Planting Corn-Thursday, April 30, 2015

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Dayphoto

Terry is planting corn today. This will be a several day activity, as corn is our major crop. Still it isn’t our only crop, we also have alfalfa and pinto beans.

This is the workhorse tractor on the farm. Anyway, see all that lovely moisture coming up as he plants? The ground is perfect to start the little corn seeds sprouting and growing.

How do you like his welding table? Part of a motor, tee hee.

Anyway today I’m dancing a happy jig–I only have to go down and feed and love on the kitty down there, she doesn’t want to come live here, so the renters and I agreed she could stay in the old chicken house. She is around 7 years old or so and loves that house. I think she has had enough stress in her life…it looks like one eye is blind. Sigh! I will take her in and have my vet check her over. Hopefully everything will work out for all concerned.

The sun was amazing, it looks like we can even see the flames on the sun in this photo.

Off now to do MY STUFF!!! Mow the lawn and clean my car! Yippee YAY!

Your friend on a western Colorado Farm,

Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday—Happy 4th of July!

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Dayphoto

(Cleaning the mud out before the water gets there. Weeds grow fast in the mud and suck up the water and slow the water down.)

Today is the 4^th of July! Fuzzy and I have puppy feet today! First thing we did a go change the water…Dad has water here and there and everywhere!

I jumped into every mud ditch I could find—heheheheh—makes Mom have to ride with a muddy paws and a muddy belly Beagle!!!

HAHAHAH!

I just give her a great big grin and waggle my tail back and forth in very happy bursts. (When I do that she never gets mad at me!)

Mom put Fuzzy down for a spell, but he said he really wanted back up on the 4-wheeler so she put him back up. He told me the air is better up there…he can smell the breezes and get all the news.

There is a sickle moon right now! Mom was out taking photos of it, she said she would like to take photos of the moon in all its stages. Hey, whatever works for you, Mom! Fuzzy and I are up for anything…well just about anything. Fuzzy says he isn’t up for going to the groomers.

(That’s my tail—that white spot in the field)

Dad’s alfalfa has really grown…it’s taller than I am now, just my tail gives my position away, it won’t be long when I can get news in the alfalfa field and Mom and Dad won’t be able to see me! Chuckle, snerk!

(This was me in the field two weeks ago)

We had thunder storms roll in yesterday afternoon. Fuzzy was in a panic…THUNDER!!! Crack! THUNDER!

Mom and Dad sat outside under the tin roof and let the hot air cool around them, then the rain splattered down; the thunder rumbled. Fuzzy and I laid right at Mom’s feet. Fuzzy must have felt secure enough because he went right to sleep. When I noticed he was sleeping I got up and moved over a short ways and took a little snooze myself.

Later, after the storms moved on, Mom and Fuzzy and I took some photos of the bean field.

(And not a weed in site!

(Yep the corn is going to make before frost–it more than ‘knee-high by the 4th of July”_

Then the little family came over and Mom got our annual photo of the corn.

Fuzzy and I didn’t want to get in the corn with Hank and everyone; we sat right by Mom as she took the photos. Even though Dad and the kids called us we didn’t want to go into the corn. Dad doesn’t like us in the corn until it starts to tassel out! We were told that enough we BELIEVE it…………….DO NOT GO IN THE CORN…you will break the little stalks! And there they were….all of them IN THE CORN!!!

Once it tassels out Dad doesn’t care — then I run down all the rows checking out the new, but NOT NOW!!!

Nope not now! So I stayed with Fuzzy who always stays right with Mom.

Anyway! Fuzzy and I, Sammy-Sam the Cat, and Monkey the Cat, and yes Mom and Dad wish all of you a HAPPY 4^TH of JULY!!!

Boomer—Reporter at Large!

First Cutting of Hay/Alfalfa —- June 3, 2014

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Dayphoto

The header is a photo of our home coming in from first light Irrigation. The sun just starting to rise — creating such a beautiful backdrop to the house and buildings I had to stop and take a photo.

Terry started cutting the alfalfa yesterday afternoon

It is some of the best alfalfa we have ever had…the standing alfalfa reaches my knees. The rows are fat and thick and fluffy.

It’s so thick he is having trouble getting the old mower through the field. He will finish up this morning sometime before noon.

The yellow at the bottom of the field is Sweet Clover. We don’t bale it up but fork it over for the deer to munch on…cows will eat it, but customers don’t like buying it. Instead of wasting this sweet smelling weed we let the many deer (who live on our place) have an dried “hay” treat.

