Sunday, August 18, 2013

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Dayphoto

I had my first in a very long-time day to myself yesterday. I was able to get some stuff done in town that has been every so long in coming. 5 Weeks!

Five weeks of not really buying groceries…just running in for milk or something of that nature…you would NOT have liked my grocery bill…I didn’t either. 😦 Still I was thankful that I HAD rather stock piled some things and we had the freezer with some meat and the end of the jars I had put up last summer/fall. It all worked out for the best. Now I just need to start rebuilding, I’m down to four package of hamburger, many frozen chickens and some frozen vegetables, like corn. Going five weeks without really shopping and eating and feeding people straight from the larder is really nice.

(You can see the yellow leaves starting to appear)

When I was working outside yesterday I noticed the little Robins are gone. They have left us I know not when. 😦 😦 Another sure sign that winter is coming. We still have lots of swallows and the hummingbirds plus many others.

A crow landed in the old cottonwood tree as I worked and cawed to me he was back and fall was coming. I guess it is so.

Last week was my last full week of having the little grandchildren everyday. Since both of their parents….Misty (teaches) and Kelly (Assistant Principal) go back to work the First of August ————–THANK HEAVENS MISTY HAS FELT WELL ENOUGH TO GO BACK!!!! The kids stay with us.

Thursday (the kids and I) went to Fat Cat Pottery to create something fun, then Friday we had a fun day by eating out (JUNK FOOD) at Wendy’s, then going on over to the Miniature Golf place and played a round, after that we went to the batting cages to see if we could hit a few soft balls.

Then to top the whole afternoon off we headed to Dairy Queen for ice cream. I let them have the biggest ice cream they thought they could eat :).

This next week the two oldest will hop the bus and be in school. The youngest will stay with us until Thursday when it will be her turn to start school. Kindergarten rotates the little ones in so no one is afraid and can handle the new environment.

After that Terry and I think we will take a short trip just to unwind by ourselves, something over night but close by.

He has stopped irrigating the pintos and will start pulling them soon. Then it will be time for the last cutting of alfalfa. When that time comes he will have stopped irrigating the corn. Corn harvest will/should be sometime in October. Boy, this summer has flown.

I hope everyone has a restful Sunday,

Your very thankful friend, Linda

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Dayphoto

A chill is in the morning air everyday now. The plants are getting serious about setting seeds, or bursting forth into bloom so they can set seeds. This chill is a whole month early. I feel like I’ve lost summer, the season I most enjoy.

Oh, well…maybe we will have a very long Indian Summer.

Right in the beginning of our whole 5 weeks of extreme stress our giant Johnson Cottonwood dropped a huge limb. It was the limb that held the rope swing our children played on while they were growing up…a loud snap and crack in the middle of a lovely, calm, warm afternoon — then BAM! The whole giant limb was on the ground.

I must say the tree worked hard at not smashing any buildings or even any of my flower beds, instead forming a lovely arch that we were able to drive through for several days.

We were rather forced to leave it in place for a few days because of …. well, everything. Gradually Terry was able to start cutting it up while Shannon and I hauled leaves, branches and logs to the upper end.

Shannon’s tree climbing dog, Houston had a great time playing in the leaves.

Finally only the huge heavy parts are left…our tractor with the loader issue is still under repair (if it isn’t one thing….well, you know, then it is another 🙂 ) These logs will wait until we can get them into the loader and then haul them to the upper end to dry.

Now (possibly) we have moved through all the crisis and will be on the upswing again. Everything goes forward, you just have to go forward with it.

Once more thank you for being with us in mind, or body, and spirit!

Your hopeful friend, Linda

August 14, 2014

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Dayphoto

I am ever so grateful for all of you…Misty is back to work today! The family Doctor took her off the offending drug! She started feeling better and felt good enough to go to work.

HOO RAY!!!!

The rains have been lovely…my weeds are huge and out of control, but so are my flowers and other plants…

the good along with the bad.

My brother, his wife and her nephew were here over the weekend to go on a float trip down the Gunnison River. We enjoyed a HUGE full house of guests for few days. Dan even played for us and the little girls DANCED away the night.

The next day part of the group left and my brother and his family all headed to the river.

Terry and I ~~helped~~ watched from the shore. Then drove his truck out to the landing site they had pick out.

