NO EXCUSE—Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Dayphoto

There is absolutely no Excuse for dumping out an animal! EVER!!!!

I DO NOT care who the person is that does it or the reason why…if I could have caught them in the act THEY would have caught the bad side of my tongue AND I would have turned THEM into the sheriff’s office!

Grrrr and sigh all at once!

Someone dumped off this very beautiful older male cat. I have been trying to capture him for several weeks now…finally last evening I did!!

He is AT LEAST 6 or more years old, has been declawed (how did they expect him to catch his food and eat?!?!??!?), and is so thin I can feel all his bones, also he is extremely shy.

He has been running wild now for some time so I’m having a hard time calming him down. But this morning after a huge cat fight with me (if he could have hurt me he would have) he and I sat for an hour and just relaxed…almost, almost I felt a faint purr starting to develop, then the phone rang! All bets were off at that point!

My oldest daughter knows someone who wants a house cat and is willing to take this ‘fixed’ and declawed kitty to live in the house with them. (Cross your fingers, toes, arms and legs that she takes him!)

On top of this cat being dumped off whomever the jewels of humanity were also dumped off a young female at the same time whom must have had kittens. I suppose they kept the kittens and got rid of her! GRRRRR Anyway, I now have to catch an in-heat female. She is tame enough I can pet her, but she skitters away when I try to pick her up. (Magic thoughts that I can get her caught and to the vet SOON!) I also hope to have a family for her, so help in that way would be good also. I’m not sure if she is declawed or not, she certainly hasn’t been fixed so I doubt if she has been declawed.

What a nightmare for the cats! A pox on whoever dumps animals!!

Linda

Finished until March! Sunday, December 14, 2014

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Dayphoto

YAY! We are done!!! A Happy Dance around the farm!

One of the things about growing corn, and selling it by contract, you MUST have enough corn to fill the contract, or you will be penalized. So far (for about four years now) we have hit the marked with the amount we are supposed to deliver. The Elevator will take a few tons over, but not huge amounts.

This year we had 50 tons over the amount for fall delivery…we can deliver in March but not now. (That gives the elevator all winter to disperse of the corn).

So…..as much as we don’t like working with the corn at THE BOTTOM of the Grainery we got the largest Butler Bin ready and continued combining corn.

It was my job to manage the truck,

the auger,

the bin and the tractor….Terry finished combining.

My helper searching for corn kernels to munch on.

Two weeks into December and we are finally finished! Also we beat the winter storm, which pounded the California region and is now spreading rain and snow along the Rocky Mountains. This storm will move out of here today and head toward the bread basket of the United States pushed along with a very fast wind. Tomorrow until Thursday we are slated to have sunshine (BEAUTIFUL SUNSHINE).

Once we got the combined cleaned up and put to bed, the dump truck swept out and parked (he has ordered the booster for the brakes–he will work on them next week),

the auger (thats the auger with the green) slid back in it’s spot by the bins,

and the top on the grain bin we gave a HUGE SIGH of RELIEF!

Then yesterday afternoon we headed to Grand Junction to do a bit of shopping. I buy most of all things in Delta, but sometimes I need to go to the Whole Foods in Grand Junction for some stuff I either can’t make well, or I can’t make at all.

Today is Sunday…always, always we take this day off before the week starts again.

Thank you each and everyone for your support, cheers of encouragement and interest in our life on a western Colorado farm.

Your much relieved friend,

Linda

The Other Big Birds—Thursday, December 11, 2014

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Dayphoto

The Sandhill Cranes are starting to make our area more and more their home. Three miles away is a slough they have found and grabbed as their own (although, they seem to be sharing very happily with some ducks)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMPZD9GdGwk

I tried to take a decent video but….well, you see. Still it gives you and idea of their calls.

This is a close-up! Beautiful birds…but VERY SHY!

We have a few in the pastures at the upper end

And hiding in the harvested corn stalks!

Here they are getting ready to land in our corn field Terry harvested first!

Aren’t they beautiful? Lucky, lucky Us!

Your friend on a Western Colorado Farm,

Linda

X Marks the Spot—Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Dayphoto

Looking out my kitchen window this morning I saw the crossed trails as two jets winged their way to places I can only imagine.

Looking further down the sky I saw the mirids or Canada Geese flying in to spend the day with us. Quickly grabbing my camera and coat I slipped out the back door….carefully, carefully so that little Boomer dog would stay inside by the fireplace. (I didn’t want a delighted baying to set in and scare away the birds! 🙂 )

The mist was heavy on the corn fields surround the house so the shots aren’t as clear as I wanted, but you can still see the bounty of Canadian Geese we are enjoying.