Now if the weather will just hold off for the week and we have a drying breeze —not a row tossing wind–we will get this alfalfa into hay form, then into small bale form, we will get it onto the back of trucks or trailers, and haul a huge bunch down to Delta Elevator for them to sell for winter feed.

Please keep your fingers crossed and send Magic thoughts for good hay making weather…Terry and I will really appreciated it!

Your Friends on a farm in Delta, Colorado

Linda

Just for Fun March 20, 2014

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Dayphoto

Yesterday, Fuzzy, Boomer and I took a walk about…I needed to get out and do something..Fuzzy needed some exercise and Boomer really wanted to go check out some smells.

Once out on the land I thought it would be a fun little sidebar trip to show you the difference in plowed and rolled land.This is what plowing does to the land. These huge clumps of dirt are horrible to walk in–I’ve had to chase many an escaped animal through these cliffs of soil. They have a way of slowing you down. One nice thing about slowing you down, is they also slow down the sheep, goat, cow or horse that is making their way through them.

Then the roller comes along and smashes everything–now it’s easy to walk on the land again. It won’t stay this way long as the next steps have to move along quickly so we can be ready to start water around the first of April.

A person could NOT plant anything in here, the soil would not sub and the seed couldn’t get a hold, but all the humus is now turned under to start rotting. Adding to the richness of the soil and giving more food to the plants.

The dogs and I checked some of the work that effect us…cleaning out the ditches! Huge job. I much rather clean out the cement ditches than the gated pipes though.

Then we looked at the alfalfa field — its starting to green up nicely.

In about an hour I need to head up to where Terry is working with the back hoe. He is having a trench dug for the very last of the transmission pipe to our place. After we get that in place we will have all our transmission/distribution pipes underground–less weeds, less loss to subbing and evaporation.

My foot is coming along nicely. I did too much yesterday, but after a good night’s rest I’m able to use it again. Sure wasn’t a good time of the year to get a hurt.

Off now to head up to the ditch!
Your farm friend,

Linda

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Dayphoto

We have another storm coming in

It will probably be here tonight sometime.

The weather people say it will be another series of storms coming to us clear from the Hawaiian Islands

So….that means I have lots to get done before night fall.

Today is clean out the chicken house day…not a job I enjoy, but ones the hens delight in. When I’m done they will have lots of lush and rich hay to peck and scratch around in if the weather is too bad to go outside.

I use the hay from the baler. Terry always cleans out the baler every time he uses the baler….blows the dust and leaves off of it, greases everything up, then parks it under it’s very own shed until the next cutting of alfalfa. The hay that is taken out of the baler is mine to use around the farm. We used to feed it to the pigs, and the goats and the sheep, when we had them. I always gave a nice batch to the chickens and the the calves (if we had orphans) There isn’t tons of this lovely green leafy stuff, but over three cutting a summer I can gather up a nice little pile. We put the pile in the same building with the baler and then cover up the pile with a tarp to keep the loose pile together.

Sometimes I’ll find a yummy bone or two buried in the deep reaches of the pile just waiting to be brought out for a nice chewing. 🙂

So off I go to get some things done before the weather blows in here wet and nasty. The Farmer’s Almanac says “As November 21st is, so is the winter”. Looks like wet and nasty just might be predicted for our winter. (I say this because the storm is here until Saturday, then leaves and we have nice weather for a few more days. — Just storms for the 21st)

Your interested to see how the winter turns out friend,

Linda

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Dayphoto

The day’s are shorting now…around 7:30 in the evening we head out for the last check of water for the day.

We also are monitoring the pinto beans. The field is turning yellow, which means the pintos are now ripe and ready to be pulled.

Probably next Friday Terry will pull the pinto’s so they can start drying.

We will need the days to stay hot and dry once they are pulled.

(see the nasty bull thistle seeds)

(The steps for pinto bean harvest is — pull the plants and leave them lay until nice and crispy, combine the plants, which is taking the beans out of the dried plants and putting them into the hopper then the truck to be delivered to the Beanery, have the beans sacked and the sold—DONE for the year)

He is baling the new cutting of hay as I write this. The first of second week of September will be the third cutting of the old hay field. Dry weather needs to prevail for at least a month now. 🙂

The moon was lovely last night.

I also saw a small rainbow from the storms playing around us.

My four o’clock photo of the Daily View features my Sun dial garden… rich and lush with 4 O’clocks. The Hummingbirds love this area!

