News of a Good Sort—Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Dayphoto

The last set of Linkin’s (shared) pigs had her babies.

She got to help birth them (she helped with the first pig, named Apple); this one is named Cookie. I thought I had blogged about it, but I can’t seem to find where it was to link back to it.

She’s been with them every step of the way. From the second they arrived at the neighbor’s farm.

Mr. Chapman has been an excellent friend and champion to Linky. She was with Apple, even helping deliver the pigs —Mrs. Chapman right there showing her how. And now with Cookie. Linky even got to help deliver two that were stuck. The pigs are excellent Momma’s and adore ‘their little human girl”.

Sadly, Linkin even had to bear the loss of the pig in the front, when she had a heart attack and died. “Life and death,” Mr. Chapman explained “all goes together.”

For this little farm girl, now transplanted to a subdivision, she has been given the gift of both worlds. Terry and I will always be most grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Chapman.

Your friend on a Western Colorado farm,

Linda

This Little Girl…Sunday, July 12, 2015

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Dayphoto

This little granddaughter (when the family moved to Craig, Colorado) had a horrible time adjusting to life in a subdivision (although a very spacious subdivision) and a life without the farm.

But the farmer and neighbor who lives just up the hill asked Linky if she would like to help gentle down his very special pigs. (Mr. Chapman raises pigs for shows and for breeding purposes only.)

Everyday Linkin would trudge up the hill to play and pet and love on the three pigs.

These are the pigs today. One of the piglets has a heart attack and died, but two are doing fine. Soon to be Momma’s. Linky told me one will farrow around the last week of July and the other the first week in August.

What more can a child ask for!

While we were there Linky and Mr. Chapman took us on a tour of the pig barns where we visited the boar, all the soon to be Momma hogs, the weiners and the various stages of pig lives.

Mr. Chapman is a very good and kind pig farmer. The pens are open, clean and spacious. The sows give birth in a natural environment, handled all the time so they are very gentle, and fed only the best of natural feeds. (They also have a pellet stove in each house and cooling fans in the summer.)

Next month it will be Linkin’s turn to spend a week with us. First we had Tallen, then Blade and last will be Linky.

Your friend on a western Colorado Farm,

Linda

Quick Trip— Sunday, December 7, 2014

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Dayphoto

Friday night…no wait!!! Early Saturday morning –3:30—neither Terry nor I could sleep…worrying about getting the corn in…the brakes went out of the grain truck…everything was wet from the rain…just stuff. The kind of thing that bothers you at night but doesn’t in the daytime.

Around 4 o’clock Terry said: “Let’s get up and go to Craig and watch Blade’s basketball tournament.”

“Sounds good to me. If we leave here at 4:30 we should make it to the gym by 7:30. Blade plays at 8:00—won’t he be surprised when we walk in?”

So we did.

The drive was beautiful..randomly we could see the moon, but mostly it was cloudy, traffic was light (not many people up at that time of day), the deer, elk and antelope stayed somewhere safe for them and for us. Right at 7:30 a.m. sharp we walked into the gym…there he was! Lined up with the team…he saw us! A smile and a tiny wave let us know! Around 7:55 the rest of the family came through the ticket booth … huge smiles all around…it was a great surprise. We enjoyed this so much.

In-between Blade’s games we went up to see their Christmas decorations and to then to see the pigs, Linky is ‘sharing’ with their neighbor. (They are his pigs, but this very lonesome for the farm little girl, was asked by Mr. Chapman if she would like to help him gentle down and take care of his latest pigs). Every day she trudges up the hill to the pig barn and plays with the three little pigs–I forget their names. When she gets tired of them she then walks along and pets and brushes down all the other pigs in this very clean and friendly pig barn. There is no smell in this set up because of how the pigs are fed and taken care of…they have their own pellet stove for the winter and nice fans for the summer. These are special pigs raised only for showing…all the little pigs are sold only to those places that want show pigs. It’s a great life for a pig!

Then back we went to watch the basketball hustle. Bladen is a good basketball player! it was ever so much fun.

The only sad part in the whole day was Tally lost her backpack—hopefully someone found it and will return it to the school or to Kelly or Misty. One can always hope, I suppose.

We were heading back home right after the games, but the kids asked us to stay for a bite to eat and a short visit. We did…it was nice.

We made it back home just as the sun was going down around 4:30 or so. It was a very fast trip but a very nice trip.

Now we prepare for another week of harvest (we hope) only two more fields to go. It sure would be nice to be done before Christmas!

Your friend on a western Colorado farm

Linda

There is Always One — January 30, 2014

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Dayphoto

I don’t care if you are working with cats, dogs, rabbits, sheep, pigs, goats, horses or cows…there is ALWAYS ONE! That has to live outside the box…

Yesterday Mr. Davis and his daughter were helping our neighbor move his cows from Mr. Love’s place to two miles down to My-Way Cattle Company’s corn field.

You can’t tell it here, but one of the cows jumped into our field giving Mr. Davis and his daughter a merry chase up and down the fence line. Terry went down to help and to see if our electric fence was still working (it was). Seems the errant cow had also taken them on a merry chase just below our place…running happily through the swamp on Gennis’s land. Once they got her back into the quickly moving herd she marched along very nicely, until she got our cornfield…HOP she was back over the fence galloping into the middle, standing there snorting frozen breath while they got the fence open and got into the field with her.

Then across the field she went, down to the end of the fence line by Misty’s house, back up the fence —by this time Mr. Davis, his daughter, two dogs, and Terry were all starting to squeeze her into the canal whereby the up gate could be opened.

NO! Not this girl, no sireee! DOWN THE CANAL she ran, ducked UNDER the bridge, kept on galloping to the end, and pushed herself under the fence to the other side coming out on our lane. Two more dogs arrived from Mr. Love’s end of the herd, I was on the lane…she turned so fast dust and sparks flew off her hooves. Within seconds she was hidden well in the middle of the herd heading north, right where she was supposed to be.

There is always one!

It’s acting like snow here, if we will get some I don’t know. But all around us the mountains are socked in giving me hope for fuller reservoirs this summer!!

Your farm friend,

Linda