We had a rain. Well, really a light mist not a drizzle, but a mist. I stepped outside to get something when I saw this—-a misty rain cloud? A Ball of Misty Rain? Mist— all light and lovely.
The scent of late winter/early rain is like receiving a special kiss from the sky.
All lovely and unique.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
We were experiencing a terrible winter storm….. on Sunday, Monday, and early Tuesday morning.
Temperatures dropped to freezing with windchill at 22*. The wind was sharp, sharp, sharp.
Once more, our year will be incomplete from that lush golden fruit called apricot.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Saturday, we had a wee break between all the winter storms
So busy, busy we became.
Building and repairing the fence on the south side of the Upper End.
It was lovely and peaceful up there. Birds singing. A small (but very cold) breeze.
And a job finished (And well done)
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
And, of course,
There is never just the ‘get the fields ready’
aspect of farming.
There is always get the ditches ready— for without the ditches
You can’t irrigate.
Sometimes, cows are a tad hard on pipe…
So—we had to remove two of the broken pipe, which made us remove five pipes…
Now, to make the ditch and we will be ready for water!
Smile BIG!
That’s farming for ya
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Boomer and I heard something…scary, sorta kinda.
So, we went out searching and looking.
Boomer told me to not go out at night,
that we should just sniff around here and
get the ‘lay-of-the-land’.
The smells will tell us everything.
So, we did—
Ah, yes…
the furry bandits of the farm…
trash can knocker-overs
and garbage eaters
O!
O! O! O!
Freddy Fox…RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN! HIDE!!!!
Oh, I don’t have to…that is just the SMELL of Freddy Fox.
ERK! GAG! HACK!
Oreo!
Oreo has been here there and everywhere.
Although Boomer says we MUST be nice to Oreo,
he has saved us from COYOTES more than once.
I think Boomer is right…
the smells tell us all.
Sleeping inside at night is the VERY best way of living a long and full-filled life.
Mindy Kit-Kat Brown
As I was growing up I used to have dreams of what I would do as an adult, I’m sure all children do.
My dreams were actually very simple
I wanted to live on a farm and be a farm wife and work every day with my husband
I have actually been very blessed and got to achieve my goal.
Yesterday, we started hauling dirt. You see the ditches sand-up and must be cleaned before the water comes in.
So that is what we did….10 dump loads of dirt. Done by two o’clock in the afternoon
Then it was time to get back to work on down-sizing my yard. I had good help. Mindy Cat LOVES to ride in the wheelbarrow
And….although, he thought it was really rather hot, Boomer followed me back and forth, to and fro until he laid down in the shade and slept.
By dark, we were all tired, but a good feeling of accomplishment was had by all!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
The irrigation water is about to get here!
We are getting the canal repaired and ready for the thundering, crashing, life-giving source called water to appear any time now.
We went for a ride last night to see how far away the water is from us….once it gets here..irrigation starts. Irrigation starts and doesn’t stopped (even if it rains), until time for harvest. Twice a day or even every six hours, if the water is short, we move and set water. Often times through out the day we are checking rows making sure the water is flowing through…going clear to the end, to move to the next field, then the next until it finally flows back into the canal and then onto the Gunnison River….which will connect with the Colorado River.
It’s five miles away. Not long now.
Today or tomorrow!
We are cleaning all the cement ditches (yes by hand), Terry made all the ditches he could with the ditcher
And the waste ditches with the blade
And we repaired the gated pipe. Gated pipe always
Always, seems to pull apart over the course of winter.
The first of the fields to receive water (the alfalfa fields) are marked out ready to go
We just wait….
Any day now…any day!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Our daughter, son-in-law and all the grandkids came for the weekend. What a great wonderful time we had!
Saturday was taken up with Track for Blade, and basketball for Linkin. Then on Sunday we got to have all our children here.
I’m tired, extremely happy and very behind!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
(A Facebook gif)
I hope you have a lovely Easter Sunday! And if you don’t celebrate Easter I still hope you have a most wonder day!
From the Joy of my Heart to the Joy of your Heart!
Love,
Linda
Terry has finished getting the corn fields ready for the fertilizer. Moving from former bean ground to corn ground doesn’t take as much tractor work. First he disked the already mellow soil (beans are good for the soil), then he leveled. Here is is leveling, which means he is filling in any hollows and removing any hills that the wind and water created over the last year. It needs to have a little fall so the water can start at one end and run to the other end.
Finished! (Complete with a little dirt devil). Next we will add fertilizer, then roll in the fertilizer, then mark it out (so the water can run from the top of the field to the bottom) and start water.
I don’t do tractor work, but I do irrigate. Irrigation should start the first week in April on this field and on the already planted alfalfa fields.
Terry ripped up an old alfalfa field (they have to be torn up every 3-5 years to keep the hay produced full of healthy rich hay, instead of mostly weeds), which will go into corn. We will put water on that field around the second or third week in April.
The upper end (which burned in the fire) will be worked up and planted to alfalfa. He will do it sometime in April. It had corn in it, but since we are losing the largest field he likes to have a certain amount of hay to sell every year. Usually Terry plants a mother crop with the hay, but this year he is going to ‘thick seed’ it. Meaning only the very, very expensive alfalfa seed will be planted, a planted very thickly to choke out the weeds.
Old corn ground has to be plowed. We have lots of clay in our soil so plowing is the best way to go. Old corn ground is the only ground we plow. Plowing takes all the old stalks and leaves, turns it under in the soil where it breaks down adding richness to clay-type of soil. More work with the tractor, but way better results.
This field will become a pinto bean field next year. We do rotational farming, which helps the soil and the plants the next year.
The nasty high winds have left our area for a spell. I worked in my yard all day yesterday and came in looking like a fresh dug potato. Its a wee bit cooler, but HEY no wind.
I take it!
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 