Four Pair on July 25, 2013

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Dayphoto

I have four pair of Bullock Orioles, although only three females are sitting here. I liked the photo because each one was on a different feeder!

A summer storm has blown in last evening. Although, it cooled things down (which is really nice) it also has brought with it the potential for rain.

We really would NOT like to have rain right now…after the hay is up and stacked — rain would be nice. Keep your fingers crossed that we make it. We have people either calling or driving down the lane to ask if we are ready to sell.

Not yet. But soon if the weather holds off.

Terry is working on the 630 John Deere to get it ready for the pinto bean harvest. Boy, that seems to be coming fast. He thinks by the last week in August we will be able to start harvesting the pintos. Whew! Time is flying.

Well, off to get many, many things done as I have let stuff slide since the 6th of July. Things are starting to even out now so I hope to get past ‘maintain’ into fix.

Linda

Hummingbirds July 23, 2013

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Dayphoto

I’m going to post some photos of the huge amount of hummers we have now…at least 40 visit the feeders all day long. We have the Black-chinned Hummingbird, the Broad-tailed Hummers, Ruby-Throat, Rufous so far!

I’ve tried to get a photo of all of them at once, but it is proving futile.

But still I try

I saw a rainbow …

they always give me a good feeling of…well…

I guess HOPE!

Off to water my plants before the heat sucks us down to nothing. It’s supposed to be 101* today.

Linda

July 18, 2013 Sweet Corn Theft

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Dayphoto

A little of this and a little of that — our corn is starting to tassel and to make baby ears. Our corn is NOT sweet corn. We have corn that is used for corn meal and to make into feed for animals.

Not sweet corn.

BUT the sweet corn harvest has started in our area….you should be seeing western Colorado sweet corn arriving in your grocery any day now. This area’s sweet corn is raised for two companies, Tuxedo/Olathe Sweet and the other company, Mountain Fresh.

The sweet corn farmers around here are having trouble with people stealing the sweet corn — this whole story is really sad.

What happens is in the dead of night the thieves drive into the sweet corn field, drive to the middle of the field then take the pick-up and start driving through the middle of the corn…they strip the rows they knock down with the truck (someone must be in front of the truck picking — then the truck drives forward and knocks the rows down) while there must be people on either side of the truck because they strip the two rows on either side of the truck…they go through the whole field this way, evidence shows that they have a small fleet of trucks so as one if full the other one gets full until they get to the end of the field.

Then they drive off to who knows where, once they leave the field there isn’t a way to prove that that sweet corn in the back of their truck is stolen. The perfect crime.

This doesn’t seem like much, since the cost to you is in pennies or nickles or dimes or, possibly, quarters. But that is money to the farmer, for every ear of sweet corn a farmer sells he makes anywhere from $.02 -(at the most) $.05 an ear. Truck loads of luscious sweet corn leaving is either the break even point for the farmer or the profit, most times it’s the break even point.

Gradually, as the sweet corn harvest went on last year the farmer’s grew desperate and hired night guards to protect their fields and their crops.

This also happened with the onion crops last year.

So this year farmers are starting out with night watchmen to protect their hard earned investment. This whole thing is sad.

There is a fire in Utah somewhere. Sometimes we see the smoke.

I’m off to get some of my yard work done now that the pinto bean field is cleaned of corn.

Have a good one!

Linda

July 16, 2013

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Dayphoto

I have about 4 pair of Hummingbirds

at my feeders now, plus two pair of the Bullock Orioles/

My photos are STILL not very good, but I’m working on them.

Part of the problem is how shy the Bullock’s are —

the hummers are getting better about having me around.

I can work in the flowers right under the feeders with them flying all around…

the second I get my camera…………………sigh.

Then I saw a RUFUS humming bird…he and his mate were have a great time mixed in with all the other hummers…

I was extremely excited to see and actually get a photo of the little bird.

Have a good one everyone…we are off to haul firewood today. Seems strange to think of firewood in July, but we must if we are going to stay warm this summer. We will haul seven Dodge truck loads minimum before we have enough…last year the winter went on way too long and really needed 9 truck loads. So one day a week for the next seven (possibly nine) weeks we will be hauling wood!

Have a good one everyone!

Linda

July 7, 2013

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Dayphoto

I have a pair of birds (of which type I do not know) who have made a delightful little nest in the lilac tree.