A very contented friend, Linda

Monday, June 3, 2013

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Dayphoto

We had great fun with Linkin. A day with just one of the grandchildren…their day..is always nice. She is still here and will go with me later on this morning to ‘pet the kitties’ at the shelter while I walk the dogs. A child has to be fourteen to walk dogs, but the shelter manager lets Linki pet all the kitties and play with them in the big walk-in cage. This works out for everyone, me, Linkin (who adores cats), the dogs and the kitties.

It’s nicely warm here 88* yesterday with some clouds drifting by and a little breeze or so.

Terry has decided today he will cut the alfalfa…the long-range forecast is for hot, drying weather for a least a week. Good! At the end of the week, the alfalfa will be dry as toast and morph into hay. Then we pray for dew in the morning so he can go out and bale the hay. After he gets it baled he will haul it in and the dogs and I will work on the hauling in of the ends of the fields.

My favorite little bugs are very active right now…I just adore these fat, furry buzzy bees!

She was very intent on her work so didn’t mind that I was shooting away with my camera.

She also posed several times, I just sure she loved having a photo shot going on while she was so very busy!

Linda

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Dayphoto

We are getting closer and closer to the the first cutting of alfalfa…probably the end of this week of the first of next week. We like to wait for the alfalfa to just start to bloom

You can see the tiny purple dots on the stems right now…you can also see some dandelions. This is the field that will be plowed up next year…it’s starting to get old.

A hay field is old when you can see dandelions and/or other weeds in it. We don’t spray for weeds we take the field and plant something else to give it a rest from the 3-5 years of alfalfa. It’s called rotational farming, which we have always practiced.

The sunset last night was on the weird side — really yellow.

As I was watching the sun set I saw a

Sun dog!

Actually that is really strange as we just got through with cold windy weather of the last four days and the weather people are saying we are heading into two weeks of extremely hot weather.

Usually if you see a sun dog it means frigid weather is about to hit……… humm.

Odd don’t you think?

The pinto beans are up

We are planted as much as we are going to plant this year and the crops are all up. (We don’t need any type of freeze now…that is for sure!)

Rumors have it that soon, very soon, they will be around to cut us down two more holes on the head gate…I hope they don’t do it for a couple of weeks, maybe longer. I’m sure that is just “hope” on my part.

Enjoy your Sunday everyone, today at 4 p.m. my oldest granddaughter is coming to ‘spend the night with us and part of tomorrow. It should be lots of fun for her grandpa and myself!

Linda

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Dayphoto

I wish to THANK each of you for sending wishes of returned health for Riley. Kimberly says he is having some good days right now…with all of your Magic thoughts (and special medicine) we all hope he can turn the corner . We are going to Grand Junction today to see him…and his parents.

Nothing really new here. It’s cloudy today with thunderstorms predicted in the afternoon, those usually play around on the Plateau; sometimes they come in and we get drenched for a few minutes.

I was able to a take a photo of a Western Meadowlark singing…I enjoy their really cool little song.

The Swallows are back…I left the nest up from last year. They seem to be interested in doing some maintenance and redecorating. I see long strings of back horse hair, new feathers and other exciting bits of ‘stuff’.

Another bird I really enjoy and love hearing their songs are the Red-winged black birds.

(This is a horrible photo as I had the zoom out way too far; they fly off if I get too close.

They live over in the Back Forty, but have lately taken to following us as we irrigate. They stay a short distance away, but still rather close playing and ‘dipping’ in the irrigation furrows. Boomer doesn’t chase them (I don’t think he knows he is a beagle) and Fuzzy is too interested in the water to even notice.

It looks like a Robin pair have built a nest in the cottonwood tree (at least I think it might be a Robin’s nest.) I haven’t seen the birds in action, just one day it was there.

The little Hummers are back, but very, very shy of the camera I hope I can get some photos of them this year…a goal of mine.

(He is using the 530 to plant with)

Terry decided to go ahead and plant a new alfalfa field, at this precise point we are 100% planted. But it won’t stay that way as he is taking the old alfalfa field out of production …therefore keeping us as the same percentage. The old field is just too old to produce well, water is just too short to waste on a field of low production.

Well off to chase water!

Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — It’s Warming Up

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Dayphoto

It’s warming UP!!!

Boy, Fuzzy and I are sure enjoying it!

Lots of work going on….the water is about done in the alfalfa field — today is the last day. Dad has water in FIVE PLACES!!! Five different fields on the farm and we get to go to ALL of them all the time.