Carefully I crept along the fence line…careful, careful…one, just one odd sound and they will rise in a great mass honking in alarm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF-zaQhdR2I&feature=youtu.be

The sky and the earth was over-flowing with the joyful sounds of the geese!

As the day brightened, and the mist lifted, even more Canadian Geese arrive…so many it looks like leaves off that wild plum trees.

They stayed for two days then moved on up to another field about 1/2 mile from us…but lucky for me…I was home when they chose to grace the next door field.

Somethings just must be shared…the bounty of beautiful geese is one of those things!

Your friend,

Linda

I’m Late, I’m Late—Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Dayphoto

I’m late today! Very late!

But we have been up and at’em since 5 this morning. What a joggle of a day.

The brakes went out of the LOADED grain truck —this time the booster. This time the truck stays parked until the brakes can be fixed. (This is exactly WHY most people do NOT want to deal with old equipment…but I digress!)

Thankfully the truck was in the yard and parked under the car port…blessings abound!

We covered the completely full truck up with a tarp and tied it down. Then while Terry ran over to a neighbor who works on semi’s, to see if there were parts he could get to fix the truck, I got the house straightened up ready so we could go get the other truck. Hines said Terry could use one of their trucks to finish up our fields (two to go—well, really 1 3/4 to go). If everything holds together we hope to be done by next week…fingers and toes crossed and magic thoughts and prayers…even a knock or two on wood!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

I have two beautiful photos from a long-time blog friend, OneFly...the first is a stunning rainbow he sent awhile back

and the second is a photo when he was going to San Jose…he loves the tropical places and travels somewhere warm and lush every winter. (This was taken in 2012—I thought it was fun to share it today, being how it is winter and brown and drab here 🙂 )

This winter he is in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where he shot this stunning photo of a very magenta dragonfly! How Cool is THAT! 🙂

I thank each and every one of you who send me photos to share! What a joyful gift these photos are, brightening my life and those who read my blog!

Your Friend,

Linda

The Music it Sings—Monday, December 8, 2014

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Dayphoto

When I was a child many years ago we had a lesson in the 4th Grade about space and light and the distance it took to travel from here to the moon. My teacher tried to illustrate light years by using a flashlight and pointing it into the heavens at night (anyway this is what my memory is telling me today). If a person were to turn the flashlight on and point it toward the heavens (at night) then turn the light off…the light from the flashlight would still keep going and going and going until it would hit a solid object. Then it would disperse.

*****

Every evening Daddy would bring home the Daily paper, my brother and I were NOT to touch the paper until he was through reading it. Mother wasn’t very interested in the paper, but Dad was…he read everything, including the ads. The second he was done one of us got the comic section —if it were Christmas time–the other of us started with the serial Christmas story until the comics were available.

About the same time as the lesson on the flashlight and the thought that light traveled until it hit an dense object I started reading a serial space comic about an all white woman who came down to earth to do great harm.

From that point on I was terrified of the darkness and space and being outside alone IN THE DARK!!! (shudder)

When all that changed I really don’t know. But the fear is gone, and has been for many, many years. I love walking at night, even late, late at night. To walk in the silver moonlight seems to fill my soul with it’s shimmery light. To walk without the moon, just a canopy of brilliant stars on a crisp and cold mid-night is … refreshing.

Today I wonder if the people of the world are pulling away from the call of land, sinking into technology and losing contact with the earth. It’s a fleeting wonder, for it’s not something I can do anything about.

As for me…I enjoy the internet and it’s gifts of friendships flung from here all the way around the world. But the land and the sky call to me the most and the longest and loudest—I hear the music it sings.

Your friend,

Linda

Quick Trip— Sunday, December 7, 2014

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Dayphoto

Friday night…no wait!!! Early Saturday morning –3:30—neither Terry nor I could sleep…worrying about getting the corn in…the brakes went out of the grain truck…everything was wet from the rain…just stuff. The kind of thing that bothers you at night but doesn’t in the daytime.

Around 4 o’clock Terry said: “Let’s get up and go to Craig and watch Blade’s basketball tournament.”

“Sounds good to me. If we leave here at 4:30 we should make it to the gym by 7:30. Blade plays at 8:00—won’t he be surprised when we walk in?”

So we did.

