Haze from the smoke settles thickly everywhere now
With hardly a breath of wind
The sun is beautiful trying to break through the blanket of low hanging smoke
Becoming tired of thinking about, trying to breathe,
I decided to take some photos of birds
All fluttering about looking for food
Checking my camera later I realized,
I actually DID get an excellent shot of a Hummingbird in full flight!
I was DELIGHTED! To say the least!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Smoke spreads its grey self all across the hills, dales, and valleys of our area.
Changing the light into strange colors; unusual and weird. Colors that could make the hair stand up on your neck if you thought about it much.
The smoke disturbs the sunset, albeit in a rather pretty way
Chaos
Death’s Kingdom for those in the fire’s deadly path
Smoke filling the skies spitefully
The sun, no longer bright and overwhelming,
Edged and shrouded in smoke…
Available to be seen by the naked eye.
The west so needs rain. Please pray for rain…the fires are terrible here in the west…
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Chapter Nine
Dad had ‘stuff’ to do in town.
So, Mom, Mindy,
and I hung out in the yard
with the hens. Mom worked.
Mindy and I had ‘stuff’ to do.
Then Mom called me and asked if I wanted to go with her, to take some photos at the Upper End, or maybe the Back Forty, or who knows even over on the Rocky Point.
Or, shudder, Coyote Hill.
Sure, I bayed.
Off we went.
Mom saw Quails and Stewart. Stanley wasn’t anywhere to be found.
I looked for him. But nothing.
There were lots of birds
Even a hawk hunting, or was that a Buzzard?
Neither Mom nor I knew.
We drove around lots. Mom would get off,
then I would get off, then Mom would take photos,
and I would sniff out the news.
Back home again we went.
It was fun.
Just Mom and I.
We were pulling in when we heard Dad coming home
Zoom, zoom,
Home came Dad. We were all home at the same time!
Once more…Mindy didn’t go. Mindy doesn’t know what she misses. 
But Mindy says…That’s Okay.
She says I don’t know what I miss when I am gone!
So, instead of what Mom doesn’t know…
once more it is what Mindy doesn’t know.
“Who cares?” Mindy said as she scampered away.
Smoke still fills the sky, day and night, night and day…and the heat wears on and on and on…Wednesday we hit 104*f ( 40c)
But, in spite of all that
Fall is in the air. Yes, I know it’s still August, but the signs are still there
The Rabbit Brush is blooming…three weeks early
The trees are starting to lighten up, with bits of yellow poking through here and there
The pinto beans are turning yellow. Once all the plants are yellow the pinto bean harvest will begin.
The daylight is shrinking (sob)
The corn is starting to dent
Although we are still irrigating. Once the corn is totally dented the water for the corn will stop. There will not be a reason to keep the water on the corn; the plant stops taking in the water, the seeds are now made.
The only thing we will keep irrigating will be the three alfalfa fields. Those we keep irrigating until sometime in October.
For you never want alfalfa to go into the winter thirsty if you do…you won’t have a field next spring.
Yes, Fall is in the air, (although this reluctant to break heat, would have a person think differently), 
even the light has changed.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
There are four HUGE fires burning in Colorado right now.
https://wildfiretoday.com/2020/08/15/four-large-wildfires-keep-firefighters-in-colorado-busy/
https://www.cpr.org/2020/08/15/colorado-wildfire-updates-2020-evacuations-closures-size/
The smoke is settling everywhere
Clinging thick; swathing the world in a horrid shroud of death and destruction
Oppressive
Abundant
(this is the sun about 4:00 p.m.)
wearily blurring the eyes and burning the lungs
The smoke speaks volumes of what the firefighters are experiencing
And all living creatures caught in the path of the fires
And the poor trees, bushes, and other plants succumbing to the passion of the flames.
Then about 4 o’clock yesterday our local newspaper reported The Mille Creek Fire near Gunnison, Colorado
Our world is sagging with the fires and the other-the-top heat (103*f —39.44c) plus the dry lightning.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
While out doing ‘my work’ in the hayfield—wait I’m getting ahead of myself
When Terry bales, sometimes the bales coming out of the baler tip over-
Or twist…see the photo
So I go out to correct the bale and get it into the proper position the stack wagon can pick it up.
Otherwise, Terry has to get off the tractor, straighten the bale, get back onto the tractor…you understand.
Anyway, I was moving along several rows ahead of Terry, straightening, rolling, [fix’n] bales, and picking up rocks
When I SAW…a heart setting there in harmony with all the cut stems!
Of course, I picked it up—for home it was going to reside in my heart rock garden!
Then later that day, as I was finishing up my part of the whole process…
Right THERE…waiting patiently for me to ‘see’ it…was another heart. All covered in smudges and scratches. Just perfect for my little garden made of hearts!
From my world to your heart,
Linda
Tumbling and twisting and zinging about
Creating an uneasy feeling for everyone around
The only thing to do is snap a photo or three 🙂
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
I opened my email to THIS 🙂 🙂 🙂
“My wife caught this rainbow in the Western sky around 7:00 Am. Very seldom see them in the Western sky. All things just lined up I guess. Been a wet summer here in the midwest high humidity even for us. Glad to see you back to full time farming this year. “Midwestern follower”
WOW!
What a wonderful gift to receive! 🙂
Thank you, Pull299
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Chapter Eight
Off Mom (and Dad) and I went on the four-wheeler…. time to change the water.
Mom sat me down.
I hung around for a time, watching Mom.
Pretty soon Mom was caught up in digging and shoveling and—you know, Stuff.
So Off I went.
Heck, there are things to see and stuff to learn about out on the farm, hanging with Mom and Dad is rather BORING!
I snuffled and sniffed my way over to WAIT!
“Hey, Hi, Stanley!
Stanley stopped munching on the peanuts Mom puts out for him.
“Hey, Boomer! Long time no see!”
I just started to make myself comfortable when Stanley came to attention, then suddenly jumped down; ZOOM he was gone.
I wonder what scared him.
Nothing happening out here, but a flock of corn birds flying around.
I looked up just then
and saw HAWK!
OH! That’s enough to scare anyone!
Just about that time I heard Mom hollering for me… “BOOMER LET’S GO!”
Okay.
Time to go.
I trotted back to Mom. She picked me up and sat me right back down on my comfy spot on the four-wheeler.
“Forward we go, Mom!” I yipped.
Forward we go!
Perfect for making hay!
Rain, rain, stay away. Come again some other day!
🙂
The third (3rd) cutting of the first field!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 