That fun little star shaped balloon
And a grandson who wanted to paint the trim on the upstairs window!
Your friend,
Linda
After Terry cut the alfalfa and I stopped painting for the day–meaning after supper, we went out and worked in the pinto bean field.
WE FINISHED!!! The pinto beans are free and clear (for a spell)
There will be weeds appearing again, but for Terry and I— we are done. The pinto beans are starting to shoot the feelers. These little vines will grab onto to each other and cause the rows to grow shut.
The sun had set and we were heading back home, when I noticed something flashing and twinkling in the late evening sky.
Drifting down, down, down we saw it land gently in the upper part of the pinto bean field. Hopeing it would NOT get away I hurried to the upper end of the pinto bean field, to see a helium balloon shaped like a star resting among the pinto bean rows.
A fun little gift from the heavens!
I nestled the star on the four-wheeler, laying a large rock on it’s string, tucked my weeding knife securing under the bars and brought the falling star home.
Your friend on a Western Colorado farm,
Linda
Blue Skies, nothing but, blue skies…(Ella Fitzgerald)
The rains have gone, soon to be replaced with triple digit heat.
I’m painting on the this side of the house today.
Yesterday and the day before was up here! One thing about it, I could see for miles. Although, I tried NOT to look down.
In the evening Terry, Boomer and I weed the pinto bean field. It’s not toooo huge, only 20 acres. We work at it morning and evening. Once the beans shoot the feelers and the rows grow shut we won’t be able to weed anymore. Weeding is terribly important…if you get too much trash in the pinto beans the elevator docks you for the cleaning of the beans.
We take a break; sipping iced tea outside, in the cool of the shade. Resting a spell and listening the bees hum as they gather pollen.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
It rained during the night, leaving the earth moist and damp with a faint chill of autumn in the air.
Fall is just an illusion, for tomorrow the heat of summer returns, gradually bringing with it triple digit weather—perfect for cutting the alfalfa to make into hay.
But today …. today Terry is cultivating the pinto beans and I am getting closer to finishing painting. (I have the top of the house done and part of the north side. All that is left is the large area of east side and a section of the front/north porch.)
A very ordinary day! But the sheer ordinariness is comforting in and of itself.
Your friend,
Linda
On Sunday the work slows down to just the things which must be done
We changed the water in the pinto bean field (that is our house and barns in the distance)
And changed the water in the smallest corn field. (Grand Mesa is in the background)
That is all.
I walked through my yard, watering the pots and deadheading some of the flowers.
It was like walking through a cloud of perfume, in some places. The low hum of the bees filled the air along with the chirps of the birds.
The peace was strong enough to fill forever.
I am blessed beyond measure.
Your friend,
Linda
The west side of the house is done!!!
YAY!
And the south side was finished last night after supper. Terry had to come help on a couple of scary (for me spots).
Now all that is left is 3/4 of the east side (with a very scary part surrounded by the metal roof…I don’t know if I can do all threes sides of that upstairs jut-out! I just don’t know. I can do the east part, by hanging out the window…the two sides will require I am in a safety harness. That alone has me trembling in my flip-flops.
Then there is the north side of the house…sigh!
Double sigh!
It is the tallest part of the house and the steepest. Terry doesn’t even like working up there. The scaffolding will work on part of it….I just have to get my head around the whole process before I can tackle the front of the house.
Today I’m taking the day off. My painting arm is exhausted so is my back and my knees. One day off will do me good. 🙂 Besides we always take of Sunday…a day of rest.
One nice thing is it hasn’t been hot. Lovely cloud cover most days, OR the day starts out sunny then the rain clouds come in cooling everything down.
Sure has been nice…roof tops are HOT and so are blinding white houses.
As Red Skelton used to say as he closed off his show: “May God Bless [Good Night]”
Your friend,
Linda
First light—-one would think that the air is silent but it isn’t, not at all.
The are birds calling, water rushing in the canal–
10:00 a.m. There is a rich green smell of the alfalfa field as the day heat up.
The birds and the insects are full voice, by this time, and the air dances with life.
Clouds scuttled over the top of us, causing the sun to highlight Hay Stack Mountain way at the end of Roubioux Canyon. When Terry and I were young the old-timers would tell that Hay Stack Mountain was scared to the Ute Indians. And (if) you were to climb to the top there you would see many Indian artifacts. Neither Terry nor I have ever been on Hay Stack Mountian. The road is closed to motorized vehicles, one must either walk or ride a horse.
Coming home (from a magnificent meal with our daughter and son-in-law who live in Grand Junction, Colorado) we drove in a rainstorm complete with a rainbow.
Colorado rainstorms can be abrupt and vigorous—the wind blows in black clouds– then they break dropping water in a rush.
Quickly the storm moved toward the north and the east…leaving us with a sky full of vivid color.
Your friend
Linda
Everyday, every four hours the water is checked and possibly changed.
I’m still painting on the house…most of the west side is done, I’m working on the eves. I have part of the south side, but still need to CLIMB up on the roof to do the next level…after than I have the east side (You are looking at the east side) and the north side.
Terry blading the ruts and holes out the driveway
There are always little joys, through out the day.
dark we just keep truck’n on. (At our ages we are very, VERY, thankful we can still truck-on, just as we always have.)
It’s still clouding up and raining here and there and all around. It’s nice because the rain IS keeping the heat at bay.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Summertime and the liv’n is not as easy as winter. Tee Hee
This Terry coming in from making ditches…that’s the ditcher on the back.
I’ve been painting the outside of our house. It really needs it. Last year I painted down at the other house, but this year I MUST focus on this place.
Our corn is getting close to tasseling out! What a joy that is–the too wet and cold spring, followed by smashing heat gave us a wonder if the corn was going to pull through.
Here Terry is staking a load of hay…I am in charge of getting the stack stable…think poles and such holding up the stack…not a hard job, but a necessary job. We are already getting hay customers, which is a very good thing.
Of course there is always water to change, several times a day. If not change at least check.
I would really like to wash my windows, but we are being gifted with afternoon thunder and rain storms…I think I will wait a spell. 🙂
Boomer and I go out to scatter the corn once a day. This is old corn we keep around to feed the deer, birds, raccoons, whatever or whoever wants some—it keeps the critters OUT of the corn fields.
Life is busy. To be honest with you I really don’t want it any other way.
Off now to keep painting — I just about have one side done. ( We have a two-story house…I sure dread the 2nd story 😦 )
I still need to do the eaves on the west side, which is going to be time consuming.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
This little granddaughter (when the family moved to Craig, Colorado) had a horrible time adjusting to life in a subdivision (although a very spacious subdivision) and a life without the farm.
But the farmer and neighbor who lives just up the hill asked Linky if she would like to help gentle down his very special pigs. (Mr. Chapman raises pigs for shows and for breeding purposes only.)
Everyday Linkin would trudge up the hill to play and pet and love on the three pigs.
These are the pigs today. One of the piglets has a heart attack and died, but two are doing fine. Soon to be Momma’s. Linky told me one will farrow around the last week of July and the other the first week in August.
What more can a child ask for!
While we were there Linky and Mr. Chapman took us on a tour of the pig barns where we visited the boar, all the soon to be Momma hogs, the weiners and the various stages of pig lives.
Mr. Chapman is a very good and kind pig farmer. The pens are open, clean and spacious. The sows give birth in a natural environment, handled all the time so they are very gentle, and fed only the best of natural feeds. (They also have a pellet stove in each house and cooling fans in the summer.)
Next month it will be Linkin’s turn to spend a week with us. First we had Tallen, then Blade and last will be Linky.
Your friend on a western Colorado Farm,
Linda