A Happy 6th Birthday

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Dayphoto

Linkin wants to grow-up and be a Paleontologist. If she can’t do that then maybe she could look into Archeology, but that is only a second choice. She has a huge (HUGE) collection of dinosaurs and knows as much as she possibly can about them. She can say thier names, tell you what age of time they lived in, where you are more than likely going to find them, and what they eat. She will tell you, if you want to ask.

So for her 6th Birthday we took everyone to the Dinosaur museum.

She was delighted!

The roar and movement of the ‘models’ didn’t bother her, all of the demonstrations were exciting

And on top of all of this…

She is now old enough to ride her bike all the way over to Grammy’s all by herself.

Linda

New Friends

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Dayphoto

It’s always special to meet people with whom you have been blogging with for some time.

Tammy her husband Steve and thier darling daughters

made the long trip to see us one hot Sunday day. We took them to the tractor pull and then toured the Pioneer Town privately owned by the owner of the Tractor Pull track.

They moved to Colorado a year ago http://andersonadventures.blogspot.com/2009/04/final-post-of-day.html from Wisconsin. For Tammy it was a sort of coming home and a new adventure for Steve.

Meeting new friends for the first time in person is really special! But after all the times of blogging it feels like they are old friends.

Linda

Momma Deer and the First Cutting of Hay

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Dayphoto

We had a very busy four days off, Terry got the beans harrowed off (you have to do this or the crust on the top will prevent the little beans from coming through), it’s been so hot and windy that everything has dried out all over again. Irrigating is a constant.

We celebrated Evan’s 39th birthday. Gosh I’m getting old, Shannon is 41, Evan 39, Kimi 35 and Misty 32 where does time go?

Memorial Day we took flowers to graves, looked at where our family plots are and celebrated

With lots of food and family and cooking.

Tuesday, Terry cut the hay…first cutting of the year

The ditch rider came by and locked the gate on our headgate. The spring run off is over so any extra water is done for the year. If it stays as hot and windy as it has been we will be changing water every 10 hours instead of 12. We do get a reprive every once in awhile when a cold front blows through, but that doesn’t last long.

Of course now that the hay has been cut we want the hot weather to stay and rain to come again some other day. 🙂

The following Archaeological Rock Art I call “Momma Deer”. The white chip-like markes are from people vandalising the ‘sign’ by shooting it with guns.

I have several furlough days in June, but I get to work on my yard (and do some things I can’t get done when I’m getting a pay check ). It all works out in the end.

Linda

Everything is Now in the Ground

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Dayphoto

Planting is done for the year.

These are Bill Zee pinto beans. By the end of the growing season they will be heading to someone’s cooking pot.

This is my corner of the field, where the garden usually sets– four rows from the top of the field to the bottom.

But NOT this year!

I’ve cut back when the wind beat what I planted to death. Now it’s all planted to sweet corn…well only 2 rows and only half-way down the field.

I graciously let Terry have the rest of the field for pinto beans. He graciously planted my sweet corn with his planter…we are both happy!

The tractor will weed for me and I only have to pick and can it.

Not a bad trade off!

Linda

The New Project

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Dayphoto

A 1948 Willy’s Jeep

Pretty Cool, isn’t it!!!

It’s one year older than me!

Linda

Four Days of High Winds

Posted on May 25, 2010 by Dayphoto

What a long weekend, four days of very strong, 50-60 m.p.h. wind hit our area A.G.A.I.N.!!

This sure has been a hard spring for wind.

My poor garden plants didn’t survive. I tried covering them, but the wind blew off the covers. I guess I will settle for just stuff growing in my yard instead of the garden spot in the field. I will just turn the garden spot into a sweet corn patch and be done, sweet corn is always good.

In spite of the wind driving out all the moisture and crusting the soil all our hard-dent corn is up. Terry is planting pinto beans today.

Planting season is just about over! Spring should be moving into summer soon.

Next it will be time to cut the alfalfa.

