Apricots for Wednesday

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Dayphoto

The apricot tree in the yard burst into bloom over night, Monday night. This tree is a different variety than the other tree…the old apricot tree.

This one is only 40 years old. I planted it when we moved here 40 years ago. It, too, is a heritage apricot, but it produces a lighted apricot colored fruit. The fruit is sweet and make wonderful jams.

Yes you can tell the difference between the two jams if you don’t mix the fruit while canning.

Now for having fruit trees in your yard, I have a couple of prune trees, four pear trees, several sour cherry trees and two standard delicious trees. You see I was raised on an orchard. My grandfather had 60 acres of all sorts of different fruit and my Dad had 180 acres of all types of different fruit.

I missed the trees when I moved to here, their lovely blooms, the deep shade under their branches and climbing into the trees and finding bird nests, and I missed the humming of the honey bees.

(We have lots of bees because we do NOT spray for bad bugs, but allow the good bugs to do their thing.)

So I planted fruit trees in my yard.

I would never ever in a million years do that again.

NEVER!

While it works well to live in the middle of an orchard, the house is usually in a ‘space’ of it’s own. Having the trees right with you in the house space is very different. The problem occurs when the fruit comes on —- the fruit drops and turns to mush if you don’t get out there immediately and pick it up. The birds get most of the fruit because you work and can’t get out there the second the fruit even thinks about turning ripe, the trees grow BIG and BIGGER and BIGGEST and of course the best fruit is UP THERE! (So you must and have to prune…you can’t NOT prune, which is a winter job.)

Since the best fruit is UP THERE the birds get it first and they only peck on one side or they only peck on one spot. After all it is a bird buffet and there is so much to choose from, so that fruit is gone, even after you pick it. If you don’t get it picked ON TIME, then the fruit drops onto the grass or the flower bed or the side walk, whereby YOU MUST GET OUT THERE AND GET IT CLEANED UP NOW!

If you have little kids its a great job for them, but little kids grow up and leave so the job becomes yours.

Still I have all of the same fruit trees I planted when we moved here, I put up with the mess. I enjoy the bees who are very happy to have delightful food the first thing in spring, and the birds who feast on the fruit. I can, I bake, I freeze and yes….
I pick up fruit by the wheel barrow loads before the mush turns into an ant feast.

Come spring, I fall in love with each and everyone of my fruit trees all over again.

And this is why!

The trees in spring always bring me this delightful surprise!

Linda

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Dayphoto

Terry has finished getting the corn fields ready for the fertilizer. Moving from former bean ground to corn ground doesn’t take as much tractor work. First he disked the already mellow soil (beans are good for the soil), then he leveled. Here is is leveling, which means he is filling in any hollows and removing any hills that the wind and water created over the last year. It needs to have a little fall so the water can start at one end and run to the other end.

Finished! (Complete with a little dirt devil). Next we will add fertilizer, then roll in the fertilizer, then mark it out (so the water can run from the top of the field to the bottom) and start water.

I don’t do tractor work, but I do irrigate. Irrigation should start the first week in April on this field and on the already planted alfalfa fields.

Terry ripped up an old alfalfa field (they have to be torn up every 3-5 years to keep the hay produced full of healthy rich hay, instead of mostly weeds), which will go into corn. We will put water on that field around the second or third week in April.

The upper end (which burned in the fire) will be worked up and planted to alfalfa. He will do it sometime in April. It had corn in it, but since we are losing the largest field he likes to have a certain amount of hay to sell every year. Usually Terry plants a mother crop with the hay, but this year he is going to ‘thick seed’ it. Meaning only the very, very expensive alfalfa seed will be planted, a planted very thickly to choke out the weeds.

Old corn ground has to be plowed. We have lots of clay in our soil so plowing is the best way to go. Old corn ground is the only ground we plow. Plowing takes all the old stalks and leaves, turns it under in the soil where it breaks down adding richness to clay-type of soil. More work with the tractor, but way better results.

This field will become a pinto bean field next year. We do rotational farming, which helps the soil and the plants the next year.

The nasty high winds have left our area for a spell. I worked in my yard all day yesterday and came in looking like a fresh dug potato. Its a wee bit cooler, but HEY no wind.

I take it!

Linda

The Old Apricot Tree Made It

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Dayphoto

I walked over to the old apricot tree the closer I got I realized that the Old Apricot Tree made it through the fire.

I was delighted!

This lovely old girl is starting to bloom. The fire went around it.

The sun was just coming up adding a wonderful luster to the morning.

This apricot tree bears pink flowers and medium sized, extremely sweet fruit.

I am so happy the fire spared this wonderful tree. So very happy.

Linda

Sunday Stills—Weather or Not

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Dayphoto

Farming is going strong here. The morning always starts out good, but by the end of the day the wind comes up.

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Go here for more Sunday Stills and more weather in other parts of the world.

Happy Spring Sunday!