As we drove back I was very impressed at how green the desert was from all the rain so we stopped to see what was growing.

Sadly it was a hideous, horrid, poisonous weed!

This weed is called Halogeton, aka: Sheep Killer! Gosh, what a disappointment.

If you live where this stuff grows do everything you can to get rid of it!

Terry and I got the firewood all stacked yesterday and early this morning. The little grandchildren helped yesterday, but I think they were rather glad it was done this morning.

They will be staying with us during the day until school starts next week. After that I should be able to get back into my old routine. (Knock on wood)

Thanks for stopping by,

Starting to get it all together again, Linda

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Dayphoto

Fall is in the air! Every day I see more yellow leaves turning up in the trees!

We had to run up to our lake on Grand Mesa

while our company was here….stunningly we saw fresh snow on the ground.

The little chipmunks were very active – I think they now their time for storing is just about over.

Terry and I decided that we just can’t get away from the place to haul the much more needed firewood so we ordered more in, now we have a mess to sort through, but at least we are NOT having to go “GET IT”. It will work this time for us … we will see what next year brings.

Misty had a terrible reaction to a new drug so she is with me today. Please keep your prayers, magic thoughts and crossed fingers in place for a little while longer — we are desperately in need of them.

Your friend,

Linda

The Hyphen Between Time

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Dayphoto

We are gradually returning to almost normal. It’s been weeks and weeks, but today we are making some sort of headway.

Yesterday the Dog Days of summer ended! Along with that ending we have started seeing trees showing up with yellow leaves. The nights are cool enough I need to shut the windows in the early morning. Usually August is hot, but we are not seeing that here and now. It is feeling like September already. What a strange year this has been.

The pinto beans are ready for harvest. Terry finished the last set of water last week to allow the soil under the plants to dry out so he can start pulling them. He thinks the last week of August he will start pulling the plants so they can dry and he can combine them.

Where has summer gone?

Ever since Misty got sick and we got lots and lots of company I have been in a holding pattern. Whenever I get into that ‘just treading water place” I seem to have bad dreams of drowning.

But today I took a nap…and really slept. I also got almost four weeks of lawn mowed and the edges around the yard taken care of…you just don’t know how nice that is until you can’t find time to get to it. I am also getting my laundry caught up. Tomorrow I will go shopping everything I had has been eaten up… 🙂

Misty went back to work this afternoon, with our family doctor’s blessing. We are waiting now for her appointment with the neurologist in Grand Junction. He comes highly recommended so we have lots of hope.

The grandchildren will continue to stay with us during the day until each of their respective schools start, after that Terry and I will be back to normal.

Knock on wood.

The field corn is starting to dent — goodness this summer seems to have flown by while we waited for answers from the Doctors.

Once more I thank you for staying connected for your emails, and comments and concern.

Your friend,

Linda

August 6, 2013

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Dayphoto

Still struggling with the “situation” which we have been dealing with for several weeks. Maybe be by this afternoon we will be on the road to fixing everything.

Please hang with me…I really do want to get to everyone’s blog and answer all my comments…life is just not letting me at the moment!

I thank each and everyone of your for your prayers, crossed-fingers, and magic thoughts. They have been necessary and are starting to take effect!

Thank you, your friend,

Linda

August 5, 2013

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Dayphoto

Sorry I’m late today…I had a bit of a family emergency that took my time. All is okay now, but we had a bit of juggling act for a few hours there.

The clouds are rumbling and grumbling across the plateau as I write this, so the possibly of another storm is in the making. Maybe it will just stay up there watering the flowers and trees.

Although, we Do NOT raise sweet corn our neighbors do so we are always concerned how it’s going for them. Since sweet corn has a very tiny window of sweetness they are having to harvest if in the mud and rain. Lots of mud…the tractors are having to pull the trucks through the fields then the trucks leave huge wads of mud on the road. After each field is done, then they run a blade down the road cleaning off the mud. Harvest is always a tad stressful, I must say.

Anyway, I hope to get caught up and back into some sort of routine again soon. Please know that I still have all your comments and will be answering them as I have a spare moment here and there AND I will be visiting each of your blogs!

Like a man told me awhile ago…everyday we have a choice to either be happy or to not be happy…for life happens and things get rough so you can either approach everything with a calm smile or fall apart.

