Although we haven’t really been having rain here, the heavens do pour around us.
Coming in last night the sky was very dramatic, I wish I could have taken a photo of it. The whole sky was lite from each corner of the globe.
There within that amazing sky was a rainbow!
Linda
The sky has just been beautiful lately…
From the sunrise to the sunset
And everything in between….
Just lovely.
Linda
After lunch we decided that we would go to Hanging Lake….a short drive out of Glenwood Springs going toward Denver.
The trail to Hanging Lake is plainly marked with a nice walking path to the trail head. We met many, many, many people either going up the 1.2 mile trail or coming back.
This is something I have always wanted to do, but we just never have. My parents did it when they were about my age, Momma was 63 and Daddy 66, they delighted in seeing this incredible natural wonder.
Several of Kelly’s friends had walked up to the lake so making the decision to go was easy.
If you are EVER in the Glenwood Springs Canyon area I HIGHLY recommend you stop, walk to the top and visit this amazing lake. The hike is free. You will not be alone as there are lots of people going up and coming down.
I took way too many photos so I’m going to only give you a tiny idea of the grandeur of this place.
There are 7 bridges and several water falls.
The two oldest grandchildren ran all the way up and all the way down. Tally walked both ways by herself, never once crying or asking to be carried.
We more than enjoyed the waterfalls
Some small and some large.
There are sign markers letting you know how far you have traveled
The closer you get to the lake the flora changes and you start to see ferns…which are rare in our part of the world.
Then suddenly you are there!
A magical world, making one think of fairies and elves and unicorns.
The water is so clear you can see the fish.
Not many people get to walk under a waterfall…but maybe, just maybe, if you are lucky you get too.
Back at the real world we were met with cars and roads and well, reality.
I encourage everyone to walk this short distance of 1.2 miles at least once in their life.
Linda
Dad had a meeting to go to last night so it was just Mom, Fuzzy, and myself…oh yes, and Hank. Hank came along since he was spending some time with us while his folks went on vacation.
It was an amazing evening.
Lots of clouds had come in with lightning storms (complete with thunder) running around on the Uncompahgre Plateau and in the canyons next to us. Mom said she really enjoyed being out there with all the majesty of the heavens.
Fuzzy said he didn’t like the thunder so he stayed really close to Mom the WHOLE time.
I only searched for news a little bit….well, because Hank was with us
and I didn’t really want him to get to do something
that I didn’t get to do so I hung around pretty close.
The beans are setting pods, and vining out, and in general looking really good. Mom says we are half way through summer now when the beans vine out.
We had to drive through the grass (well, Hank and I ran through the grass) and it was WAAAAAAAAAAAy over my head and Hank’s head and even MOM’s head! Mom said we really need cows, but that isn’t going to happen.
On we went, moving from the head gate to one field then to the other field.
We saw some cool tracks on the ditch bank….is it a big cat?!?!?!
Or a bear!?!?!?
Mom said she didn’t want to meet it out here in the dark of the night whatever it is.
Mom also said she hoped it was just passing on through and wouldn’t be back.
We sometimes see tracks like this, but so far….we never seen who makes them.
The sunset was rather cool….there was a break in the clouds causing a red wave of light to spread all over the farm, even the corn turned red.
AND SO DID I!
Have a great week everyone!
Boomer
In my spare time I go help our oldest daughter with her volunteer job. We walk the dogs at the City Pound/CAWS.
We go Tuesday and Friday, it takes some time. That’s okay. We enjoy the dogs and they enjoy us. We walk them to the dog park and then let them run and run and run!
So much fun!
If you would like a wonderful dog…these dogs are perfect. They are all house broke, past the puppy stage and socialized.
Of course there are other dogs there than just these three — I just wanted to give you an idea of great dogs for a small price.
Linda
This has been a year of lots of ‘stuff ‘…
Stuff we have had to deal with…the fire, the fences, lack of rain, way too hot, not enough irrigation water, loved ones passing on over to the other side…you know all those things that make up every day living, but also sort of wear you down.
But last evening…across the pinto bean field and the corn field right over our house
This rainbow appeared.
We were not home at the time, but our son-in-law happened to see this sign from the Heavens
And emailed it over to us!
I am delighted!
It spans our farm from the middle to the end—-an amazing gift of
HOPE!
Linda
The weatherman is saying that our rain is leaving…which is okay. It’s time to cut the second cutting of alfalfa. Actually, Terry is out there right now cutting the alfalfa so we really don’t need rain for about a week or so.
Still the rain we had was lovely, delightful, and ever so refreshing
Hope our rain makes it to those of you who need it!
Linda
I’m going to assume the color RUST can count as the color Brown…at the Antique Farm Show this old back hoe was on display…our 10 year old grandson found the whole thing “REALLY COOL”.
Then there was “#4” the next size up from the smallest this manufacturer made. There were 5 in the series.
This one was huge…the informational sign says it traveled at 2.4 miles an hour.
For more Sunday Stills, the Color Brown head on over here…. click on the name and it will zip you right on over to the participants blog!
Have Fun! Enjoy the color Brown!
Linda
About 3:00 yesterday afternoon the ditch rider came by and locked our head gate down more holes…we are now at 50% of the 100% of water we pay for every year. We will still pay the 100%; there just isn’t water in the mountains. Snow pack was only 4 feet last winter and is gone now, accept for a few tiny drifts here and there.
And it isn’t even July!
What is July going to bring? An even worse thought…what is August going to bring!?
We are back to changing the water every 8 hours. 6 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 10 at night. At least we got caught up and the ground is starting to hold the water. Less water and less rows we can set.
To give you an idea…say at 100% you can set 35 rows, at 70% you can set 23 rows so now we are looking at 15-18 rows. This is just an approximate, a general idea. Each field is different and sometimes each row is different.
IF this heat continues and the hot, heavy wind (we had 40 m.p.h. gusts yesterday) ….. let us not go there. Worse thought yet, is what if there isn’t any snow in the mountains this winter…!!!?
Okay, okay.
July could/can be a wet month–typically that is our monsoon month, with moist air moving up from the Gulf of Mexico…this would be good! RAIN!
The middle of July starts to see the Winter Wheat being harvested and the sweet corn crops going into to market. (The sweet corn harvest starts in July and ends the second week in September.) As these fields are harvested the farmer does NOT continue with water on the field. This reduces the strain on the canal. So if these two things come together…rain and crops being harvested the rest of the crops in our area—onion, shelling corn, hay,and pinto beans all the farmers in the area should make it.
We will just have to wait and see.
The hummers are back!
This year instead of one soft tiny nest in the tractor shed we have TWO! I tried to climb up on the tractor to see if I could peer into the nest, but it was just too far up there for me.
At least I can see the nests, maybe if I keep checking I will see the baby hummers!
Sorry about the worry/rant…sometimes I think farming very stressful.
Linda
We had to replace two broken sticks of pipe (5 feet long) in one of the fields.
That is the bad thing about the plastic pipe, the sunlight finally gets to them and they start to crack.
They never break at a ‘good time’, nothing ever works that way does it?
So Terry turned the water out and then we pulled apart the sticks, ran them over to the broken pipe pile, ran over to the stash of good pipe and put them back together last evening. (We waited until it cooled down some since this was rather hot work in and of itself).
A little quail was singing to us at the broken pipe pile—he was up in a tree, which I thought was rather cool.
Around 8:30 p.m. we got everything back together and the water back on.
This morning everything is working good!
Happy Wednesday! We are in the middle of the week!
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 