This is my birth month.
Mom doesn’t know the exact day
And neither do I.
We just know that the vet said I was probably born
Around the first of the month of January,
Give or take.
So Mom always says HAPPY BIRTHDAY on the First Friday of the Month of January.
That works for me!
And for Mom.
So here I am TWO YEARS OLD
And King of the family!
(Don’t I look like a king? 😊 )
Beautiful, wonderful, Darling, Mom always says to me!
TLC Cai-Cai
The overwrought wind
Lifted and flung everything here and there
Suspending clean, filling up spaces.
Winter:
cold days, chilled fingers, snow, and bitter winds.
Still…each day accomplished brings us closer to
(Not a current photo—just a wish from the past)
Spring.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
This morning, the wild marvelous Canada Geese, came to the cornfield next to our house
The air thrummed with the swoosh, swoosh, swoosh of their vigorous flight.
The calls of one to another like a roaring current of waves
Then the Snow Geese came…
Filling in the blank spots among the Canada Geese
The Geese have one cornfield next to our house, and the Sandhill Cranes have another cornfield behind our house—Good Manner’s you see.
What a huge marvelous blessing! The heartbeat of the large winter birds, rustling around in the corn stalks, whispering promises to each other, talking loudly in the wind.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
The fog as been beautiful the last two days
So thick and dense clinging to anything it possibly can—making me feel lost in a wonderland
I love being out in it…the air so heavy it settles on my skin, hair, clothing
Gradually the sun starts to burn through the frozen frost making the corn bales look like french knots on an embroidered lacy field
It takes a while for the earth to brighten and melt, but for a short lovely time our farm and the surrounding area feels like another time
Another planet where everything is impossibly different
I love being out in frozen fog; for the peace it brings
Then it melts and scatters; leaving the blue, blue sky.
It’s all love for me…there are so many things to love—right here, right now.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
In my daily walk, I took photos of the SOON TO BE MOMMA cows
Anytime now
SOON!
Since it snowed…
I have been really diligent to be on the watch for newborns…
So far nothing. But when We have some I will Let You Know!!!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
We had a small warm-up yesterday, which was a HUGE help. Finally, Terry and I got the frozen drain working down at the other house.
Terry is still perplexed why the drain froze.
Last night the temperature didn’t drop as terribly low as normal, which was another nice thing.
Today another storm is rolling in. The weather people said we could have RAIN this afternoon. RAIN?!?! What an odd thought for this time of year. I guess we will find out later on today.
Outside everything is quiet, I can not hear the Canada Geese or the Sandhill Cranes. Sometimes I can hear in the far distance cow talking to another cow…it’s too early for calves yet.
There is a sense of ‘hunkering down’ — a waiting.
“Storm coming! Prepare, hole up, stay warm.”
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
You honestly don’t see this much here anymore. Most of the time the shepherds and the cowboys truck their animals from one pasture to another.
BUT if the need to move to a pasture just a short distance the animals are driven there.
Terry and I were on our way to Grand Junction, Colorado, when we ran into about 300 sheep around Camel’s Switch! It was a hoot to watch the dogs working the sheep.
To give you a tiny idea of cowboys herding cows here is an older photo of the cows leaving our place for a pasture just down the road. Moving cows has the romance of ranch life all wrapped up in herd—cows, horses and cows boys!
When I was a child sheep and cattle drives were very common. Often times children were let out of school to help drive the cows up to the pasture on Grand Mesa (I went a few times) or to gather the cows in the fall and bring them down.
Sheep were moved from one orchard to another in the winter…(Shepherds Walk WITH their flocks), many a time my brother and I would leave for school in the morning and come home that evening to sheep feeding along the trees in our father’s orchards. Overtime we would head out to school then come home to find the sheep had moved on…to a back orchard or to a neighbors. Sheep were perfect for mowing down all the weeds between the trees and along the ditch banks in orchards. They were short enough they didn’t eat twigs from the trees and always hungry enough the orchards were void if ladder binding weeds when it became time to start pruning the trees before spring buds appeared.
Watching the animals move ALWAYS makes me think of that old song RAWHIDE!
Keep movin’, movin’, movin’,
Though they’re disapprovin’,
Keep them doggies movin’ Rawhide!
Move ‘em on, head ‘em up,
Head ‘em up, move ‘em out,
Move ‘em on, head ‘em out Rawhide!
Set ‘em out, ride ‘em in
Ride ‘em in, let ‘em out,
Cut ‘em out, ride ‘em in Rawhide.
Wasn’t it Clint Eastwood that starred in that tv series?
Anyway, most ranchers and sheep people move by truck now days. Head over to the post about this happy photo. (I came upon this cattle truck one day way back when I was still working. Just click the blue lines to go to the post. 🙂 )
As a side-note…the guardian dogs were having a great time DOING NOTHING!!! Hahaha, tehe! It was all up to those hard working border collies.
There were three guard dogs and there were EVERYWHERE! They checked out every smell, peed on many a bush, walked down the train tracks…trotted into yards. They were having a DELIGHTFUL TIME!
Just so you don’t think the border collies (four of them in the back, two in the front) had their noses out of joint (my maternal grandmother’s saying 🙂 ) they DID not! They were having the time of their life pushing those sheep along!
I think it is safe to say…I enjoyed every minute of being ‘stuck’ (I use this term very loosely) behind a fast moving flock of sheep!
Your friend on a Western Colorado Farm,
Linda
I’m always surprised to see that the trees in winter have leaf buds waiting patiently on each and every branch and stem. I read somewhere that the bud is full of starch waiting for water from the roots system to reach them. Cocooned in a lovely sack of food. Once spring comes, the snows melt, and the rains descend, water is available for the roots.
Then, when the wind blows, all the systems come together…the wind shakes the trees, the roots drink up, the inner workings carry inch by inch the leaf producing water to the starch. The bud starts to feed and drink and grow until we get to see LEAVES! Beautiful, new, spring green leaves! That ripen into lush dark green summer leaves.
Until then we wait…along with the trees and the leaf buds…. for spring.
While we wait the winter skies fill our days with brilliant showy colors!
It’s still cold here…woke up to 2 above Zero (F). -16 C. But the weather person says a warm up is on it’s way. Thursday we would wake up to 12 f (-11 c).
Although, we are cold it is nothing like some of you are experiencing. Sending Magic Thoughts your way for warmer temperatures soon!
You Farm Friend,
Linda
We warmed up yesterday just for about thirty minutes…then it dropped rapidly and we froze back up.
But for that short length of time the snow on the carport started to melt and drip off.
(You can see the two tiny drops against the background of the metal building, I hope)
I tried really hard to get a photo or two of the delightful melt, but they didn’t turn out very well…:)
Oh, well…short lived, but very enjoyed.
I hope your Sunday goes pleasantly for everyone. Fuzzy goes in for his operation Thursday morning. I am concerned that I’m doing the right thing…I sure hope so.
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 