Tag Archives: outdoors

June 30, 2013

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Still in the blast furnace stage of heat — 105* yesterday.

8-in-the-morning 

By 8 in the morning we were roasting, but I didn’t turn on the swamp cooler until 9:00 a.m.  I was trying to keep as much natural air in the house as possible.  After that we just couldn’t do it.

Smoke-from-Silver-Jack

There are lots of fires around us, one is up by the Silver Jack Reservoir near Cimaron.  I would say, maybe 30 miles from Montrose.  If memory serves me right it was lighting started.

Smoke

 

You are looking at all the smoke around us.

I wish the forestry service (or whoever makes the decisions) would cut down all the dead and dying trees. They really need to get rid off all the fuel for those fires.

 

When we went to Yellowstone last fall the forests there were clean…nothing dead or in a dying stage.  I saw new trees growing in lighting started fire burns, which was really nice to see.  

It isn’t just humans that loose their homes or perish in these nasty fires animals do also and then many times they lose their lives.

When I was a child the lumber jacks would find a disease tree — go get the forest service ranger, show him the tree…it was marked…then the loggers could come back in and remove the tree, put it in a separate pile, tests were run on the tree to see why it was sick and what to do about it, then the tree was headed to the mill. 

That doesn’t seem to be the case now.  It looks like the trees are allowed to die so the bug or disease finishes off the tree — jumps to another tree and proceeded to decimate all of the lovely old trees setting up perfect fuel for a fire.

Dead-trees

In talking to a ranger a while back and relating what I just said, he told me that the idea (I may get this a little off) is to let the forest take care of itself —so to speak.  If one species dies then the fire will clean the land so new can grow.  That maybe so, but watching these lovely old trees (here in Colorado it takes a long, long, long time for a tree to grow) die is really sad to me. (If any ranger or forest manager is reading this maybe you could leave us a comment so we can understand—understanding often helps.)

Anyway, the following is an older photo of where the Silver Jack Reservoir resides…beautiful country up there and extremely rugged.

Up-where-the-Silver-Jack-li

 

We had a slight rainfall last night.  Really nothing to speak of  lots of wind and a few splatters then it blew on leaving us behind.

Great-rainbowBut it left us a touch of a rainbow!  My first of the summer!

Well the day is waiting and I must get out there and get my watering done before the horrendous heat saps me and everything else.

Hugs,

Linda

 

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — Thirteen Years and Counting

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This is my BIRTHDAY month!

Birthday

Mom says I have a whole month for a birthday!  That is because she doesn’t really know when I was born!  I was a lost dog when Mom and Misty found me.

I was also five years old when Mom and Misty found me.

You see I was ‘dumped off’ in the country by my other people.  Since I am part Border collie and part Sheltie (that is what my vet says) I sat by the side of the road where they dumped me for days and days and days.  Anytime Mom or Misty would try to get me I would run off…I was waiting for my people to come back, you see.

I waited until I went from 40 pounds to 25 pounds.  I was sooooooooooo hungry I almost couldn’t run anymore.  But I waited!

Then Misty came out with ROAST BEEF!  That was it…I was Mom’s for life.  Mom took me home and gave me lots of love and took me to the vet and well…here we are eight years later!

Beautiful-Fuzzy

Since Mom brought me home in June that is when my birthday is…I get a whole month…because neither she nor I could figure out a good day.

Fuzzy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to ME!!!

Dad had a meeting so Mom, Boomer and I did the water without Dad.  We had lots to do.

Dead-Skunk

A skunk got in one of the gated pipes so we had to get it out and then bury it.

WAY COOL!

Boomer and I wanted to sniff it up really well, but Mom didn’t let us….  “Leave the dead alone you guys!” she said.

Beans-are-up

We had to walk up to the middle of the pinto bean field and check on a pipe there…it was horribly HOT!

What's-out-there

Then we rode the four-wheeler up to the hay field to see how the alfalfa was in the hay making process.  Boomer jumped off because he smelled a cool smell and had to run home.