I going for the calm smile and happy feeling!

Have a good one everyone! I’ll be around to visit you soon.

Linda

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Posted on August 4, 2013 by Dayphoto

And the rains just keep on coming…………

We are having so much rain that the ground is now saturated, which is good and bad.

Good because the rivers that usually dry up in the summer have water in them again.

Good because everything is green, even the desert.

Good because I don’t have wrinkles right now 🙂

Bad because the weeds are growing fast, faster, and fastest!

Bad because the ground is soaked and the puddles are growing moss.

Bad because we now are having flash floods.

Water in the hills, mountains, knolls, and the plateaus are now finding dry gulfs and washes causes flash floods.

Since the desert is so lush and green and full of water, there really isn’t any place for the thundering, spilling roaring water to go…a short time ago a huge flash flood roared it’s way across Highway 50 between Delta and Grand Junction…the effect was amazing.

Water and many splendid thing and also very dangerous!

My Mother grew up in Corona, New Mexico, where they (as children) would play by the many arroyos and dry washes close by. She always cautioned us to never play in them as a flash flood could come any time. She also said you can hear the water coming. Then the towns people would come out to the edges and peer over the sides at the rocks and trees being carried along from the hills far away.

These photos can give you a small idea of what we just saw and what she used to talk about.

Have a good Sunday everyone!

Linda

August 1, 2013

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Dayphoto

Today is cloudy and cool. It is 67* right now…with rain showers here and there around us … nice!

Terry came in this morning and said he found stripped pinto bean pods…a sure sign we will be looking at harvest in a couple of weeks, by the third week of August for sure.

Today is Lammas Day—after Lammas Day the corn ripens as much by night as by day. Although, I think most of the wheat harvest is done here and in the other states next to or below ours. I am also sure that the wheat harvest is moving on up into the northern most states. Maybe it is over for those states also, hummmm.

The last load of hay is leaving today…every bales sold (now) until third cutting.

Boy, is summer flying now. We still need to get 3 more cords of wood, maybe 5 cords. We used 7 cords last winter and still ran out. It sure was a long winter. Geez, I dread winter.

I got all the corn up that I’m going to put up. That is always a good feeling.

Off to do my work for the day…it’s so nice outside I don’t think weeding is going to be much of a chore. All my seeds I planted are blooming now, sure makes me smile.

Have a good one everyone!

Linda

Sugar Beet Harvest

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Dayphoto

Way back when our kids were growing up the Holly Sugar Factory still operated here and farmers in the area grew sugar beets for a cash crop. Not only did they grow the beets, but the factory hired many farmers to help process the beets into sugar. The job was a very welcome thing—fall and winter (sometimes until March) employment. Right during the time many farmers had to be very careful with their money.

Farming gives you ONE paycheck a year…yes, one per crop you grow. This is the money that a farm family lives on and uses to purchase all the necessities, pay the taxes, and pay the huge irrigation bill plus to start and continue farming until the crop ‘comes in and is sold’.

If you know what a once a month paycheck is like to stretch – try a once a year paycheck! Then get all your expenses out to start your business all over again in the spring and carry you over until the crop is sold. Sure can be hard at times.

Holly Sugar was a great and wonderful thing for ‘tiding’ a farm family over—not only did they buy your crop … paid on the sugar content of your beet…poor beets poor paycheck…rich in sugar beets really nice paycheck. They hired four shifts of men and sometimes women for certain jobs. The pay was always very welcome…you work you get paid.

Holly Sugar left town in the 70’s. It was sad for everyone.

Sugar Beet harvest always started in October giving the beets a chance to get cold so the sugar content in the beets would rise. Many times the harvest happened in wet, frozen, turned to mud fields. Right along side the corn harvest and the apple harvest and the turning of the leaves.

This is the way our local farmers used to bring their sugar beets to market. This photo shows a line-up of wagons loaded with beets waiting their turn to dump their load at the Delta beet dump. Beets were dumped directly into open rail cars prior to 1921, and after the factory was built in Delta, they were dumped at the factory site where they were transferred mechanically to the processing at the facility.

My sweet corn is ready for picking so I’m off to start my tiny harvest of sweet corn. When winter comes we will enjoy rich, golden, sweet, sweet corn once in awhile. A small delicious reminder of summer.

Have a good one my friends!

Linda