The Adventures of TLC Cai-Cai on Wednesday—-Farm Life Series Chapter 14, The Third Season, SUMMER Drought, Wednesday, March 2, 2020

Posted on March 2, 2022 by Dayphoto

Okay. I’ve put it off long enough. Summer can mean—Drought.

Drought is some pretty awful stuff. Everything wilts, and I do mean everything…except the coyotes. They never wilt.

EVER!

Drought is a humongous dry spell. Once it starts it never seems to leave.

Although, Mom says it can be broken.

Ya…I wonder.

What’s bad about drought it kills all the good stuff, which leaves space for all those pesky weeds to spring up and grow.

Weeds are the coyotes of the plant world.

Kochia weed can grow taller than DAD and Dad is 6’2” tall.

That is some weed!

Then when it dries down in the winter it becomes a tumbling, giant, scare the heck out of you.

Well, that’s all for Summer. Next on the list is Fall. Or Autumn or finally COOLER WEATHER!

TLC Cai-Cai

The Adventures of TLC Cai-Cai on Friday—-Farm Life Series Chapter 13, The Third Season, SUMMER Woes, Friday, February 25, 2020

Posted on February 25, 2022 by Dayphoto

There are lots of Woes, weather-wise, in Summer.

Sometimes we get Hail Storms.

Yep.

And Heavy Scary Thunder and Lightning Storms.

Scary stuff.

I mean VERY SCARY STUFF!

Like OVER-THE-TOP Scary!

In Early Summer we get Dust storms…these are caused by—you got it—WIND.

Wind coming off the Uncompahgre Plateau across and through the canyons, right up onto the Mesa we call home.

California Mesa.

Then all the worked-up ground becomes DUST and blows right into our eyes, ears, and mouths.

Sure, is a Mess.

If it’s late summer heading into Fall—when the air cools way down and the Earth is still warm…then the canals and water ditches and the river makes FOG!

Mom loves Fog…I told you she was a little strange. Off she goes to go WALKING in the FOG!

Dad and I just let her.

TLC Cai-Cai

The Adventures of TLC Cai-Cai on Friday—-Farm Life Series Chapter 11, The Third Season, SUMMER and Water, Wednesday, February 23, 2020

Posted on February 23, 2022 by Dayphoto

Summer is all about one thing:

Water!

Water for the crops

(which I will tell you about in another series)

and Mom keeping her flowers and stuff wet.

And Dad keeping the farm crops growing.

Water!

The Life Blood for the Farm!

This water stuff doesn’t come to end until late August or early September.

It all depends on how fast the corn matures

and when the last cutting of alfalfa occurs.

For Mom, the watering of her yard comes to a hault

when the farmer next door stops watering his fields.

Water…there is more to it than meets the eye.

TLC Cai-Cai

The Adventures of TLC Cai-Cai on Friday—-Farm Life Series Chapter 11, The Third Season, SUMMER Rain, or, Friday, February 18, 2020

Posted on February 18, 2022 by Dayphoto

Or the lack-there-of RAIN! Usually, the weather people say scattered thunderstorms or rain showers are expected.

Which means, in the mountains, not right here on the farm.

Each and every day Mom goes about with a huge smile on her face…’ it’s Summer, TLC My Cai-Cai…the very best time of the year’! She says to me.

She has GOT to be kidding!

Sometimes the temperatures run right up and over 100*f. Even the shade melts.

I know. I’ve tried sitting in it.

Dad, says ‘it’s so hot it is hard to DO ANYTHING.’

Boy, do I ever agree!!!

Mom is crazy…

she goes about SINGING!

Mom is crazy.

Yes, she is.

Pant, pant, puff, puff

TLC Cai-Cai

Some Paths —Thursday, February 17, 2020

Posted on February 17, 2022 by Dayphoto

Some paths are hard to walk

Some paths easy

All you can do is walk down the path until you come to the end.

Then at that point, you understand the path and your feet upon it.

From my heart to your world,

Linda

The Adventures of TLC Cai-Cai on Wednesday—-Farm Life Series Chapter 10, The Third Season, SUMMER, Means Heat, Friday, February 16, 2020

Posted on February 16, 2022 by Dayphoto

Summer is the season HOT! HOTTER! HOTTEST!

Pant! Pant!

Spring is pretty—I guess. It does have wind, but still, it is cool enough I don’t pant.