With-the-dogs

Then we sat outside and had a couple of really yummy Dog Treats and a milk bone for my Birthday while Mom watched the hummingbirds. And I got lots and lots and lots of pets.  Boomer got some too, but it was my special day so Boomer had to let me have the most!

Night-food

Then around 10 o’clock that night we all went back out and changed the water in the front corn field.

It sure was a nice day!

A perfect Birthday just for me!

Fuzzy

 

Out the Back Door

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Celi from A Kitchen Garden blog spot asked her readers to do a blog post showing the view of your house —out of your back door.

Click here to see what Celi has for today’s post….lovely views from around the world.

Now for our back door (which we use as a front door) to the east of the back door

Out-the-back-door

 

to the west of the back door

Out-the-back-door-2right out the back door

Out-the-back-door-3As you can tell most of my yard is right out the back door

Out-the-back-door-4Although, there are other parts of the yard I haven’t shown you

Out-the-back-door-5

that because it is just mostly the lawn…

But right out the front door (which we use as a back door) is this

Out-the-back-door-6

 

Complete with the corn rowing up!

Five

 

Head on over to Celi’s to see some outstanding views from around the world!

Linda

 

 

 

 

Thursday, May 9, 2013

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It is still raining here.  I’m still not complaining, just stating a fact.  The weatherman says it will be in here until Sunday and then turn off hot.

Walking-water-with-Mom

Even though it is raining irrigation goes on.  The water is set morning and evening.  Although we have rain the rain has only soaked into —  maybe 1/2 inch of soil —so we continue irrigation.  I know it seems illogical but that is how it works.  Seeds are planted 2-21/2 inches into the soil, they must be wet to sprout and then after that they must have water to the roots, which are even deeper than where the seed started.

So the irrigation continues rain or shine.  The ditch banks are sure slick, I fell twice jumping over the cement ditch with a load of siphon tubes, nothing hurt but wet clothes and more mud.  🙂

Sitting-in-the-tire

Fuzzy was really funny when we went to get gas for the 530…we had a tire in the back we needed to take to dump  which he delighted in sitting in.

Tire-sitting

Silly, cute dogie.

Today I am off for a treat!  I am going with my oldest granddaughter on a second grade field trip to Pioneer Town in Cedaredge, Colorado.  We will ride the bus together, tour the town together, then we eat lunch at the park and ride back to the school in Delta.  Then I will get to take her out and we can have the rest of the afternoon together.

Rather cool, don’t you think?

Hope your Thursday is just as fun!

Linda

The Next Day

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Well, yesterday was yesterday.  We are still having winter weather.  All of the apricot tree fruit that was in bloom stage froze.  I don’t expect many apricots this summer, but there just might be some, one never knows until later on.

I have decided that if most of my stuff dies I will start over—it is a good way to try out new and different plants without ripping up the ones already there.  I have a hard time doing so, so this will just help me out.

If they do recover then I stay with what I have. 🙂

As Momma said…’time will tell’.

It’s still cold and snowing off and on, another fast moving storm came in early this morning.

I hope it snowing where we can use the water!  Snow in the Gunnison Mountain ranges!

Water-is-here

The water came…in the midst of all the nasty wind and blowing snow… I didn’t take a photo of it until yesterday when everything calmed down.

You can see the moisture from the storm has really greened up the banks.  Then having the canal water all the time will help make everything along the edges grow quickly.  Grass doesn’t seem to mind cool to colder weather.

Terry will call the ditch rider early tomorrow morning (way before 7) and see if the head gate can be opened so we can begin.

Neither rain or sleet or snow will stop us once we flush the ditches and set the rows!

It’s all rather exciting.  Snow in the mountains, water for the rest of us.

Well, off to do some things …like mopping the floor.  Pretty mundane, but necessary!

Here is a photo of

1893 Main Street

Delta’s Main Street, looking south, in 1893. The Delta House is far right; the Delta Area Chamber is center (Delta County Bank in this photo). Note that Main Street was lined with trees, (Cottonwood Trees), even way back then.  Those trees have been removed and we have shorter growing trees now.

Linda

 

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

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Pink-SKyiesThe trees are showing signs of waking up…we are moving forward even though we must still have a fire in the early morning.