The drive was beautiful..randomly we could see the moon, but mostly it was cloudy, traffic was light (not many people up at that time of day), the deer, elk and antelope stayed somewhere safe for them and for us. Right at 7:30 a.m. sharp we walked into the gym…there he was! Lined up with the team…he saw us! A smile and a tiny wave let us know! Around 7:55 the rest of the family came through the ticket booth … huge smiles all around…it was a great surprise. We enjoyed this so much.

In-between Blade’s games we went up to see their Christmas decorations and to then to see the pigs, Linky is ‘sharing’ with their neighbor. (They are his pigs, but this very lonesome for the farm little girl, was asked by Mr. Chapman if she would like to help him gentle down and take care of his latest pigs). Every day she trudges up the hill to the pig barn and plays with the three little pigs–I forget their names. When she gets tired of them she then walks along and pets and brushes down all the other pigs in this very clean and friendly pig barn. There is no smell in this set up because of how the pigs are fed and taken care of…they have their own pellet stove for the winter and nice fans for the summer. These are special pigs raised only for showing…all the little pigs are sold only to those places that want show pigs. It’s a great life for a pig!

Then back we went to watch the basketball hustle. Bladen is a good basketball player! it was ever so much fun.

The only sad part in the whole day was Tally lost her backpack—hopefully someone found it and will return it to the school or to Kelly or Misty. One can always hope, I suppose.

We were heading back home right after the games, but the kids asked us to stay for a bite to eat and a short visit. We did…it was nice.

We made it back home just as the sun was going down around 4:30 or so. It was a very fast trip but a very nice trip.

Now we prepare for another week of harvest (we hope) only two more fields to go. It sure would be nice to be done before Christmas!

Your friend on a western Colorado farm

Linda

Underway–Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Dayphoto

Thank you so much! All your magic thoughts and your crossed fingers (and toes) and prayers have worked!

We are underway! The corn measured 14.6% with the first load and 13% with the second load! YAY!

The line wasn’t too bad; thirteen trucks when he showed up the first time and only 6 the second time. When he called this morning there were 8; it’s good to be close to the front of the line when you first drive in. Very good!

It only takes two hours to load the truck, but four hours to unload. 🙂

This time of year this type of corn is all used for animal feed, although it is the same corn that can be used to make cornbread or breading for corndogs. Our elevator is strictly for animal feed—dairy cows, chickens, sheep, beef cattle and hogs. Although, there are different mixes that go into feeding each type of animal.

The sweet corn…the kind that you buy in can (tins) is harvested from July until the first of September. This corn—sweet corn is also the corn that is eaten fresh right off the cob.

For us, our corn harvest is our main crop of the year…we have the most land tied up in the production of this crop. Corn prices are dismal this year, so next year Terry is thinking of raising more pinto beans and less corn. If he does that the Pinto Beans will become our major crop. (if he continues to farm…every year he says he is done, every spring the itch to get out on the land drives him back. Every year I wonder if it is going to be the last year…the reality is I really don’t think he can give up the farming—but we will see.)

For this year, and for now, the corn harvest has truly begun!

Thank you so much for your support!

Your friend,

Linda

Once More–Cross your Fingers and Your Toes–Monday, December 1, 2014

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Dayphoto

Daily we check the corn…riding out on the four-wheelers to get samples from all the fields. Samples on the ends, samples in the middle…then THERE IT WAS…the moisture content said…”Give it a go!” So we did!

Down the rows he went

Opening the driest field

Filling the truck with red/gold corn

Because it was the Thanksgiving holiday and the Elevator was good enough to stop and let everyone have a break….we parked the truck under the car port

Where Monkey-the -cat spent lots of her time checking to see WHY the grain truck was close to the house and not out by the barn.

Silly cat!

Gradually the sun started to set filling our skies with a purple haze

It was stunningly beautiful,

Unusual and gorgeous all rolled into a swiftly darkening day

Terry left for the Elevator at 5 this morning…when he called he was 13th in line and more arriving. It’s 9:00 a.m. right now and he still isn’t home. He will be lucky to be here at noon.

Keep your fingers and toes crossed, send prayers and magic thoughts, please that this load passes and we are out-on-the-land until all the corn is in!

Your friend,

Linda

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone—Thursday, November 26, 2014

Posted on November 27, 2014 by Dayphoto

Wishing each and everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. For those who do not celebrate the American Thanksgiving, I wish for you a day of Thanks for the blessings and gift of another day, another year, another joy.