A Little Bit Every Day—-Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Dayphoto

Going for our daily walk, Boomer, Monkey the cat, and Sam-Sam our old cat, watched the night slowly come in….spreading it’s wings of brilliant color on the Paonia Mountains,

Brushing Grand Mesa with broad strokes of rose, and orange and a different shade of pink. Sky-6

The mountains and the Black Canyon around Montrose and Gunnison lite up in vast amounts of the same color.

The cold silence of darkness descended—darkness is coming faster and faster every day. Spreading night into the dips and hallows, filling in the rows of still standing corn, while the stars burn brighter and brighter as the evening gloaming grows stronger.

We walked to small point on the land where I can look over the tops of the corn to the south, west and north…enjoying the stunning vista. A small rises where the plateaus fall away below us, and we can see beyond our mesa, and beyond the Rubidoux Canyon into the next Canyons and the flat lands and more knobs and knolls, into a blue distance, hazed with the breath of the desert. (Looking toward Grand Junction, Colorado)

Turning around to the east the land is flat, devoid of corn crops, whereby the sunset was busy splashing masses of color on all the mountains.

Only a few more days [now] until December 21st and the winter Solstice! At 9:49 p.m. here in our part of the world.

I can’t tell you HOW READY I am!!!

Your friend on a western Colorado farm,

Linda

A Winter Storm- January 12, 2014

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Dayphoto

Terry, I, and Boomer went for a walk yesterday to check out the equipment Terry is wanting to take to the consignment sales coming up. (Fuzzy and Tommy stayed at the grain bins waiting for us.)

We were really surprised at how dry the ground is, although there are still patches of worn-out and tired snow

Mostly on the north side of things.

The four-wheeler road is a tad messy with melt so we all walked in the fields. The fields were actually dry.

Over at the equipment area he decided to take the bulldozer blade, the three-bottom plow, and a couple of more items. We looked at some stuff we have to load up and take to the metal salvage place.

We measure winter by the consignment sales, one in a week, one the first of February and one the first week of March. Once those are done it’s time for spring work.

That evening we could see the promise of snow clouds starting to blow in from Utah.

Although, this morning we woke-up to nothing–just thick cloudy skies, when I went out to do the morning chores

The wind started kicking up and the snow started falling

The sort of wind that takes your breath away.

It was also shoving and pushing and tugging snow along with it

By the time the dogs, myself, and Sam the Cat made it back inside we were wet and grateful for the warm fireplace.

Now, as I sit here, in my upstairs office, I can see that the storm is moving on toward Paonia and the Gunnison Mountain Range. Bringing life-giving water to the land.

Off to haul in some wood, now that I can see again.

Your friend,

Linda

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Dayphoto

The water at Blue Mesa Reservoir is horribly low….Terry says it is down about the size of the length of a football field. Blue Mesa Reservoir is also an extremely long reservoir—20 miles long.

Taylor Reservoir is still frozen over, but starting to thaw. It is low also, but nothing like this. Taylor Reservoir flows into the Blue Mesa Reservoir along with tributaries from other creeks and rivers.

Going back home (on the way up we went through Montrose to Gunnison then to Almont) we took ‘the long way home’ over the rim of the Black Canyon to Crawford, Hotchkiss, and then Delta.

The Black Canyon is the pathway of the Gunnison River, from which our irrigation and drinking water arrives to us.

We saw lots of deer, some elk, but the best was this Cub…wandering across the road.

He/she was heading to the other side, where Momma was probably waiting.

Having a little trip was really nice…broke up the work so we felt refreshed and able to get ‘back at it’; glad to do so!

Off now to work in the yard. I’m planting. I have cut my amount down considerably…two years ago I had 175 containers in 9 beds. Last year I cut down to 75 containers and nine beds. This year….I’m tired. I have 10 containers and the nine beds which at times still seems too much.

Anyway off to plant!

Linda

In-Between Irrigations

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Dayphoto

Last week we had rain…lovely, lush, wet, rain. Four days of rain. It soaked in 1/2 inch giving much needed life to everything.

Irrigation doesn’t stop just because of rain, mainly because the rain doesn’t really soak in far enough to do tons of good.

But in-between irrigating we had lots of things to do-

Terry was given a hot shave gift certificate for his birthday…off we went to Grand Junction for this first time experience
Our daughter and son-in-law lost Riley—that was very hard
I was a parent volunteer for our oldest granddaughter’s class field trip–which was a lot of fun. We rode on a bus and played and EVERYTHING
This same grandchild had a piano recital
We went to Gunnison and on up to Taylor Dam to see what the irrigation water is looking like–not good. Not good at all!

When I was chopping weeds along the edge of the fields one evening the sky turned amazingly orange as the storm clouds blew away. The color filled the whole sky and even surrounded Terry on the ditch bank and probably me at the end of the field.

I am always so appreciative of this great big beautiful world we live in, I’m sure you are too.

Enjoy your Monday everyone. See you back here on Tuesday.

Linda

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Dayphoto

It’s snowing here today.

Last night, I remembered that I hadn’t taken my 4 o’clock photo yet. I usually take it on Wednesday afternoon, but for some reason it slipped my mind.

Our days are growing longer, instead of 9 hours and 30 minutes long, we have reached new lengths of 9 hours and 42 minutes.

We are still cold. Although, three days ago we warmed up to above freezing for about two hours, I did the happy feet dance the whole time.

Our day was darkening down when I got outside, the snow clouds just starting to blow in over the Plateau. Our storms usually come out of eastern Utah, crossing the Uncompahgre, then moving on past us toward the North Fork of Delta county. From there I don’t know where the storms go.

Randomly and very rarely (right where we live) a big storm will roll into Montrose from the Durango area, blow itself around to the Plateau and then land on us. The storms from the San Juan area can lose steam at Montrose and never make it clear on down here to our Mesa.

Even rarer is the storm that comes in from Gunnison, spins onto Montrose, then to us. Usually those storms (the ones from Gunnison head into Peach Valley and the Black Canyon area, then into the town proper of Delta).

I watch the sky a lot……as if you can’t tell. The sky and the weather are major interest and concerns when you farm and have animals that live outside.