riding four-wheelers | Life on a Colorado Farm

Another winter storm is heading into us by 8 O’clock tonight. The cows spent all day eating yesterday, until sometime after mid-night, stocking up on food encase the weather is too nasty to get out an graze.

Also, the coyotes were extremely busy…I could hear them in every direction. I would much prefer NOT hearing the coyotes. One reason they are so energetic is this is calving season…nothing tastes as good as a tiny, new born calf. And we are surround with calving cows in every direction.

The rancher has brought up seventy spring’n heifers to calve out on our place. Every day the dogs and I (if we walk-the cat) go out and check to see how many are ‘with calf’.

So far there are 11 new babies- with one set of twins.

By the end of the month, there should be seventy new Momma’s.

I keep thinking we might get cows again, but always the answer is no. So for a short time of the year I get to enjoy these girls. They are really rather tame for range cows, allowing us to move through the herd (on the four-wheelers), not running away. If I am walking, they allow the dogs and I to skirt the edges as long as the dogs are right with me.

Linda

When I first got here I didn’t know what a farm was, I didn’t know what a ranch was, and I didn’t know how to ride on a four-wheeler or in the back of a pick-up.

See I had always lived in a house and when they were gone they put me in a garage. I didn’t like the garage! I still don’t go into ANY of Mom and Dad’s garages…..they can have the doors wide open and be in the garage and I still won’t go in there.

I didn’t make any noise when I came here either. The vet told Mom that was weird because a happy Beagle likes to express him/herself.

I also don’t like some men or boys with caps on either….I get very, very fearful and try to run away from them.

Now that I’ve been here TWO years…TWO REALLY WONDERFUL YEARS…I can ride on the four-wheeler with Mom, or run beside them, I love to ride in the back of the pick-up, and I talk…..lots!

So when those men and boys with caps come on the place (I never bark at Dad), but I will Blade IF he has a cap on….I BARK! I bark warning barks! I bark until Mom comes out and pets me. Then she feels me trembling inside and gives me lots of hugs and love.

Anywho….

A farm is not a ranch. Nope, No Sireee.

A ranch grows grass…lots and lots of grass and has animals that eat grass living on it.

A Farm is crops.

A farm is ground where the soil is worked up to hold a seed, then the seed is watered until it becomes a plant, and then the plant is watered until it produces something eatable to someone or some animal.

Here on our farm (YIPEEE I LOVE LIVING ON A FARM!!!) Oh, hum, well, yes, I got sidetracked a bit— Here on our farm we grow alfalfa to turn into hay for people who feed it to their animals, we grow corn —the kind that is ground into chicken and cow feed…it could also be ground into meal for people if you wanted to have some, and we grow pinto beans.

Dad does all the ‘tractor’ work, but Mom and Fuzzy and I help Dad water the seeds, then the plants until harvest time.

I LOVE IRRIGATING! That’s what we call watering. If you live in town or just have a house and some yard, you water, on a farm you IRRIGATE!

That is so much fun.

We ride (sometimes I run alongside) out to the fields on the four-wheeler —with Mom. Dad always makes us run long side.

Fuzzy doesn’t go with Dad any more, he says he will wait for Mom.

I know it’s because his joints don’t work like they used to, that’s okay. I sometimes stay with Fuzzy; I would never want to hurt his feelings!

When we are out there, I check out the burn area….everything is still burned, but has lots of weeds growing. The guy who started all three farms on fire just keeps saying he’s sorry, but he really doesn’t know what to do. Dad says the guy will stall everyone out and never fix anything so he will get away with ‘lighting fires’.

Makes my people rather sad, I know how they feel. I was always sad when I had to stay in the garage and got in trouble for talking.

Dad says we will have to fix fence this fall before the cows come, and the bad man will just have to live with his conscience, whatever that means.

Mom’s been painting stuff outside…she said everything was starting to look old and tired, like her! HA!

So what once was blue is now white.

Fuzzy and I and Sam the Cat hang around while she paints. Monkey the other cat stays inside all the time so she misses out on lots of cool stuff.

Mom’s friend, Robin, stays close, but not too close when Sam the Cat is laying around next to Mom. (But still there).

One of the cool things out irrigating are the smells…I learn soooo much! Like what the birds are doing, we have three new ground squirrels and there is nest of Killdeer, not to mention all the bunnies living next to the equipment.

The coyotes have moved someplace else…which makes all of us happy. The fire did that to them, now they could come back……

But we hope not.

Oh and a Momma Skunk has a nest next to kids barn down there…Hank found that and told us about it.

Mom told HANK “You stink, Hank!”

Hank said he thought he smelled really beautiful!

Anyhow….sometimes I forget to come when they call (I always think I have time before I have to leave my smells) then I hear the four-wheeler….and I know it’s too late.

Since I have to run in any way I go ahead and finish reading the news…then I

RUN