The Song of the Red-Wing Black Birds, Monday, April, 20, 2015

This Spring the Red-Winged Blackbirds came!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5R4wU3VBnc&feature=youtu.be

I don’t know why they have left the Upper End with it’s lush pond and a swampy area, but they have.  When they came (and they are still here) the Western Meadow Larks and all the other birds left for the Upper End, although yesterday I saw Robins on the Western side of the house and yard.

I’m not complaining I love their cheerful little songs and watching them flit and fly from branches to my feeding stations.

They are most joyful birds, don’t you agree?

Your friend,

Linda

A Little of This-A Little of That—Monday, April, 13, 2015

faint-sundog.jpgAs we were finishing up the last set of the day yesterday evening, I saw a Sundog in the western sky.  It wasn’t as bright as Sundogs are in the frigid winter months, but it was still there just the same.  The old-timers say if you see a Sundog cold weather will arrive within three days.  Looking at the 10-day forecast for our area…Wednesday we will see a dramatic cool down.    Seems like this weather phenomenon going to ring true.

1The White-stemmed Evening Primroses are starting to pop out all over our rocky hillside, on the cactus hill, and the Coyote hill.  They are also showing up in the deserts all around us and between Delta and Grand Junction,Colorado.

2If you are not really paying attention, as you speed along, in your car these precious white flowers look like someone flung trash out their car windows scattering the trash everywhere.  Slowing down, or even pulling over and stopping the car, gives a person a rare treat of these lovely desert flowers.

FamilyWayne and Carolyn, Terry’s sister and brother-in-law,  stopped by for an over-night stay Saturday.  They were on their way back home to Arizona, after attending a funeral of Wayne’s Aunt.  We were very grateful they made the detour to come see us for the short-time they were in our state.

BookendsMy tremendous work load is just about to ease.  It is looking like we have potential renters for the other house.  I am crossing my fingers and toes everything works out.  I have been stretched so far I can’t even get started on my yard.

Evening-setWe finish up the irrigation of the alfalfa field tonight, then it will be only the corn field.  The irrigation of the corn field is coming along as well, it just takes time, because it is such a huge field.  Once that field gets wet, we move to the smaller field by the house…Terry hopes to plant corn the first week in May.  Boy is time flying.

Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment or just reading.  I enjoy sharing this tiny spot of our life, on this part of western Colorado with you.

Your Friend,

Linda

 

A Bad Wind— March 27, 2014

It was just two days ago we had a fun, playful, wind…more than a breeze; way too much to fly a kit.  A wind that I enjoyed.

Bad-windYesterday we had a bad wind…a very persistent wind full of trash and leaves, dirt and ugly dark clouds.

The hands of the wind flipped tree branches and slapped things together to make a huge LOUD wind. We even lost power for a spell.

Trash

The trash blew all over the yard, the roads, and the fields like escaped animals from the zoo.

Wind

A regular Bully wind!

March is known as the blustery month…and so it ’tis.  Then comes April.  April can be cold and chilly with lots of rain, but it can also be sumptuous with color breaking forth in a riot of colors.

Only a few more days to go and we will see April. Hopefully all of those in the east who are still have January weather will also burst forth into warmth in April.  Also, hopefully, the rains will come to California and the arid southwest!

Hopefully!

Linda

April 23, 2013

A very cold winter wind is here!

Storm-Moving-in

The lovely spring day we had yesterday is just a distant memory now.  A tease of warmth and loveliness.

The wind turned cold last night, waking us up to freeze warnings until tomorrow morning sometime.

The fireplace feels good!

Still the work must go on.

Bean-Ground-Readying

We got word that we just might be able to have 55% water, instead of the 50% so Terry made the decision to go ahead and plant pinto beans.  This will put 70% of our farm into production.  ( I was hoping for alfalfa, but pintos don’t take as much water and their growing season is much shorter.)

Watering-hay

We’ve started the water in the established alfalfa field — another field that has an earth ditch and siphon tubes.  This morning when changing the tubes…moving the water on down the field … there was ice along the rows.

Hay-and-boomerAlfalfa at this stage of it’s life can handle some freezing, but newly planted and just starting to pop up alfalfa would be killed.

Bean-Ground

Today Terry has finished leveling the pinto bean field (putting a slight grade on the land so the water will run ‘down’ the rows and on out to the waste ditch), and started marking out the rows.

Marking-out-the-bean-ground

(Terry is marking out the bean ground, even as I type)

As soon as we are through the alfalfa field we will start water on the pinto bean field.

I sure hope this last nasty/cold winter wind/storm is the last of winter’s hurrah!  It’s been so cold the snow hasn’t even started to melt in the mountains…which is a blessing and a curse wrapped up as one.

Well, enough of this whine at least it must be snowing somewhere, its just that cold.  And snow means water and water means less worry about drought and less drought is good for everyone.

Stay warm, my friends!  At some point winter really will leave and spring will arrive!  When it does—We all will be ready!

Linda

Wednesday, April 10, 2013 My Poor Gardens

What can I say—

Brrrr

January arrived last night in April…

Side-wind-and-snow

We woke up at the crack of dawn to this…..and, of course, not complete with out wind chill.

April-Cold

Really sad.  I don’t remember this ever happening in all of my married years…

My-poor-garden

Everything is frozen and turning black as the sun rises.

Sigh,

Linda