The long v’s of big birds fly over our farm in the evening,
looking ever so carefully for a place to land, eat, and rest before taking off again for that very long flight to their summer homes mesmerizes me.
I love to stand outside and listen to their calls curling around me in the air
The glimmer of pink on the clouds, the shadows of the birds flying over;
I feel as if there is deep magic on this earth…that God is very generous with us!
From my world to your heart,
Linda
The Sandhill cranes are still filling our fields at night, then taking to the skies early morning as they move ever northward.
One day (before this big storm arrived) I caught a wee snow cloud putting down snow on the Grand Mesa…it was a lovely sight to see.
Also, I had a photo of a Ringed-Neck Dove I took as it sat on the fence next to our lane…
It flew away when it saw me.
The last three photos were taken just a day or two before our big wet storm. But they were so lovely I wanted to share them with you!
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Terry, Boomer and I took a ride up to the Upper End and the Back Forty, checking the grasses, mud, and snowmelt
We were also pleasantly Surprised to still see the Sandhill Cranes filling the land and the skies of up there.
We are seeing less and less of the big birds…all the Canada Geese, who wintered on the farm are gone…heading home for the summer
And the Sand Hill Cranes are becoming less and less.
Eckert, where my brother and I grew up, holds annual Sandhill Crane Days starting about March 10 until April 20. Sandhill cranes are relatively new to our area, we didn’t have them when my brother and I where children and young adults.
I heard from a long-time blog reader, Emily, that the Sandhill Cranes have arrived at her ranch even though they still have two feet of snow.
So every day now the big birds are going home. And the Spring and Summer birds are coming back…I thought I heard a Western Meadowlark when we were up there in the pasture lands…I sure hope I did.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Mom and I went out last night sorta kinda early. Mom wanted to go before the snow came in, so out we went.
Just Mom and I. Mom told Mindy she had to stay inside.
We saw a raccoon. That was all.
Then when we started to come back in it started snowing.
Mom built up the fire then we headed to our beds.
It’s still snowing today.
Mom says Spring is still coming because she saw TWO (2) different flocks of Rocky Mountain Bluebirds in the last three days—
first the Red-Winged Blackbirds and now the Rocky Mountain Bluebirds…YAY!
Mom danced a jig. I just twirled around her while she danced…jigs are too hard on old dogs. Just say’n. (Mom also told me that THIS YEAR she wants to get a photo of the Bluebirds…I hope she does.)
“And still the earth is cold and white,
And mead and forest yet are bare;
But there’s something in the light
That says the germ of life is there.”—Jane Goodwin Austin
Spring is coming Soon!
Boomer
Well, it’s with fond hearts
And sad good-byes
We all watched the cows
being rounded up yesterday morning around 10:00
Heading to their home place.
The cranes were upset for a spell but came back. Which is a good thing.
Still, the fields feel empty without the cows.
Moving toward spring work now. Although, today we have snow and rain and not very nice conditions.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
Mom and Dad get up before the grey light starts to show over by the mountains, eat breakfast, then put on my coat, load me up in the back of the pick-up truck (or up front) and head up to the far reaches of the farm.
By the time we eat breakfast, gather up all the wood gathering tools, put my coat on me, the sun is up and the frost is THICK on the grass.
You see we have to go early before the mud appears, or we would never make it up there and back.
Dad isn’t fond of being stuck and Mom is even more un-fonder since being stuck enough the four-wheel drive doesn’t work means a long walk back to the house to get the tractor and chain, then a very cold ride back to the stuck truck, and THEN Mom has to pull the pick up out, which she HATES to do.
So up we go, every day this week, then it’s back to the yard where Mom sorts and Dad cuts until today when they both announced: “This should hold us for a spell”!
Now….for me it is lots of fun. I can ride up front or in the back, whatever I want. I usually pick the back. I have a coat on you see.
We drive through the cows and the Sandhill Cranes—I don’t bark or whine or howl at them I just watch.
Then Mom sits me out of the truck and I go exploring. I go here and there and everywhere. I go where ever I want to go.
Then when I hear the chain saw stop or I hear Mom holler for me I head back to the truck and get loaded up again.
Back home
I usually go around smelling who or what has been visiting the farm while we were gone.
Then when Mom lets the hens out and heads back into the house,
I always go with her…nap time.
Mom works upstairs on her computer and I take a long nap.
Dad does Dad stuff, I don’t know what that is because, well, you see, I stay with Mom, always.
Boomer Beaglie Brown
I believe, that the gods (or God) talk to us
in our dreams
We also receive inspiration in the form of many things
Knowledge handed to us in the form of all those marvelous things in nature
The voice of understanding speaking loud into our mind of understanding
Many times the voice is bright with laughter
The weather brings its own blessings, wet, dry, soaked, covered in snow
Or even (a lessening of mud–the ground starting to dry)
All we need do is listen to our dreams and watch for the signs to unfold.
I have come to place in life where I feel we all shape the future together
Carefully and consistently
So those who understand and can explain the unexplainable will help us see the miracles (or magic, if you prefer) unfolding.
From my heart to your world,
Linda
While I was out collecting the firewood for the evening, I decided to take a walk first
Since the evening was coming on fast; long shadows stretching across the farm road
I knew if I were going to find things of interest I needed to be about it
The wind was rather sharp, but not strong or cutting, just brisk with a chill to it.
The sky was beautiful
Making my walk even more special
The colors swirling around me
On the way back to the farmyard, the woodpile and the warmth of the house…I saw a glittering little heart-shaped rock.
Giving joy to my soul and wings to the essence of myself!
From my world to your heart,
Linda
(I am posting some older photos today)
The geese are now living next to us in droves…um, rather huge flocks! I just love it.
The Sandhill Cranes are also in massive flocks behind our house in last years cornfield.
I have been seeing small flocks of Bluebirds…wonderful little bits of sky announcing spring is almost here. They will leave our area as the days and nights get warmer.
Then for the last few days I have been seeing flocks of Western Meadow Larks rushing about along the fence lines looking for left over seeds to eat.
What a joy this transission time is: 
The sounds of birds large and small, swift and colorful, gossiping and talking as they gather themselves for flights to the north, or come winging in from the south.
All the while taking one season with them, or bringing in another season as they arrive.
This is such a magical time, a herald of the marvel called Change.
Your friend on a western Colorado farm,
Linda
The Sandhill Cranes and the Canada Geese are stuffing the fields to capacity!
Beautiful large birds rustling along searching for bits of corn
The Sandhill cranes (usually) don’t seem to share the same field as the geese,
But sometimes they do.
Their beauty is wonderfully stunning!
Your friend on a western Colorado Farm,
Linda