They used lots of different things to make the nest including pieces from one of the old tarps we have out by the grain bins. 🙂

I always have to smile when I walk by and look up.

They don’t…both Mom and Dad scream alarms and take off swooping and flying to hurry me on by.

Next week Terry should cut our second cutting of alfalfa… sometime around the 12th or so!

The summer is flying by. Only one more cutting of alfalfa here and then it will be fall.

I am hanging onto every day for I really dread WINTER!

Today is lovely so we are off to see some ancient Indian dwellings. I’ll have photos for you tomorrow (I hope)

Have a good one!

Linda

June 6, 2013

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Dayphoto

Just for a little fun (and to answer some of your questions) I’ll post these few photos of the Corvette Stingray

We’ve had the car for a long time (I never drive it–but I do ride in it)

He used to drive it in the winter

Since it has a rag top and a hard top.

But the icy roads and blizzard conditions made him stop that nonsense and just use it in the summer time….with the top down.

He gets offers all the time to buy it…but, well, you know the answer to that question 🙂 It’s Terry’s baby.

Linda

June 23, 2013

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Dayphoto

We are still having hot windy days. No rain in site here…it’s gathering forces and waiting for the second cutting of hay…. 🙂 …just saying.

Some days smoke fills the air coming from some horrid forest fire somewhere, then the wind starts and moves it out.

We have wind gusts up to 30 m.ph. hour in the afternoons and early evenings.

But if you get in this little convertible

and take a little ride…the sun feels good on your head and the wind feels lovely in your hair.

Summer….who could ask for more?

Linda

June 19, 2013

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Dayphoto

Since it has been so hot we drove up to Lee’s Reservoir for a morning of relaxation.

The dogs loved the swim and everyone loved the break.

Sometimes you just have to get away for a couple of hours. In this case we took three hours out of the day. When we got back the wind was blowing with gusts up to 30 m.p.h.

The weather people are saying we can expect the same again today. The wind should help in clearing out all the smoke which came in over-night from the fire in Utah.

Fire is such a sad part of summer.

Linda

June 17, 2013

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Dayphoto

I have some ‘new’ to me birds feeding at my Hummingbird feeders. I really don’t know what they are so if someone out there does, please let me know.

It is possible these are the Lesser Goldfinch, but I’m not sure.

I am surprised that these big birds like to drink the sugar water…they chase the hummers off and have a go at it; draining the feeder in a very short while.

At first the hummers tried to dive bomb these big birds but they have given up now. If the big birds show up the hummers just move down to another feeder or fly up into the tree branches.

I tried putting out other types of food, but nothing tastes as good as sugar water! 🙂 They just let the oranges turn to cardboard….

If you know please drop me a comment…it would be fun to know who is ‘bellying up to the bar’, so to speak.

Linda

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Dayphoto

Thank you to everyone who wished Fuzzy a Happy Birthday!

Terry and I have been making siphon tubes. We always have a few that split and/or crack during the year.

We first heat up a PVC pipe, cut to length, then put the soften tube into a homemade mold to let the plastic cool back down in the shape we want. After we get whatever it is we are needing for whatever field we are working on, we take them out and put them right to work.

The days are hot….really too hot for June, more like July hot…tomorrow we are supposed to hit 102*, yesterday it got to 99*. Today we will hit somewhere around that again.

Our heat is nothing like the areas that have high humidity with it. We are considered High Mountain Desert so our heat is a dry heat.

What is nice about desert heat is is does cool down during the night. Mornings are nice! When Terry and I went out to change the water this morning at 5:30 we both wore a light jacket…that won’t be the case later in the day or this evening.

Last night Terry stepped wrong and tore his calf muscle. What a mess…poor guy! It’s his left leg so I have to do the driving where there is a stick shift and do the walking up and down the ditch bank. Now we work as a different team…he supervises and I tote and fetch and carry and lay and start the tubes.

I think I liked the other team better—you know like teamwork. 🙂

I’m a little concerned about hauling hay, as I’ve never ran the loader… ever! I can pick up and move bales by hand, but the loader…..

Maybe he can hook up the loader to the 730 as it has a hand clutch—we will see. Tomorrow he will go to the Doctor and then we will figure out how to haul the hay.

As they say—where there is a will there is a way!

We will get there, he just needs to take it easy and let the muscle reattach itself.

This is pretty grainy because I was way too far away.