Who doesn’t like John Denver?
I have ALWAYS like John Denver.
I so feel like this song…
This a poor little Black-Chinned Hummingbird sitting in the rain this weekend…he was just like me…waiting for the sun.
“If I had a wish I could wish for each of you I would make a wish for you I would wish for Sunshine for all of you!”
Your Friend here on a western Colorado Farm,
Linda
We had a small treat yesterday…our kids, who live in Grand Junction, Colorado, arrived with our granddaughter, her best friend, and their three fur children…”Would you like to go for a hike”? They asked!
“Sure” we replied!
Loading up Boomer, Terry and I followed them onto SawMill Mesa Road, past the Correctional Facility, then onto the old road to Escalante Canyon. Turning off we all parked and started hiking up a dry wash. They day wasn’t too hot and the bugs were still stunned from all the rain we had the two days before.
The desert wildflowers were stunning! But (to me) the most beauty came from those fleeting papery flowers of the cactus…
There were many different colors
Scattered here and there
Delighting in the recent moisture
Followed by warmth
and sunshine
A rare and lovely Gift!
Your friend,
Linda
Gradually my yard is evolving into the warmer colors
Yellow, pink, orange
With a dash of a brighter purple thrown in here and there.
What I really want to share with you is this darling little bird
I happened to be looking out the upstairs window at a Hummingbird (he/she was sitting on a branch peering into the window) when I saw hidden deep within the tree this precious site.
She is still there this morning, calm and peaceful…waiting and keeping warm those little eggs. I guess you know I’m going to be very discreet; keeping my eye on her. 🙂
Linda
We’ve been making siphon tubes. Seems like this is something we must do every year. Although the pvc pipe is really sturdy, it does wear out…cracking or splitting, even just plain breaking off at the end.
We first heat up a PVC pipe, which has been cut to length, in our handy-dandy oven. It’s my job to turn the tubes until the heat softens them.
Once soften (they fall down in the oven all warm and pliable), Terry picks them up quickly and puts them in his hand made siphon tube form. I showed you this same photo last Friday…Boomer watching. He is never sure if he should just watch or if we have something for him to do. 🙂
Over and over again we heat, shape and stack. Then when cool and hard we take them out to the fields…new tubes YAY! No more packing tubes from one set to another—just pick up a tube, fill with water, set down and done!
We have 30 more to go. Since we are doing this for ourselves we work at it off and on; a little today maybe some more in a couple of days. The last set of 30 is sitting out there waiting for us. Once we get those done we will have all we need for the rest of the farming season.
The weather is still nice and hot with a rather strong wind in the afternoons, but the weather people are saying this is about to change. A cold front with heavy moisture is to hit the Four-Corners area this evening then head our way by the week end. That’s okay…a little cool down is good for the plants and for ME! 🙂
The cold front will be fast moving (unless it stalls) so we should be able to cut the alfalfa next Wednesday. That’s the plan anyway.
Have a good one everyone…I’m off to mow the lawn!
Your friend on a Western Colorado Farm,
Linda
The upper corn field is a pasture away from the headgate. As Terry and I work (last night I shoveled ends and Terry dug the little depressions to hold the siphon tubes and then started the tubes, the night before he shoveled and I dug and started tubes) we can hear the roar and the crashing of the water in the FN Lateral Canal, as it moves over the little dam and into our headgate, then the turbulent flinging of the water back into the canal heading on toward the Gunnison River, then into the Colorado River.
It’s our own mini-Niagara Falls.
We usually work in companionable silence; the rumbling of the water making casual conversation hard to hear.
After checking the headgate for trash we drive through the Upper End pasture, around the Fox den area and take the ditch bank road separating the largest corn field from the Alfalfa field to set water in the soon-to-be-planted Pinto Bean field. (Whew! That was a long sentence!)
By this time the sun has set and twilight fills the land. I was walking back from the dirt ditch, (counting rows of set water as I went—too many open and the water dries up, not enough open and the cement ditch over-flows—when the full moon started rising.
I am not a ‘good taker’ of moon photos…usually I have the wrong camera with me at the time . Still I thought…why not. The full moon in June is called the Strawberry Moon.
Once away from the roar of the headgate the land is growing silent. Although, night is never truly silent, the sounds take on a deep hush, shhhhhhhhhhhhh, bidding our hearts to be still, step lightly, those who live in the daytime are preparing for sleep.
Here and there the night sounds start, the hoot of a owl, or a cry of a far away fox, the night birds starting to awake, the earth’s breath slowing down to a gentle heartbeat.
It’s easy to stand with Terry, our arms linked, or me resting against his chest his arm around me-both holding a shovel. 🙂
Silently we survey the rushing of the irrigation water down it’s own little furrow. Boomer at our feet, waiting for the word to load up.
The earth calms, our hearts match the beat of the earth’s– peace descends.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Yesterday was HOT, so hot that my towels dried on the clothes line in half-an-hour, flapped and snapped with the afternoon wind.
It made my laundry chores easy–wash, hang out, bring in, fold, and put away–load after load quickly ‘done’, no waiting about, finished!
The honey bees, the bumble bees and the hummingbirds all hummed and buzzed over the messy colorful flower beds as I washed windows and watered the flowers and the lawn.
It may have been hot, but it was peaceful.
The evening was still extremely warm as we sat the water in the top field of corn, then skirting the alfalfa field we changed the set in the pinto bean field.
People think of night falling…falling down around the land, closing off the day.
