Soon, the big birds will come back
This is an old photo—but see–soon they will arrive
Get out of the house while you can—go walking in the sunshine. Lift your face to the sky
ENJOY!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Autumn is a SHOUT of Glory! Even though the darkness is descending earlier and earlier each and every day.
It’s the accumulation of everything and anything: work, growth, seeding and reseeding, heavy blooming. It is the end result. The Harvest of, well, EVERYTHING!!! Even our hard work, even your hard work, we all come to this point.
Rejoice! Sing loud as you go about your days! Sing so everyone you meet can bask in your light!
Love you,
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Something that happens in the Fall, is a true mystery to me.
The birds leave!
All the Summer Song Birds!
There is not one left.
Although, we do have some birds who stay here, but they aren’t the same sweet tasting sounding birds of Summer. Boy, don’t let Mom know I wrote that…I crossed it out so she can’t see. Do NOT tell her! Eating birds is something that ALWAYS gets me in trouble.
If Mom sees my catch one, she runs very fast and scares me so I drop the bird. Then Mom grabs the bird and takes it someplace where I can’t find it.
Mom and I have a thing about Me eating birds!!!
Anyway, the birds leave.
And lots of bugs seem to leave, although those nasty wasps seem to stay year-round.
And Spiders.
We never get rid of spiders. I got a spider bite so bad Mom had to take me to the vet.
Anyway, the next installment will be the WORK of AUTUMN!
TLC Cai-Cai
Fall announces itself with the first, very cooling, very refreshing rain. That can happen anytime after September into October.
You see, September is still HOT here. Maybe not as hot as October, but it still is warm enough Mom is singing a happy song.
As September drifts along (yes, Dad and I think September moves slowly, the nights start to cool down, then the days get slightly cooler until we get to OCTOBER!
Now if you were to look upon the mountains surrounding our mesa you could see the ‘Colors starting to change. Seeing the colors change means for certain and sure we are in AUTUMN!
By the last Sunday of September, the colors in the mountains are ‘at their peak’ causing everyone who lives below the colors to ‘take a drive’. To see the colors, as they say.
Here on the farm, September means the last of the irrigation is being accomplished. First, one cornfield is finished up (Dad watches the corn kernels to see how hard they are—if they are hard, hard, hard that means the corn can not take in any more water. The plant is done. Finished for the growing season. To keep watering is just a waste of time and effort.) Then the next cornfield and so on, until all the cornfields are DONE for THE Year!
After that, all irrigation is concentrated on the alfalfa fields.
Alfalfa has a GREAT BIG TAPROOT, that must have a nice drink of water to go into the winter. Or the plant will die. Also, Dad likes for the alfalfa plant to have a nice growth on top, several inches of growth to help the plant survive.
After a heavy freeze comes then the plant is sleeping safely for next year. That is when the cows arrive to munch down the alfalfa leaves.
Anyway, back to Autumn. Autumn comes here when all the Cottonwoods turn to gold, the days are warm (NOT HOT) and the nights are cool.
As October progresses to November Mom starts hauling in firewood to make warm toasty fires in the evening.
Oh, yes. Fall smells good. The weeds are drying down, the trees are dropping their leaves, the sporadic rains cleanse the earth.
Fall. It also means HARVEST!
We will leave Harvest for the next installment of the Seasons. Along with more of my thoughts on weather.
Until then—
TLC Cai-Cai
Everywhere the color of Autumn wraps around us
The yellow, gold, and orange leaves rustle in the wind
The boughs swaying and creaking gently against each other
Murmuring whispers of Good Night, Sweet Dreams
The Owls hoot sleepily as they wake in the treetops,
Love You, Precious Ones…it’s time for rest now.
From my world to your heart,
Linda
Mom says I’m ten months old now. Ten Months.
I’ve been with Mom and Dad since I was 6 or 7 weeks old. That’s a long time. And it’s been a good time. I’m very glad I have Mom and Dad.
I really don’t know what happened—why I was thrown away at such a tiny, tiny age, but I was.
I used to have Mindy Kit-Cat Brown, but she left. Mom was really sad and upset for a very long time.
