Bingo’s Big Adventrure

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Dayphoto

Introducing “Bingo,” A New Book By Julia King

Fellow blogger, Julia King, of “Our Simple Life” blog has written a new children’s book entitled “Bingo’s Big Adventure” .

Julia finally did what so many of us think about….she wrote and published a book!

This is a delightful book about a real cat adopted from a local no-kill shelter. Bingo isn’t a baby, but a teenager who gets to go live on a farm. The book is full of photos and delightful text. My three grandchildren ages 8, 6, and 2 loved it the first time I read to them. After that I saw the 8 year old reading it to the other two at least three more times. The two-year old carries the book with her everywhere and cries when she has to leave it at my house. Finally I just let it go home with her.

Yesterday her Momma said that this is the book she wants read at nap time, every day!

This is a great book for anyone’s children’s library.

Linda

What Walked Down the Ditch Bank?

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Dayphoto

I’m not sure if you can see this, but it looks like a big cat walked down the ditch bank during the night sometime.

We had a summer storm move through after mid-night

When we went out to change the water we saw these

Whatever it was was heavy, you can tell by the imprint. We don’t think it was a bear, although bear do come on to the place.

On a light note, I had a swarm of these colorful Dragonflies visit my tomatoes

The nice part of working and being outside is you really do get to be close to nature.

Linda

The Corn is Looking Good

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Dayphoto

The corn is tasseling out and setting ears now.

This is when we start having trouble with the deer. They love to eat the silks off the corn. As most of you know the pollinating of the corn ear comes from the tassel which is at the top of the corn stalk. The pollen from the tassels falls all over the silk at the end of the corn husk (ear). Each little silk is a direct link to a kernel inside the husk.

If the deer eat the silk the husk dries up and dies. No corn. Not for us or anyone.

It’s hot here…running anywhere between 97-1004*. Humdity builds and builds and builds and then we get

a storm. Sometimes with rain, and sometimes with hail, but the hail has missed us so far.

We were taking Fuzzy down to the river for a swim, but the water is now gone. That’s one the things that happens to the Roubioux in August.

Linda

The Pinto Beans are Looking Very Good

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Dayphoto

The pinto beans are starting to close the rows. They are shooting ‘feelers’ and blooming like crazy.

Last evening, after changing water in the corn field, Terry and stopped and checked the beans

Not only are they vineing out and blooming they are setting pods.

In four, maybe five more weeks we will start the bean harvest.

(( sob)) winter is fast approaching.

Linda

Dodder

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Dayphoto

This nasty weed fascinates me! Not that I like it, but because of how it grows.

Dodder is a noxious weed! It is also a parasite. Unlike mistletoe, which has green leaves and extracts water and food from the host plants, Dodder takes out all the carbohydrates.

Like all parasites it is very hard to kill once you get it, you have to kill the host. This nasty vine grows 3 inches a day. Of course nothing like kudzu!

We work really hard to NEVER let this get started on our land, but roadsides are another story. These two photos are by one of the stop signs on my way home from work.

Another rather interesting fact is Dodder usually starts showing up in August and this is July.

I hope it isn’t a sign that we are headed into another LONG winter!

Linda

Double Yolks

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Dayphoto

The first two are large sized eggs, the last two have double yolks….YIKES!

There is something just so cool about going out everyday and gathering the eggs. Once in awhile you get bonus eggs. Double yolk eggs are mostly from young chickens.

Linda

Predators!!!

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Dayphoto

We got the skunk!

We also had an adventure early this morning (3:00) with something….something fighting for its life right outside the bedroom window. Two huge brown fur masses fighting, growling, rolling around and hissing at each other!

Made me so mad! Terry tried to scar them off, but they just took it on out to the tile house and my bean gardens, then that upset me more, because they were tearing things UP! So I took off after them with a flashlight, in my nightgown, and Terry following behind as he was getting the gun.

The most horrible of rack they made HORRIBLE, loud sounds like metal scraping on metal. And a huge ball of fur that I couldn’t make out what or who was doing what!

The mass of roiling anger and fear fled up the canal bank to the top of the pig pen, where I stayed on the other side of the canal but equal to the fight. I started yelling and shone the light right on them, getting one of them right in the eyes. It caused everything to stop! Suddenly!

The victim jumped into the canal and started swimming downstream toward Terry, but it was too dark to make out what it was.

The other one, fell into the canal when the victim dove, I saw what it was, but I have no name for it—-the head was like a little bear, the body long, at least three feet in length with a bushy tail. As soon as it got on shore it ran into the cornfield to not be seen again.

I have no idea what I just saw, but it was NOT going to get my chickens again! I just got three new ones from our daughter Shannon to replace the other ones!

Now that its daylight I wonder what I would have done if that animal had decided to swim the canal and jump onto the bank next to me!?! Oh, well! It didn’t!

The following photo has absolutely nothing to do with the text, but I thought it would be fun to see where the grain used to be stored when we were just starting out 41 years ago.

We don’t store grain anymore; we sell directly from the field. Still the bins are pretty cool reminders of a time not so very long ago.

Linda

Sunday Stills—Summer

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Dayphoto

I think my favorite thing about summer …are the rainbows. This is my first time to join the Sunday Stills challenge. If anyone visiting would like to join just go here and follow the directions.

Linda

Day Trip

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Dayphoto

In between irrigations Terry and I took off for a little day trip.

We headed to Lake City by taking the short-cut at Sapinero, then on to Creed, Pagosa Springs, Durango and back home over Molas, Coal Bank, Red Mountain and the Million Dollar Highway passes.

Lake San Cristobal (the reason Lake City, Colorado, is called Lake City) is the second largest natural lake in the state of Colorado.

Located on Slumgullion Pass (elevation 11,530 ft) which is named for the nearby earthflow, a gigantic landslide of yellowish soil. The early miners thought it looked like slumgullion stew.

It was here the Alfred “Alferd” Packer became more than famous.

On the other side sits the little town of Creede where the headwaters of the San Juan River and the Rio Grande make thier start.

(Have you noticed I seem to always focus on water…?!?)

I had to cut short the 200+ photos and try to give you the ones that bring out the drama of this little trip.

Along the way you will see

history still standing.

The second you leave Durango you start climbing Molas, and Coal Bank passes.

Then when you start down you travel along Red Mountain Pass and the Million Dollar Highway.

The views are stunning

I never seem to tire of what I see

My mind usually wanders trying to figure out how those that came to settle this area felt…

We made it home in enough time to see to change the water.

Linda

Cultivating the Pinto Beans for the Last Time

Posted on July 15, 2010 by Dayphoto

Terry cultivated the pinto beans for the last time this growing season. The pinto beans are starting to shoot feelers (tendrils). This will cause the rows to grow shut. The little plants are also blooming; soon bean pods will appear and then fill with the tasty little beans.