Summer starts sometime in May or June. Depends on what the weather wants to do.

Another sure fact is Mom gets out the lawnmower and

SCARES THE HECK out of me.

I hide in the trees so that big machine won’t get me.

Anyway, for this tiny series, I will talk to you about SUMMER!

Hang on! I’m sure you are going to be just like me and be HOT!

(Oh, by the way, Mom LOVES Summer.

Mom IS crazy like I said earlier.)

TLC Cai-Cai

The Adventures of TLC Cai-Cai on Friday—-Farm Life Series Chapter 9, The Second Season, Spring, Means WIND, Friday, February 11, 2020

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Dayphoto

Yes! It! Does! All the Time! WIND!

It starts around the last week of February or the first week in March. And it doesn’t stop blowing.

Oh. That maybe a bit of a stretch, but, I think you get it.

Mom is silly. She likes the wind. Well, most wind.

She doesn’t like the kind of wind that picks up buildings and flings them here and there.

But she does like the kind of wind that lifts her hair off her head and flinging it everywhichwayandup.

Mom is crazy.

Just say’n.

TLC Cai-Cai

The Adventures of TLC Cai-Cai on Wednesday—-Farm Life Series Chapter 8, The Second Season, Spring, Means Rain, Wednesday, February 9, 2020

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Dayphoto

Well, as you found out I am talking to you about our weather. For now, in this post, we have now moved to Spring (although, it IS NOT Spring right now. Just for this wee report on the weather here on the farm)

Spring weather is busy weather. Always. That is why I told you about all the ‘work’ on the farm…work is a type of weather, you see. All that tooing and froing brings a sorta wind to everything.

Spring brings all the songbirds back so that (yum, slurp, lick) the whole world sounds like BIRDS!

Also, it’s time to say goodbye to those BIG birds. They rise up one day and point south in a huge arrow, call GOOD-BYE to Mom. Mom waves goodbye to them; throws a kiss, tells them safe journey, and come back again. The farm is always waiting for them.

And they are —- gone!

But for REAL Spring weather we turn to RAIN!

Good ole make your fur so wet it takes three hours of constant licking to ever get dry again.

Mom pets me and tells me…rain is good, TLC Cai-Cai, it cleans the earth, washes everything new, and helps all the plants grow and turn green.

Mom doesn’t understand how TIRED my tongue gets.
Just say’n.

TLC Cai-Cai

The Adventures of TLC Cai-Cai on Friday—-Farm Life Series Chapter 7, The Second Season, Spring, Farm Work, Friday, February 4, 2020

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Dayphoto

First…yes, each and every time…first is Dad getting one of the tractors out and hooking it up to something. More than likely to the disk.

Then he uses the disk, after which he will plow, then roll, then level, then mark out.

Yep…each and every day in each and every field Dad will do this.

ALL except to the alfalfa field. That requires something different.

In-between all that ‘tractor work’ Dad will figure out something he wants to do BEFORE everything gets too busy.

There will be — hauling stuff to the dump,

or hauling a load to the metal buying place, or maybe even finishing up something he started in the winter.

Spring gets to be B.U.S.Y!

In the meantime, when Mom isn’t helping Dad do something, Mom is getting her yard ready for Spring. This means, raking EVERYTHING, spading up the ground where she wants to plant something new,

plus keeping on hauling in wood.

Because, You See, March is still COLD!

Which works for me!

Because I LOVE the COLD!

Just Say’n.

TLC Cai-Cai

The Adventures of TLC Cai-Cai on Friday—-Farm Life Series Chapter 6, The Second Season, Spring, Wednesday, February 2, 2020

Posted on February 2, 2022 by Dayphoto

By the end of February Dad is getting pretty excited to start farming. Why even some of the other farmers…the BIG GUYS… have started. It all depends on the frost in the ground, or not in the ground.

Dad and Mom have been busy ‘doing stuff’ most of January and most of February. This stuff usually consists of whatever it takes to make the FARMING SEASON go smooth.

Sometime in late March or April, the Apricot trees will start to bloom.

Mom says LATE APRIL, please. If you must bloom make it LATE APRIL!

You see there are still many, many cold nights and days that kill things that burst forth into robustious blooms.

A cold snap (or a terrible freeze) doesn’t seem to hurt the trees or the leaves (or lack thereof) on the trees, but it does take a huge whack out of the blossoms!