Neither Mom and I understand why Mindy had to leave, I wanted to be her friend and everything. Mom said Mindy decided to go, that she got jealous (whatever that is) and wanted a different life.
I’m sorry. This is a really nice life. I would share it with her.
Anyway, back to being 10 Months Old.
WHAT a great time I’ve been having—there are birds to chase, mice to capture and toss in the air, and grasshopper–-GREAT BIG GRASSHOPPERS! They hop AND fly.
But for some reason…most of the birds are gone, the mice aren’t I still find lots and lots of mice, and a random stiff grasshopper.
Mom says it’s because it’s turning cold outside.
Which brings me too now!
The sun has started taking a LONG time to wake up! A LONG TIME.
Mom won’t let me go outside until the sun is UP! She says I have to wait until all the wild cats,
the foxes, and the
coyotes have gone to bed. Then I can go outside and play.
I go outside! The minute she will let me! I RUN out the door and I don’t come back until I get hungry. And that happens in about an hour or two.
Sometimes Mom and Dad go to town. If Mom is riding to town with Dad, then I get to GO! Mom puts my green harness on with the long leash I like to bite and chew on. Loads me up on her lap and we are OFF!
It’s not my favorite thing to do, but I do rather enjoy it. I like looking at all the green things out the window, the people at the stores, but I hide when there are loud trucks and such around. I hide by putting my head in Mom’s elbow. Then when the sound is gone, I sit back up and look at everything.
Back home I help Dad and I help Mom, but mostly I look for things to play with.
Play is my work you see.
TLC Cai-Cai
Gosh, here we are the last day of September.
Tomorrow is October.
The shadows in Autumn are just a little bit thicker now
A little bit darker, the light from the sun more brilliant
The air holds a chill much easier
Although, the middle of the day holds a tad touch of Summer
I must confess, the only time of the year, the weeds are sorta kinda pretty.
Blink…time is moving fast.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
It’s been raining here,
Little showers of delight
Our air, ground, and souls cooling way down
Making a person think it might be Autumn
It makes me feel like Fall
Time racing forward
That summer will be over (too) fast.
Moments racing ahead…
The rain is nice, it’s actually making puddles
Still…over there — just beyond
Is Fall…
Autumn
The cool down, just before
Ah, well…until then
Our days go Quietly forward…
Your friend on a western Colorado farm
Linda
We still have not started the corn harvest. Although, Terry is checking the dryness of the corn weekly now. The last moisture count was 15.3%. It must be 15 or below to begin.
So we wait.
The days are sharply cooling down…the ground is more leaf-littered each and every day
Last Friday we had the bliss and excitement of a thick marvelous fog
Of which, I had to go walking in.
After all, it’s rare (in our part of the world) to be able to actually walk in a cloud sitting down on the eath. 🙂
It was breathtaking.
The steady flow of water in the canal is turned off today. It will take a week before it is gone at our farm—for you see the water travels all the way from the Blue Mesa Reservoir, Gunnison, Colorado, to the Gunnison River at Delta, Colorado…irrigating farms all along the way.
There is a definite snap in the air, causing us to enjoy the evenings with the heat of the wood stove.
Autumn is moving rapidly toward winter now.
BUT—-
O! The excitement —-while out on the farm a flock of bluebirds flew by Boomer and me on their way through (they don’t seem to nest here on our farm) to who knows where–
I capture two of them on camera! I was elated! Jubliant and Overjoyed to get their photos, even if it was just the back of them as they flew by.
From your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Although I love summer best, my heart leaps into my breast with flares of joy for spring and then once more for the bright lovely days of Autumn
Autumn to me is more than a dying time, or a song sorrow, or a lament to the Old Gods
Its a time of remembering—as the leaves fall down on the weary ground and the plants close up for another year
The sky seems to [also] brighten into strong colors even more so than the brilliant summer skies
The air is not full of the smell of green growing things and thirsty soil like it is in Spring
Nor is it full of the spices and floral scents of summer
But it is full of the smell of leaves turning yellow and falling, drifting toward the earth where we mere mortals tread.
From my world to your heart,
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 