The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — ‘tis Done – if not it Should Be

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Dayphoto

Boomer and I are so DONE with all this rain! DONE, let me tell you!

The world is wet, wet, wet! Although, not as wet around Estes Park and Boulder, but still very muddy here.

My feet are mud colored now, not white. Mom keeps them wiped off, but it’s useless the second I go back outside — and I LOVE outside!

BAM!

I have mud feet again!

Sigh!

The everyday, three times or more a day, changing of the water is done.

Over!

Stopped!

Finished!

Mom still takes us for a daily ride about…just to see what we can see.

Sam Cat says he’s done with the wet also…the mice are staying inside so everything is a tad boring for even him.

Cats’ sure sleep a lot don’t they? (Boomer and I don’t sleep, we just ‘rest our eyes’, cats snore. Snort, chuckle, laugh!

Anyway, just to let you know Boomer and I are ready for some sunshine…Beautiful Sunshine.

The rain keeps everything so wet the smells are all gone!

Until then I’m hanging out in the dry spot of the whole outside…just because, you see, I love the outdoors.

Fuzzy

Today

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Dayphoto

Today we turned the water off. Unless something happens…like extremely hot weather…the irrigation water for this year is turned off to our farm. From April to September the constant changing of water has ruled our lives.

Terry called our Ditch Rider, Bill, around 6:30 this morning and told him we would be shutting our water off at seven. He said yesterday five other farmers on his canal watch turned off and today (counting us) he has two so far.

So from here to today the Irrigation season has come to an end. (This is what opening day looked like in 2011)

Bill said the water will stay in the canal until November 1st, allowing those who use Uncompahgre Water below us (Grand Junction, Loma, and on down the Colorado River) to finish up their crops. This is a little later than when they turned if off last year because of the shortage of water. Last year they turned off the water the middle to the third week of October.

The rain is still strong today …we are socked in

Thankfully we have been rather wet starting in July.

Terry and I feel really bad for those who have beans pulled and on the ground, and hay laying getting soaked and ruined. The onion guys are starting to worry, even though the onions have not been pulled — rain this late in their growing season will cause the bulbs to rot. The pinto bean guys are worrying that the rains will cause the dry bean to take on moisture swelling the bean…then when the sun does come back and the dry returns the bean will dry out and crack…it seems like there is always something to worry about isn’t there?

We will only (ONLY) turn the water back on if the alfalfa fields start to show stress, then we will give them a quick drink so the roots stay nice through the winter. Once we have a hard killing frost the worry is over until spring work begins again.

The two fields are looking nice and lush and green so (fingers crossed) we won’t have to start up the irrigation again this year.

My hummingbird feeders are down to three and I think I can reduce that to two today. I only saw three little birds eating breakfast in the rain this morning.

“Summer gathers up her robes of glory, And, like a dream, glides away.” –Sarah Helen Whitman.

Fall is here,

Linda

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Dayphoto

The rains have arrived. They threaten all day long, then around 8:00 in the evening they began.

We were lucky that it waited until we got home. Just as I drove into the shed the rain started falling in a serious manner. Terry didn’t believe me when I said it was raining (he beat me in) but as we walked out of the building he became a believer. 🙂

Today Terry has a meeting, which leaves just the dogs and I to change the water…I hope it isn’t raining at that point. I also dread the drive on a mud slick ditch bank, but I know it can be done.

Yes, I do!

Anyway, The Farmer’s Almanac has printed their predictions for the up and coming winter…I’m already ready for Spring. I guess I shouldn’t be so selfish, as I know some of my Dear Blog Friends are also ready for Spring—-they can only have Spring if we have Winter so I’ll slap on a Happy Face and ‘try’ to be okay with Winter.

Now for the Good part of Winter…if the predictions are true we will have snow, which means the reservoirs should recover some, which is a very good thing.

Your Grateful the pinto beans are harvested and sold and the hay is baled and stacked friend,

Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — Bean Harvest

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Dayphoto

Bean Harvest! Dad and Mom sure have been having a hard time getting all those pinto beans out of the field.

First the belt broke on the auger (day one) so the hopper had to be emptied BY HAND from the combine into the truck.

That was a huge job.

Boomer and I took it seriously and stayed out of the way.

Besides it was really super-hot! Super-hot like that just takes everything out of you.

Then everything was going along really good

Boomer and I were helping….

right after supper the folks headed back out and it

STARTED TO RAIN!

Rain is NOT good.

Everything grinds down to halt.

It messes up the whole works.

Dad said maybe by four this afternoon he can begin again…the rows of beans have to be dry, VERY DRY, to combine or the combine won’t pick up the beans.

The other sad thing about the rain is it rained on the hay. Dad was going to bale first thing this morning, but now he can’t do that either. Rained on hay is not good…rained on hay can ruin the protein of the hay. Dad is up there checking out the hay to see how much damage occurred. 😦 (Maybe not much, as sometimes the rain will miss areas of the farm.)

It was muddy enough Mom walked up to do the irrigation so we ALL walked with her…

all three of us…

every step of the way.

The rain helped cool stuff off so the evening was rather nice.

Well, back to work…it’s warming up so Boomer and I

think we had better get some serious sleeping

in before the work starts.

Fuzzy

Saturday the Last Day of August 2013

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Dayphoto

Terry pulled half the pinto beans yesterday before the dew left and the pods became too dry. Pintos have to be pulled early so the dew will keep the bean pods from cracking open and spilling the pinto beans out onto the ground. Once the beans are spilled there is no way to pick them back up.

Today he has been out there since full light. He hopes to get the other half of the field done before the heat hits.

