Where We Are, What We Are Doing— Thursday, July 8, 2021

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Dayphoto

The heat is back…hot like the underside of burning logs

The day starts so brightly, if you shut your eyes the light stays under your eyelids for a long, long time

Sometimes the clouds build up around us..skimming flat over the plateau

and a wind bends the long grasses this way and that

Then the clouds move on being pushed somewhere else. (Which is a good thing with the alfalfa turning into hay)

The first field of alfalfa is now being baled and hauled.

The second field has been cut and is drying into hay—-

Our days busy, busy with the back and forth of this and that.

2nd cutting of hay: First field is done, the second field in the process, the third field still to go.

Your friend on a western Colorado farm,

Linda

The Middle of the Growing Season—-Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Dayphoto

Yesterday Terry decided it was time to cut the hay

Rich, thick, full of blooms Second Cutting of hay

Today our whole house smells of delicious ‘just mown’ alfalfa…drying in the sun and wind

Your friend on a western Colorado farm,

Linda

July 21, 2013

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Dayphoto

Terry’s family had a family reunion at Ouray, Colorado starting Friday night and ending today. We went up for Friday night. Ouray is just an hour and a half from here, a short drive.

While up there we got to go in and have a very brief tour of the Beaumont Hotel...I must say that it appealed to my sense of historical interest.

If you ever get a chance to go to Ouray and you love old things please try to spend a night there. If you don’t like historical things The Ouray Victorian Inn is a great place to stay also. Those folks are very nice and the Inn is even dog friendly. The complimentary breakfast is served on real dishes with behind the counter waiters. I very much recommend this Inn as a place to stay.

I have been a little behind on getting all my comments answered. Please forgive me, my life has been extremely over-whelming lately, but I hope to get back to a comfortable routine. As I get older I realize that routines are not dull and boring, but nice…they help keep a person steady and keep everything going forward.

Today, Sunday, is seeing the last of our consistent monsoonal thunder and lightening storms. We will start to move out of this tiny little monsoon toward hot August weather.

Terry got the alfalfa cut last night to start drying. I always know we are in the middle of summer when that happens. If the heat stays and a small drying wind springs up, by Thursday we should have the hay baled and hauled in. The weatherman says we should be in good form for another round of nice rich hay. Magic thoughts that he is right!

The third and last cutting of alfalfa should be around the first of September, in 6 weeks.

Off now to visit you and answer your comments!

Linda

Busy, Busy, Busy

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Dayphoto

Our alfalfa has been cut for the second time of the year, once more I’m reminded that summer is half over. Third cutting of hay will occur at the same time as the pinto bean harvest.

We had a huge wind storm come up day before last, knocking down huge tree limbs and in general making a big mess. But after it all I saw….

A beautiful rainbow! Makes picking up branches so worthwhile.

The sunset was pretty amazing also.

My yard is looking good, however very weedy. Between work and farming and life getting to the weeds is sometimes difficult.

Still all in all good things are always there if you open your eyes to them. My daughter’s father-in-law wanted some limbs from the old lilac tree/bush. We were glad to give him some.

Then the other day he brought over to us this

Lovely hand-made pen and pencil set from the lilac bush! A pretty cool gift, I must say.

Linda

Second Cutting of Hay

Posted on July 28, 2009 by Dayphoto

Hay-Second-Cutting

The weather turned off ever so hot, 104*, making it hard to bale the hay with the ‘perfect’ amount of dew, but it got done!

Done and stacked and some has even been sold. What a relief.

After the days and days of heat, lack of air movement, a cold front has started through. Good!

The Heat Has Finally Arrived

Posted on July 14, 2009 by Dayphoto

Arizona’s heat is here. Hot and growing hotter and hotter. Here is where we worry that the red spider mite takes the corn. (worry, worry, fret, fret).

Ladybugs are not the enemy of red spider mites. Red spider mites live in the grasses along the ditch banks and pasture just waiting (sort of like a tick) for the corn to get hot and dry and stressed. The MOMENT they figure out the corn is in the right stages they attack, hoping on and sucking the life blood out of the candy called corn.

We are cutting hay, two fields down and one more to go. We try not to get all of them in the same stage of processing, first one field, and wait a few days, then another field, and the last field about a week later from the first field. This allows for better crop management with the possibility of no crop lost.

Cutting-Hay

The heat is fun for the grandchildren; many hours are spent outside playing with the ducks, and in the duck pond. (The drainage ditch from our fields)

Ducks

This works for the kids and the ducks. And for Mom-mom who has to keep her eye on all the activity.

This and That and a Little Bit of Everything

Posted on July 10, 2009 by Dayphoto

One of the reasons we went to Dove Creek was to see a collection of antique tractors. Although, I took lots of photos I thought everyone would enjoy this one.

Supped-up-Tractor

Not your typical tractor, that is for sure!

We are ready for the second cutting of hay; the alfalfa is just starting to bloom, so maybe tomorrow we will do the swathing.

Blooming-Hay

The oats are headed out and starting to fill with milk, after much pondering we are going to cut them for oat hay, instead of harvesting them as oats.

Oats-and-bugs

The pinto beans are shooting feelers so the last cultivation for all of our crops is officially over.

Shoot'n-Feeler

We have been having so much rain that the irrigation water is a red/chocolate color. This water is like a thick coffee causing the irrigation tubes and the gated pipe gates to plug up. As the water moves through the opening the mud collects and stops the tubes, or gates from taking anymore water. We have to check every 2-3 hours to make sure everything is running and in good order. OTHERWISE, the plants suffer, and the ‘escape’ ditches fill up and flood.

Mud-in-the-Water