“One golden day redeems a weary year.”–Celia Thaxter
Although, the light is still on the pink side
As the sun starts to set
And the calendar still says it is November
The air has said we have stopped having Autumn, and now moving closer and closer
To winter!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
While Terry worked on servicing the combine
I took myself out to the farm and started picking up all the siphon tubes
Covering the culverts so no little animal could winter over then drown come Spring
And gathering the orange dams to haul into the barn
Gradually, I made it
The weather was fine and dry, the air cool; still I worked up a sweat.
Gradually, I got to last (and largest) of the alfalfa field when Terry arrived and helped me wrap everything up.
Harvest is nearing.
So exciting!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
These little kids, (teenagers, really)
Are Mom (Gambol Quail)
and Dad’s last of the summer’s bevy, (or flock). And they look like they are all boys!
They LOVE to see me head over with my sack of black oil sunflower seeds, waiting patiently for me to appear, ride up…then fluttering off to sit in the old tree while I spread out all the seeds.
I love feeding them, our farm is full of wildlife, for I believe a farm without wildlife is empty land.
While there I looked down, where I had walked many, many times and saw
Shining there in the tracks on the road was a HEART!
What a dazzling find!
Moving on, from feeding my wild creatures, I went down to see Shannon’s goats, horses Black Beauty
I found another Heart!
Wonderful, gentle gifts to warm my soul!
From my world to your heart,
Linda
I don’t usually go down with Terry to dump the corn at the Elevator…I just have too much stuff to do here at the house. But his second load he asked if I would go with him
So I did! 🙂 This is the inside where the corn is unloaded.
After the corn is dumped, the floor is swept up, putting each kernel into the elevator. (I swept the floor. I’m good at things like that. 🙂 )
The line was long when we left …the semi’s take a whole hour to dump…just to give you an idea of the length of wait time. (But let me tell you, those drivers are not bored, they get out of the trucks and stand around in groups visiting. 🙂 )
Back to the field. Twilight Terry finished up the last hopper full for the day.
I heard the crows calling as I was coming in from the field. Change is in the air.
We start again in the early morning.
Propelled forward by a truckload of corn.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
The earth sings—truly it does
Sometimes the sound is like a cord
Or a warm humming sound
Sometimes the tone is like a gong tolling long and loud and clear
It can be heard in the gusts of wind,
Or in the the swirling falling autumn leaves
Or felt…sometimes the music is sensed in the radiance of the sunlight or moonlight
But always, always bursting into our souls—- if we just stop and listen.
From my world to your heart,
Linda
“Most glorious night! Thou wert not sent for slumber!”–Lord Byron
I climbed to the top of the woodpile…(down there on the end where there are four logs stacked on each other)—I needed to get above the neighbor’s corn field to see the eastern sky, you see.
Then There it was! That most stunning Super Moon!
I stayed up on the wood pile— balancing carefully, while Boomer sat below whining, with Min-Min Cat winding her way up the very tall pile to be close to me.
It rose quickly showering the earth, with its silver glow, edged in pink from the setting sun.
Still lucky me— I got to see this wonderful, and unusually close to the earth moon setting in the western sky.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
The winter birds have arrived….we are seeing daily crows and ravens (Although, those birds live here year-round they don’t stay close to the farms) and the ever present flocks of sparrows and starlings. We have others but these are the majority of the birds. The owls are back in the tops of our trees sending their soft hoo-hoos into the night.
The air is full of the sound of Sandhill Cranes…we have lots and lots of them —-I mean lots!
They are looking for certain fields, landing in one and then leaving and then landing in another
Where the Canada Geese used to be we now have the cranes.
I’m not complaining…I enjoy both of the bird types.
As winter progresses we will start to see the birds species mixing, but for now…for the beginning of things they won’t share. Most of the Canada Geese are hanging out at the water places, the rivers and Confluence Lake and small ponds.
I hope to get closer to these really shy birds to try and get a really nice shots of the birds.
I also hope they come closer to the house so I can watch them right out the window, that would be fun!
Anyway, we are taking the day off today…no real work..tomorrow we start back up again.
Have a good one everyone,
Your Friend, Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 