Depending on the weather he will wait about a week then start combining the rows, gathering the beans into the hopper and then the truck and then off to the Beanery to be sacked and sold.

Rain clouds keep building every afternoon, which causes us a huge amount of tension. So far so good, the storms stay around us in the foothills and on the plateau, which is good.

Another thing that is good is we sometimes get a rainbow!

Feeding the bees seems to be working. I use a dollop of honey early in the day…by nightfall it’s all cleaned up.

Terry also said we are on the very last irrigation of the corn. Boy, has summer ever flown. Although, we will still irrigate the hay fields the work load of changing water is fast disappearing.

I’m not sure but I think most of the adult Hummingbirds have left, I still have lots of little ones feeding. I’m not having to fill the feeders as much so I’m thinking this is a sign the large majority of those delightful little birds have gone. I know the Bullock Orioles are gone since I haven’t seen any for two weeks now.

I’m off now to fork the bean ends back so we don’t lose any…those tiny little beans are what we’ve been working all summer to have. 🙂

Your friend,

Linda

August 27, 2013

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Dayphoto

We have been enjoying the rains. (Although, it does make for muddy ditch banks and irrigation roads.)

My hummingbird book says that around August 26th the hummingbirds start their migration to the south. The older hummingbirds leave first…then the juveniles.

The book also says to keep out your feeder until you haven’t seen a little hummer for at least two weeks, allowing the last little one traveling the farthest to have food along the way to the land of blooming nectar plants and tiny flying insects.

My other songbirds have already fled …I haven’t put out seed in the other feeds for over two weeks now. I’m sure the time is coming when I will be slammed with sparrows and starlings…I always try to feed them so they will stay out of the dog food. (I keep the dog food up, but the starlings will dive the dogs until they drive them off and then take over the dish)

With the rain we sometimes get rainbows…another nice gift of rain!

Have a great Tuesday, Linda

Monday, August 26, 2013

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Dayphoto

Our son-in-law, and our grandson are learning to play the bagpipes. Their instructor, and his wife, hail from Bonny Scotland (himself).

We were invited down to listen. Although, I wasn’t allowed to take a close-up photo —just yet. I was able to get this one as they were warming up.

Bladen is very excited to be learning WITH his Dad! They are way past the chanters, and now adding in the drones. So far there are two drones with the rest of everything to go. Maybe, by this time next year they will have a parade or two under their belts.

Mr. Barie said that there used to be a nice sized group in the three counties (Mesa, Delta, Montrose) that would get together every once in awhile, but he is the only one left… that he is aware of. Having a couple of McCormick’s join him in real Scottish music will be real nice.

When Kelly and Misty got married Misty used the McCormick traditional plaid as part of her wedding…once the little group gets comfortable playing it will be time to have kilts made in the proper plaid.

It rained here a nice gentle soaking rain all night starting around 7. It’s still cloudy with a promise of rain. The air is much cooler also. Really rain is nice when everything is not in the harvest stage.

My daily view

I love this double deep red hollyhock…I didn’t plant the seeds it just appeared this year.

Your friend, Linda

The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — Thunder

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Dayphoto

It’s raining here!

Lots!

Some much so Fuzzy and I have decided we don’t like it

You want to know why

THUNDER!

Thunder is terrible!

I didn’t used to be afraid but NOW I AM!!!

First you see a HUGE FLASH LIGHT

And then the SKY GETS REALLY LOUD

Like a GUN going off!

We have to hang with MOM all the TIME

Because it is just so SCARY!

Boomer and Fuzzy

Right On Time

Posted on July 14, 2013 by Dayphoto

The rains have come…

Lovely quick down-pours that spark lightening and thunder (to the dismay of Fuzzy).

Our mornings start with clouds filling the sky and not much heat. But by noon we are suffering from the humidity and the oppressive clouds. Big thunderheads start to boil up either over the Plateau or the San Juan’s, sometimes they switch sides—one side starting first or the other side. Sometimes they come all at once to meet right over us.

Often times we can hear the storms squabbling on who gets to be first to swing into the surrounding mesa’s, knolls, knobs, hills, and valleys that make up the Montrose and Delta area.

They move by their own power flashing dramatic lightening from cloud to cloud, or in sheets, giving us the dramatic electrical show complete with a cloud to earth strike now an then.

I love these storms and can stand outside and watch them as they move toward us, then stop on top of us staying a short while, moving on to give their leaf cleaning rains and soaking moisture to soil.

Of course it is time to cut the alfalfa. We need to cut ours but will wait until sometime next week. The rain sometimes misses us, but it isn’t good to risk the gamble. Although, the hay will HAVE to be cut soon…if we wait too long the protein content will vanish as food value for the animals and go into to making seeds for the plant.

The other problem is the humidity which doesn’t allow the alfalfa turn to hay…it just takes too long to dry.

So on one hand we are loving our tiny little monsoon month and on the other hand we are concerned about making high quality good hay!

It’s Sunday and lovely break from the week.

Have a good one everyone!

Linda

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Dayphoto

The gale of a wind blew all day yesterday filling our air with choking dirt and dust. It was a mess changing water —

Boomer wouldn’t even trot around looking for things to smell by the last set of the night, he just sat himself down in the lowest point on the earth (a furrow) and waited for us to finish. Fuzzy had to work hard to stay with me, but he did it.

The wind picked up over the night and went from gale to very strong gale-it even blew off some tin on one of the roofs.

Then around three this morning it rained.

Everything settled down, cool and clear by the time we went out and sat the first tubes.

It was just lovely!

By the time we came in the wind was back. If the wind blows in the morning here it won’t stop until sometime at night, therefore, we will have wind all day.