Water is in the early canals and heading our way…I always find it exciting to see the water rushing toward us as the canal opens.  For the rest of the season my heart sings as I heard the water rushing, rushing onward bringing life to water starved land.

Maybe today our water will get here, maybe not, but when it does I will let all of you know.

Linda

 

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday —Mom’s Shed

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Since Dad is going to shrink the corrals and then expand the hay stack yard Dad decided the old granary had to either be torn down or moved.

Early yesterday morning…by first light…we all trouped out to the back of the farm yard to look at what Dad is interested in doing.

We all looked into the granary and then looked around the granary…Fuzzy and I were a little concerned because this is where our two ground squirrels like to live, Under the Granary.

Sam the cat went with us also.  He crawled here and there all over the corrals and in the granary.

Boomer and I just went in and sniffed around and looked at all the cool stuff Mom and Dad had stored in there.

Back in the house we all ate breakfast and I heard Mom say…Let’s Move it!

So right after breakfast we all trouped back out to see where to move it too!

Mom says she wants it some place where she can get to it and work on the repairs.

So we all walked down the feed bunk road to the end of the corrals to look things over.  Then we went into the corrals and over to the new shed to see if it would fit there, then we walked back to the end of the corrals.

Mom said she really like it at the end of the corrals…Dad looked and looked and then agreed.

Now the fun part started.

Getting-started

First the old corrals had to be removed, and then part of the old feed bunks, and then Dad went and got the tractor.

Moving-the-shed-1

This was really exciting!

Moving-the-shed-2

Boomer and were told to get out of the way a couple of times because we were really interested in being part of this whole process!

Back-of-shed

After we got it there Mom pronounced, “Perfect!”

Shed

It was a good morning’s work.

Then Mom went back in to fix lunch and Boomer and I decided it was a good time to take a nap!

Fuzzy

Wednesday, February 27, 2012

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I’ve been up since 4 in the morning, I just couldn’t sleep.  I think I felt the earth shift last night.

The shift was very subtle…about 3 in the morning, actually. A tiny, tiny, tiny tilt back towards the sun, leaving this colder place (in the scheme of things) until sometime next winter.

The shift was very subtle, still I woke with a start…it felt like something a little bit more was happening…a little more sunshine, a little more warmth…maybe I was dreaming, but it felt …well — Good!

I pulled all of the curtains, put wood on the fire and settled down to look to the east.

The sun started lighting the sky around 6:21 in the morning, with the sunrise happening at 6:48–it was cold…11* and the earth still crusted with snow.  If I looked to the west I could see the cows and their calves making the trek from the corrals around Misty’s house and the other bunch of cows walking over the hill from the equipment area…a new day was beginning.

The sun will set tonight at 6:02  giving us 11 hours and 15 minutes of daylight (if my figures are right!

I didn’t even remember to get my camera.  I just sat and enjoyed and became part of this minute shift.

These little Coots were having a great time at Confluence Park Sunday…someone has tossed them some ‘lunch’.

Ducks-eating

Thank you to everyone who commented and is sending Magic Thoughts for wet mountain snow in March…you are all the best!!

If it doesn’t snow we will just do with the hand we are given and make the best of it.

Hope really does spring eternal doesn’t it?

Thank each of you so much,

Linda

February 13, 2013

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There is a hint of spring in the air!

The dogs didn’t want to stay in the house this morning, leaving around 5 :00 to hang outside and do dog things.  I have asked them to come in a couple of times, but they just aren’t interested.

Today I head down to the Museum and Historical Society to work on transcribing one man’s many journals about his life.  I’m on book three, there are 120 pages to each book.

He is one of the original settlers to our area, settling on Ash Mesa, which wasn’t named that when he applied for his homestead acres.  It was so named after he applied — the mesa is named after him.  His last name of Ash.

I am at the part where he and the other settlers of the mesa are starting to dig the Ironstone Canal to bring water to the mesa.  (The Ironstone Canal is also the canal that brings water to our farm on California Mesa.)Sunrise-1

Our sunrise this morning was outstanding!

It does have a hint of spring in the air….I do believe the dogs are on to something!

Linda