…it can stay up there, which would be perfect.

Off now to help with the tractor and the hydraulic pump,

Your sometimes mechanic’s helper friend,

Linda

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Dayphoto

We have another storm coming in

It will probably be here tonight sometime.

The weather people say it will be another series of storms coming to us clear from the Hawaiian Islands

So….that means I have lots to get done before night fall.

Today is clean out the chicken house day…not a job I enjoy, but ones the hens delight in. When I’m done they will have lots of lush and rich hay to peck and scratch around in if the weather is too bad to go outside.

I use the hay from the baler. Terry always cleans out the baler every time he uses the baler….blows the dust and leaves off of it, greases everything up, then parks it under it’s very own shed until the next cutting of alfalfa. The hay that is taken out of the baler is mine to use around the farm. We used to feed it to the pigs, and the goats and the sheep, when we had them. I always gave a nice batch to the chickens and the the calves (if we had orphans) There isn’t tons of this lovely green leafy stuff, but over three cutting a summer I can gather up a nice little pile. We put the pile in the same building with the baler and then cover up the pile with a tarp to keep the loose pile together.

Sometimes I’ll find a yummy bone or two buried in the deep reaches of the pile just waiting to be brought out for a nice chewing. 🙂

So off I go to get some things done before the weather blows in here wet and nasty. The Farmer’s Almanac says “As November 21st is, so is the winter”. Looks like wet and nasty just might be predicted for our winter. (I say this because the storm is here until Saturday, then leaves and we have nice weather for a few more days. — Just storms for the 21st)

Your interested to see how the winter turns out friend,

Linda