Linda

What Do Cats Do When It Is Warm Outside

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Dayphoto

AHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Oh, by the way, the other guy’s Insurance Inspector came up yesterday afternoon, looks like we are going to get our gated pipe replaced and all of the fences.

Keep your fingers crossed, that is what he said anyway. Now we just wait and see if it really happens!

Linda

Chickens and Mice (do not proceed if you like mice)

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Dayphoto

Mice in the chicken house are a pain. They are nasty, dirty and (if you don’t take care) EVERYWHERE!

But one nice thing about chickens…..

They are very good mousers.

I was raking around the wood pile and the chicken house when suddenly a mouse ran right by me, followed with a very determined Lucky Hen.

She grabbed the mouse and ran over to the trash pile (will get it cleaned up soon, I promise!) making sure the other hens don’t follow or Sam the Cat.

Whereby she proceeded to ‘take care of the nasty little vermin’.

Just like I do with the mice in the mouse traps I disposed of it.

Good Hen!

(Hens do not eat mice, or at least I have never seen one do it. But I do find mice that have been very flatten with lots of peck holes in them.)

Linda

Sunday Stills-Transitions (March 18th)—My Heartfelt Thank you!

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Dayphoto

Sunday Stills is a place where you can practice your photography skills by joining us in a weekly challenge every Sunday. For this weeks challenge you are to photograph your interpretation of a transition…

This is a good place to say Thank you to each and every person who wrote expressing sorrow and concern over the two huge fires we had last week. Each comment I read and each personal email you sent helped Terry and I know how many good people are out there.

Thank You!

Since staying mad or staying angry is a horrible place to be, we are moving on. The fences will be built, the hills will grow green again, maybe not with the former stuff, and yes, probably with the noxious weeds in our area, but they will be green.

The wonderful old tree cannot be replaced, but I do have lots and lots of photos of it. The kids are just as sad as Terry and I, but the memories of standing under it waiting for the bus and playing by it will hold us for now.

A spring storm is supposed to blow in soon, we are hoping for rain. That way the nasty charred remains will melt into the soil and the other things waiting to spring to life will be able too. Also, the rain will cleanse the air of all the smoke and ash that seems to be hanging around.

I spent Saturday cleaning house and Terry spent it working on the fields. He finished disking and rolling. Work is a great stress reliever. As odd as that sounds.

I’m putting in a photo of another really old, old tree….it is an Apricot Tree. I’ve been a little afraid to go over and see if it made it through the fire (I took this photo on Monday and the fire was on Tuesday). It is still standing, the fire did seem to go around it, so there is hope.

That is what springs eternal….Hope!

Once more we Thank each and everyone of you for your thoughts, prayers and concern.

Terry and Linda

The Day From H#%%

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Dayphoto

A neighbor of ours (2 miles away) decided that today (with 20-30 m.p.h. wind and gusts of wind) was an excellent day to burn one of his ditches.

Well, he got the ditch burnt that is for sure, and the neighbors farm and our farm.

Terry and I are just sick! Sick, sick, sick!

It took the Delta Fire Department, the Olathe Fire Department, the Cedaredge Fire Department and the Lands End Fire Department from Whitewater to put the fire out. (If you get out a map you will see how far some of them had to come to help)

The fire reached our place at 2:30 that afternoon with fire jumping and running over all of our pastures, hillsides and into the corn fields. THANK GOD!!! Terry had disked the ends of the corn or it would have ran right to our house.

The fire also ate it’s way right up to our kids’ barns and chicken house….we had to load up and move out all the goats, chickens, dogs and cats. One of the next door neighbors took Tally, the other kids were in school for part of the time.

The sheriff department had all three roads blocked off from traffic as the smoke was so thick seeing was next to impossible.

The rancher and his daughter and her boyfriend came up and rounded up the cows and calves to keep them out of harms way.

The fire was finally put down at 6:30 that evening. Terry’s equipment was saved, the buildings were saved and no animals lost their lives that we are aware of.

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Terry and I are sick about the loss of the centuries old Chico and Sagebrush, the ancient cactus. What will happen now is the invasive weeds will take over.

Sigh,

Linda

Spring Work

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Dayphoto

I’ve been waiting for this time of the year ever since we had harvest last year. But….man are we ever busy. (Not complaining just explaining).

Still I wanted to share with you a couple of shots of the full moon last week-when the moon came up the sun was going down so we had a pink moon. As the moon was going down the next morning the sun was coming up giving the countryside a beautiful blue haze.

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Nature….isn’t it Grand!!?

Linda

Sunday Stills – A Small Part of a Whole

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Dayphoto

What a busy day! I am just now getting my Sunday Stills Photos up and it’s 8:00 at night (really I’m still on Mountain Standard Time so it is 7:00 p.m.)

I chose for my Sunday Stills Small part of a whole as the fence and gate lock, but as I get here I realize I didn’t get a photo of one fence. Please forgive…here is a small part of the fence and it’s lock.

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I took a photos of two different fences on the place and our creative locks!

Happy Sunday One and All!

Linda