Linda

The Evening Irrigation

Posted on May 20, 2010 by Dayphoto

When I got home from work I found muddy boots greeting me as I walked into the door…first on the outside steps

and then inside;

I guess the ditch bank was a tad bit muddy today after all the rains. 🙂

But I must confess I enjoyed the freshness of the late afternoon. There was still some rain hanging around in the mountains

but it slowly dried up.

As Terry moved the water

and I helped walk the water down the rows

Fuzzy chased bubbles in the ditch

the skies clear somewhat giving us a profound ending to another day.

I am sometimes just plain humbled to know that we have this amazing earth to call our home.

Linda

A Gift of Rainbows

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Dayphoto

It rain, it poured, the wind blew and then hail fell, followed by more rain. That is how late afternoon went, Terry and I came in from irrigating just soaked. Just after supper, when I was getting ready to put the chickens up for the night, the sun came out and a double rainbow appeared.

But if that wasn’t gift enough on the way to work I saw….

After I dropped down the hill I saw this…

And just as I drove into work another appeared.

I feel incredibly blessed and more than extremely lucky! Someday I would like to see a moonbow. I saw a really neat article on moonbows stating that moonbows are really rare for conditions have to exactly right: a clear, dark night, full of heavy mist or raindrops and a particularly bright full or near-full moon shining low in the sky behind you.

In 1879, Mark Twain reported while out to sea “a magnificent lunar rainbow—a complete arch, the colors part of the time as brilliant as if it were noonday.”

I’m sure witnessing a rain-spawned moonbow is matter luck, but maybe sometime I’ll be some place that air pollution and artificial lights can’t ruin and I’ll see one.

At least I hope to,

someday…

before I die. 🙂

Linda

Crops

Posted on May 18, 2010 by Dayphoto

The crops are starting to come along. Everything is really slow because of the cold weather. But finally the corn is poking through the ground in the middle field, and the east field’s seed is starting to soften and sprout. If the weather would warm up and stay warm (corn likes warm weather) the fields will green up nicely.

Terry is watering the bean ground, last set, and then it will dry for awhile before he plants. Here again we could use some warmer weather to dry out the subbed soil enough for planting.

I did get my garden planted this weekend, the garden rows share the same field as the pinto beans, I cut back some, instead of ½ of an acre I shrunk. It’s just too hard to keep everything going at my age and still work at a paying job!!! 🙂

The alfalfa is enjoying the cooler weather though. It won’t be long now before the first cutting, probably in about three weeks.

One thing about being out in the fields the views are amazing. On one side is the San Juan Mountains, the other view shows you the West Elk peaks, and in the north is Grand Mesa, the largest flat-top mountain in the world. But what butts up to our mesa is the Uncompahgre plateau.

Actually the Uncompahgre is more than a plateau it is a mountain range full of cliffs, canyons and mesas 90 miles long. When the sun is just right you can see this amazing geology so full of mystery and wonder.

Anyway, the wind has some good use, besides bringing the sap up in the trees and bushes. 🙂

As long as there is snow up there we will have wind.

Linda

Gates Around Our Place

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Dayphoto

Gates are one of the most necessary items to any farm or ranch. We have a large selection of different types of gates. The above is the gate to the pasture.

They keep critters in, and they keep children safe. This is our yard gate.

This kin can shock you, if you grab the wire instead of the handle. The baling twine (next to duct tape the most useful item on the place) is used to let people know there is an electric fence there. To open just grab the yellow handle and push back the little hook will let go of the fence. If the handle is broken ….you will get shocked.

The gate to the ‘birth’n’ pen is the most rustic on the farm. Our farm was homesteaded and created in 1903. The corrals were place in 1906. Some of these poles were cut and hauled down to farms and ranches in our area from the Uncompahgre Plateau. There is even a mesa on the Uncompahgre called Saw Mill Mesa because of the Saw Mill(s) up there.

Enjoy your weekend! I hope the weather if fine where ever you are!

Linda