When I was getting ready to pick up a set of siphon tubes to start some water in the rows I saw
A Heart rock! Waiting just for me!
WHAT A GIFT!
Thank you, Mother Earth! Thank you!
From my world to your heart,
Linda
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Dad came home telling Mom (and Mindy and me) that the very cold, freezing temperatures the last three nights, froze all the little onion plants the onion farmers had up.
Dad also said that the alfalfa is looking mighty sad…too much cold.
Not Good!
Then Mom told Dad that she noticed all the apricots froze and so did the buds of the Pear trees.
And her spring flowers.
Not Good!
It has been so cold at night Mindy and I think it must be February all over again. So, we stay inside all toasty and warm.
Even though we are inside the game camera gets photos of:
Yep.
The Creatures of the Night!
Not Good!
Mom and I still go for a walk at night
(not far, my knee is better, but not really well). Mom says a short walk is good, a long walk
Not Good!
That works for me. I still get all the news when I get up in the morning, go out after breakfast and CHECK things out.
THAT is GOOD!
Boomer Beaglie Brown
As a young child, maybe around the age of 5, or 6, or 7, I don’t remember for sure now. I started having nightmares.
(My brother, Dan, my great-Uncle Henry… 1914-1980… Love Grandma’s youngest brother, and myself on Easter Morning.)
The nightmares were awful things, scary, frightening full of terror…more than monsters under the bed or in the closet, or coming up the basement stairs.
I couldn’t go outside at night for fear of the nighttime…it was a horrible time of dark magic for me.
Then Momma hit upon the idea of helping me reclaim the real magic of the world. She would put me to bed with stories of fairies and angels.
She talked about fairies who lived right there in the cherry orchard by our house, fluttering in fun little dances under flowers in her flower beds.
She told about Angels who lived in the sky, reaching out helping hands to grab our prayers as they flew by, then taking them to Heavenly Father so he could hear our prayers also, she described how the Angels made sure the stars were polished and sparkling each night and that the Angels would visit with the Man in the Moon.
Her stories were marvelous, vivid and just plain fun.
(My brother and I)
It took a little while….magic always does….but she gave back to me the safety and enchantment of our marvelous planet, the vastness of the heavens and the colors of the rainbow.
Of which I am eternally grateful!
P.S. I went out and checked all the Apricot blooms again and it looks like the second flush of blooms is going to make into apricots! WOW! What a surprise!
From my world to your heart,
Linda
The wind is whipping everything and all things today. It started yesterday afternoon and continued with intensity
The clouds and the lovely blue sky is trapped above massive amounts of dirt, blowing bits of weeds and leaves and tiny pebbles of soil.
The only noise outside is agitated and extraordinary and huge 40-50 m.p.h. wind lifting up even empty barrels of 50 galleon drums….what a shuddering mess this wind is.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Easter Sunday was really, really nice. Full of those things that break us out of the gray shroud and bring us forth into the Golden Light of Love.
All our children, those wonderful grandchildren, plus Ivy and Norm, came for an Easter Day Meal. We ate, hunted to Easter eggs (adults and teenager also), played games, enjoyed each other, ate…..then, suddenly, it was time to go home.
Terry and I looked at each other and told ourselves—this is what living is all about.
Cherished in the heart of love and (and for Terry and I) farming!
Love,
Linda
Here is the loud, roaring (we can hear it two fields away), scary (to me) headgate.
See all the trash the comes down Terry takes it out several times a day!
Here Terry is opening the chute so we can get water onto our place. It’s measured in holes. Only so many feet of water (holes) goes with our place. I don’t like walking across the little board (which you can not see) to get to the little chute — I get dizzy and want to topple over into the roaring mass of water. It takes lots of concentration for me to get there, clean the trash out, adjust the boards (the boards are laying across the cross over board from one cement wall to another, and get back. Terry just walks over like it’s dry land.
My pear trees are just stunning.
Today the plum trees burst into bloom even though it terribly cold, with a nasty wind. And a freeze warning for tonight and tomorrow night. I guess I won’t have to worry about thinning the fruit again this year. A mixed blessing.
Terry and I were working on setting water when we saw five fire trucks speed past our place so we jumped on our four-wheelers and headed off to the Rocky Point…sure enough. The neighbor, who almost burned us out a few years back, had set another fire that got away from him. Thank heavens for quick response…the fence line you see is our property. Scary! But they got it out so all is well.
We have to check the water around mid-night or one, because of all the trash coming down the canal. Trash backs up the water and causes floods, or breaks through or over dams or ditches. This time of year the trash is the worst…wind, opening up of farm ground up above us, and opening canals that feed into ours. By the first of May or so, we should be okay. (No mid-night walks for Boomer and I, but mid-night rides and water checks instead. 🙂 )
In spite of how all this must read. Please believe me this is a very good life! I can’t imagine any other.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
After several days of extremely cold weather, we are gradually starting to warm up. During that time the Sour Cherry trees started to bloom
Then we dropped down even colder — 18*– a couple of nights in a row, which took out some of the blooming fruit I’m sure.
Still the Wild Plum trees that I have growing in a thicket started blooming
We have these trees along the edge of the canal to keep the water from eroding the bank
By the weekend the Crab Apples were in their full glory
Terry sat up the alfalfa marker and got that field ready for water. By which I mean he marked out all the rows so we could turn water into the field. Several morning this week there was ice on the furrows. Not heavy amounts of ice, but still ice.
When you think of it that is cold….it takes lots of cold to form ice on running water.
The good news is that cold front has moved on, the bad news is this very same cold front is what causes horrible storms in the plains….cold air moving out of the Rocky Mountains hitting warm air coming up from the oceans.
My heart goes out to everyone in those storm damaged area.
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 