Sunday, August 25, 2013

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Dayphoto

We have arrived at the last week of August! I already miss Summer!

The corn is starting to dent…maybe (just maybe) only one more irrigation then the corn will be left to dry. Harvest should occur in October.

The snakes are starting to hole up for the winter…we are seeing fewer and fewer every day.

The Hummingbirds are still here, although I’m having a terrible time keeping the honey bees off the feeders.

This sugar water is like some sort of drug to them, even crawling clear in PAST the bee guard then drowning.

Any suggestions on how to stop the bees from eating at the feeders would be greatly appreciated.

A huge storm blew in late yesterday evening complete with flood watches and warning out for today and tomorrow, then in will gradually leave just in time for the third and last cutting of the old hay field and to pull the beans.

Magic thoughts for at least two weeks (possibly three) of warm drying weather would be greatly appreciated. 🙂 🙂 🙂

I picked the cannas and the datura as my daily view for today…my tribute to a tiny tropical garden in western Colorado. 🙂

I guess there really isn’t much going on here — which I’m loving. I hope your day is just as nice.

Your friend, Linda

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Dayphoto

Terry and I spent all day working on the First Year hay field.

The dew was so heavy he wasn’t able to even start baling until 10:00 in the morning, by noon he stopped. Two hours of nice dew…another sign of fall weather.

He hopes to get the rest of the field baled today.

After lunch Tallen and I went out and straighten the crooked and fallen bales so Terry would not have to get off the tractor fix the hay bale get back up on the tractor start again.

By that time of the day it was HOT! But a nice little wind was blowing so the biting flies and mosquitoes were unable to land.

He worked until supper then stopped for a break.

After that the dogs and I went out and gathered the loose hay (sometimes the baler misses chunks) and picked up any broken bales (a broken bale is where one of the strings didn’t tie) and brought those in. By the time we were done it was too dark to continue.

The day was actually a really nice day….I finally got my kitchen and back porch cleaned, the windows and screens in those two rooms washed and the stove and refrigerator sparkling. Sure felt good.

Coming in I noticed how nice the Cannas looked against the firewood. I feel just like a squirrel … everything is starting to come together before the seasons change!

Today I tackle the BATHROOM! In-between the last of the hay field.

Your catching up with ‘stuff’ friend, Linda

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Dayphoto

The day’s are shorting now…around 7:30 in the evening we head out for the last check of water for the day.

We also are monitoring the pinto beans. The field is turning yellow, which means the pintos are now ripe and ready to be pulled.

Probably next Friday Terry will pull the pinto’s so they can start drying.

We will need the days to stay hot and dry once they are pulled.

(see the nasty bull thistle seeds)

(The steps for pinto bean harvest is — pull the plants and leave them lay until nice and crispy, combine the plants, which is taking the beans out of the dried plants and putting them into the hopper then the truck to be delivered to the Beanery, have the beans sacked and the sold—DONE for the year)

He is baling the new cutting of hay as I write this. The first of second week of September will be the third cutting of the old hay field. Dry weather needs to prevail for at least a month now. 🙂

The moon was lovely last night.

I also saw a small rainbow from the storms playing around us.

My four o’clock photo of the Daily View features my Sun dial garden… rich and lush with 4 O’clocks. The Hummingbirds love this area!

A very contented friend, Linda

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

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 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

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

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Dayphoto

Terry got the hay all in and most of it sold…orders came in Friday. Come Monday the most (of the rest) of the hay will leave.

The dogs and I got our part taken care of so Terry could finish up his. Aren’t they a hoot ‘helping’ me?

It’s raining here. The rain is nice. It started around 8 in the evening and has only stopped around right now. All the dogs are outside, which I like and so do they. The other nice thing about this rain is our temps have dropped to the high 70s, most enjoyable.

Our youngest grandchild is delighted with all the hummingbirds…she keeps hoping if she stands really still one will land on her.

Saturday afternoon I went with Terry to one of the 4-H and FFA annual livestock sales where Terry was representing a company he is on the board as a buyer. It’s been a long time since I sat in a sales ring watching kids bring their animals through for the sale. I found the experience lots of fun. I would post the photos here but I didn’t do a very good job taking them, they all turned out poorly.

Since it’s too wet to do anything outside I think this day is going to one of catching up and taking it easy all at once.

I hope you enjoy your Sunday…it is really nice here!

Linda

July 25, 2013

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Dayphoto

We are gradually getting back to a ‘normal’ life routine. I am still a tad bit over-whelmed, but I am making headway.

Terry checked the alfalfa this morning — it’s looking like maybe, just maybe, he can start baling tomorrow morning. (Fingers crossed since another storm is due in here in Saturday).

Today we have to go get wood for the winter. At some point soon, I hope, I can get my house cleaned and my yard weeded. We will see, some things just have to wait.

Have a good one everyone…it’s a beautiful day here.

Linda