Dad is planting corn,
He got it all planted
Then he went out and knocked down the rows
Now Dad and Mom wait
( of course, they don’t sit and wait)
After the corn gets a tiny sprout
They will start the water on the cornrows
Soon the tiny seeds will make
BABY corn PLANTS!
As for me—I am busy keeping the farmyard
SAFE!
TLC Cai-Cai
Randy and David Hines showed up to finish planting the corn
What an amazing gift.
It brings tears of gratitude and silent prayers of thanks.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
We are moving forward here…
Summer is on the horizon…almost here…temps raising to warm, hot and dry
In just weeks it will be time to harvest the first cutting alfalfa turning it into hay
The work goes on…Spring work
is constant and consistent
Terry just finished planting some of the grass fields, (he has alfalfa still to plant and one more field of grass) and he has all the cornfields planted, but one—and that one will happen on Monday.
And through it all…the irrigation goes on and on and on.
We are a tad busy, as you can see…but, Terry and I agree, It is the very best of life and of living.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Today is Terry’s 74th birthday!
On every birthday Terry’s father would tell the tale of how obliging Terry was at birth.
For you see Terry’s parents, Jack and Marjorie Brown had a dairy not far from where we live now…just about three miles away.
Diary’s never take care of themselves. You can’t put them on automatic to run until you can get back to them. The cows needed to be fed and milk on clockwork basis.
Morning and evening. Fed. The milk hauled into the milk cooler, then swirled and swirled until cooled waiting for the huge semi to come deliver it to bottling plant.
Like all first-time babies (Terry is the oldest of a brother and a sister) he took his time all through the long night, until….
the sky started to lighten and the need to get to the dairy started to strengthen in Jack.
You see Jack ran the dairy all by himself, he was a one-man dairy farmer.
Then right on time. In the most perfect of wondrous ways, the new little boy arrived in the world.
All obliging.
“So I could go milk right on time.” Jack would announce.
Every year, on each and every Birthday. [Jack passed on several years ago]. just as the sky starts to lighten Terry always says: ” Now, Dad. It’s almost time.” And I always say “Happy Birthday, You gave your Dad a perfect gift and he gave you your life.”
We always feel most grateful, Terry and I!
Happy Birthday, my husband. 74 years and still farm’n!
Love you,
Linda
Terry planted corn, in another huge wind storm complete with rain. It couldn’t be helped. The ground was just at that ‘perfect place’ — not to wet and not to dry. To wait any longer and the tiny window of opportunity would be gone.
The air was sharp with ozone and wet dirt, extremely cold against my face, when I delivered sacks of seed to him, or to go get him for lunch.
Boomer would be shivering by the time we got back to the house.
It blew and rained off and on all day. Then cleared late in the evening to allow my lovely sour cherries to freeze (?) I sure hope not. I didn’t check the temperature this morning. It was what it was.
But it was cold, so fresh and sharp that it tickled your lungs to breath…by five o’clock I had to start up the woodstove; the heat felt lovely. It’s still going today and it looks like I will be filling the woodbox for at least five or six more days and nights.
Sigh! This spring is very restless; very wet and cold and windy.
We are still creating and setting dams. Two more and we will be done for the year.
This morning I woke the normal silence of the house. House silence isn’t like farm silence– farm silence is full of winds that whisper, the flutter and swish of birds, and the vast sounds of the sky.
Nor is it the disturbed silence of town–the swooshing of tires passing, the slamming of a far away door, a roaming and uneasy always constant movement.
The silence of the house is the dim glow of first light coming through the window…a gradual lighting of the night into day, the feel of slumbering thoughts, of those still sleeping, the pad of Boomer’s feet as he follows me into the kitchen.
The tea kettle’s boiling water signals the day has begun!
From my world to your heart!
Linda
We have been having freeze warning now for the last four-five days
With a nasty cold wind straight off the polar cap
Terry still set up to plant, changing out the bean planter plates to the corn planter plates
Ground, seeds and moisture of the soil doesn’t care if you think it is just too cold, when everything comes together you have to be ready
The weather forecaste for the rest of this week is very warm weather…
We are going to go from the high 40’s to 80*
Which is bound to make for flooding for those that live in the mountains and floods along the rivers.
We keep seeing on the news how much flooding is occuring and our hearts go out to you. Sure has been a long winter and a cold wet spring.
Linda
Only Living Eye-witness Give Account of Killing of Womack on Grand Mesa (1901)
The weather is sort of holding. It’s been warm enough the last two days we haven’t had to run the wood stove.
We have been having lots of wind so the combination (warm days and wind) has the corn ground ready for seed.
Another storm is to blow in tonight with temperatures dropping into the low 50’s.
My prune trees will probably get frozen, but at least I have lovely blossoms.
And we’ve been cold enough the daffodils have continued to bloom for a long, long time.
There really is good things mixed in with the hard stuff, if you just pay attention.
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 