But really night doesn’t fall, the shadows of the land rise, filling first the hollows and the valleys, climbing up the slopes of the mesas as the sun sinks lower and lower toward the west. Gradually the shadows become darker creeping imperceptibly up fence posts and weeds.
The fields were so warm we could feel and smell the water as the earth and the plants sucked up the moisture. It was a joy to irrigate since the irrigation water has also warmed, no longer feeling like a fresh melted snowbank.
I stopped work to try and take a photo of the moon, which was gradually moving behind a pink cloud. I turned to smile at Terry I told him there is a huge joy of trying to capture what we see on a daily basis and share it with you.
By the time we were done, the sky had turned from pink to flaming gold. The sun was somewhere over Utah and the ground, the farm, was started to join the greater dark of the star and moon lite night above.
My cup of joy runneth over! I wish for each of you, my friends, the same.
Love,
Linda
We, Terry and I, are at a wee breathing spot…a little time in-between.
All the children and grandchildren have left— going back to their every day lives. We so Love them dearly. But when they are here they are the focus and the intent for the day. All we possibly can do revolves around them.
We also had the most wonderful gift of old friends (who are traveling through) stop for the evening. We talked forever outside drinking iced tea, as the day waned into the evening, watching the swallows flying high and low catching mosquitoes for their supper.
As dark descended we gathered up our glasses and came inside continuing to tell stories from the past, stories that are burned into your mind, memories that make you laugh-out-loud, just like you did those many years ago.
Gradually the glooming turned into true darkness, so I turned on a lamp or two. Still we sat comparing concerns over the economy, where the future is for our children and grandchildren, plans for the near future for ourselves and thoughts about ‘next year’.
Then it was truly dark. All of our senior citizen eyes were wanting to close, yawns were being discreetly stifled, bodies wanting to slump.
It was time to leave.
Later, much later, Terry and I were sitting up in the dark of the night; the silver moon lighting up the room. We sat side-by-side talking about the past week, all the hugs and loves–the swarm of activity —- the grandchildren’s parents coming to spend the night and head back home with our precious little ones. The good friends we have made over the long, long years of our live. Friends, to not only share memories with, but future plans, we decided—it’s okay be old. It has taken a lot of living to get to this place, but with that ‘lot of living’ we’ve had some pretty darn nice things happen.
Your friend on a Western Colorado Farm,
Linda
“Bored, 2P?’ (the family nick-name for Tally)
“Yes”, draping herself all over the arm of Grandpa’s chair, then rolling around until she is up on his lap. “Could we go for a 4-wheeler ride”?
“How can you be bored; you’ve got 5 boxes of domino’s out and are building all sorts of fences, and corrals, and dog houses?”
“I’m tired of building, Grandpa. I’m also tired of cartoons, and the Ipad, and petting Boomer and the cats and well, just everything”.
“You just got back from a morning of play with your little friend Izzy; you should be tired”.
“But I’m not, Grandpa. I want to do something with you that is fun.”
“Fun? We play chase 2P, catch 2P, fling 2P in the air lots of time.”
Sigh! “I know.”
“So just what is it that will take away all this sudden on-set of boredom?”
Turning around on Grandpa’s lap, and taking Grandpa’s face in her hands, looking Grandpa very seriously in the eyes she answered: “I think the only thing that will work and will work really well is a 4-wheeler ride, Grandpa”.
With a huge smile and one of those looks to me, Grandpa, picked up the little 7-year old and replied…”I think you are on to something, Tally. Let’s all go for a ride, you, me, Grammy and Boomer.”
(an ant hill surrounded by flowers on cactus hill)
“YAY”! The little granddaughter said with a huge grin on her face and a twinkle in her eye!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Yesterday was “one of those days”…I felt like I was drug through a knot hole, then stomped on after I was pushed the hole, flung out the window and the left in the thunder and rain. I was glad when the day ended.
Just plain glad.
This morning is ever so much better!
Checking my email I had this lovely rainbow gift from Count Chocula and Sara I needed this!
There was also one for me right here, across the field just waiting for me.
I had to remind myself…it all gets better with time. My mother was so right. She always said to me: “Everything always works out for the best, if you just let it”.
And it does.
Your friend on a Western Colorado Farm,
Linda
Our Craig, Colorado kids all went home…without two of the grandchildren 🙂 Blade wanted to stay with Aunt Shannon (part-time) and with his cousin on his Dad’s side some/most of the time. Blade and Zack are very close cousins and friends so spending time with each other is very special to both of them. Blade will also spend time with us…at 13 you just have so much you want to do, with so little time to do it.
Tally is staying with us. I will call a little friend she liked to play with sometime today and arrange a play date, but mostly it will be Tally, Grandpa and I. We will got see Aunt Shannon and Jason and the dogs and cats, but that will be just to visit.
Linkin and her best friend will be spending the whole week at Craig, no brother or sister to interrupt their very serious best-friend-forever time. Then next weekend we will switch and Linkin will spend the week with us. (I’m sure Elly will be here and Linkin will be at her house off and on.)
On our way to get some guinea pig food (Blade’s pig is staying with us also 🙂 ) Grandpa and Tally wanted to play at one of the parks on the way home. There was a little girl already playing there, which added to the fun. (Who do you think had the most fun?
1 Tally ?
2. New Friend ?
3 Grandpa ?
If you guess Grandpa…YOU WIN!!! Just look at that smiles— they say it all.
I’m so far behind on commenting, but please know that I am reading them. I am also reading your blogs. I am also a tad stretched at the moment, but I hope to get into a routine soon.
Your friend,
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 