Sunday, July 28, 2013

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Dayphoto

Terry got the hay all in and most of it sold…orders came in Friday. Come Monday the most (of the rest) of the hay will leave.

The dogs and I got our part taken care of so Terry could finish up his. Aren’t they a hoot ‘helping’ me?

It’s raining here. The rain is nice. It started around 8 in the evening and has only stopped around right now. All the dogs are outside, which I like and so do they. The other nice thing about this rain is our temps have dropped to the high 70s, most enjoyable.

Our youngest grandchild is delighted with all the hummingbirds…she keeps hoping if she stands really still one will land on her.

Saturday afternoon I went with Terry to one of the 4-H and FFA annual livestock sales where Terry was representing a company he is on the board as a buyer. It’s been a long time since I sat in a sales ring watching kids bring their animals through for the sale. I found the experience lots of fun. I would post the photos here but I didn’t do a very good job taking them, they all turned out poorly.

Since it’s too wet to do anything outside I think this day is going to one of catching up and taking it easy all at once.

I hope you enjoy your Sunday…it is really nice here!

Linda

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Dayphoto

Thank you to everyone who wished Fuzzy a Happy Birthday!

Terry and I have been making siphon tubes. We always have a few that split and/or crack during the year.

We first heat up a PVC pipe, cut to length, then put the soften tube into a homemade mold to let the plastic cool back down in the shape we want. After we get whatever it is we are needing for whatever field we are working on, we take them out and put them right to work.

The days are hot….really too hot for June, more like July hot…tomorrow we are supposed to hit 102*, yesterday it got to 99*. Today we will hit somewhere around that again.

Our heat is nothing like the areas that have high humidity with it. We are considered High Mountain Desert so our heat is a dry heat.

What is nice about desert heat is is does cool down during the night. Mornings are nice! When Terry and I went out to change the water this morning at 5:30 we both wore a light jacket…that won’t be the case later in the day or this evening.

Last night Terry stepped wrong and tore his calf muscle. What a mess…poor guy! It’s his left leg so I have to do the driving where there is a stick shift and do the walking up and down the ditch bank. Now we work as a different team…he supervises and I tote and fetch and carry and lay and start the tubes.

I think I liked the other team better—you know like teamwork. 🙂

I’m a little concerned about hauling hay, as I’ve never ran the loader… ever! I can pick up and move bales by hand, but the loader…..

Maybe he can hook up the loader to the 730 as it has a hand clutch—we will see. Tomorrow he will go to the Doctor and then we will figure out how to haul the hay.

As they say—where there is a will there is a way!

We will get there, he just needs to take it easy and let the muscle reattach itself.

This is pretty grainy because I was way too far away.

Have a restful and fun Sunday!

Linda

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Dayphoto

We are getting closer and closer to the the first cutting of alfalfa…probably the end of this week of the first of next week. We like to wait for the alfalfa to just start to bloom

You can see the tiny purple dots on the stems right now…you can also see some dandelions. This is the field that will be plowed up next year…it’s starting to get old.

A hay field is old when you can see dandelions and/or other weeds in it. We don’t spray for weeds we take the field and plant something else to give it a rest from the 3-5 years of alfalfa. It’s called rotational farming, which we have always practiced.

The sunset last night was on the weird side — really yellow.

As I was watching the sun set I saw a

Sun dog!

Actually that is really strange as we just got through with cold windy weather of the last four days and the weather people are saying we are heading into two weeks of extremely hot weather.

Usually if you see a sun dog it means frigid weather is about to hit……… humm.

Odd don’t you think?

The pinto beans are up

We are planted as much as we are going to plant this year and the crops are all up. (We don’t need any type of freeze now…that is for sure!)

Rumors have it that soon, very soon, they will be around to cut us down two more holes on the head gate…I hope they don’t do it for a couple of weeks, maybe longer. I’m sure that is just “hope” on my part.

Enjoy your Sunday everyone, today at 4 p.m. my oldest granddaughter is coming to ‘spend the night with us and part of tomorrow. It should be lots of fun for her grandpa and myself!

Linda

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Dayphoto

I have several hummingbirds this year…of course I’m having trouble getting photos of them, maybe I’ll make it.

So far we have regular visitors of the Black-chinned Hummers and the Ruby Throat two pairs of each. I’ve also seen an Rufous, and an Anna’s pair, they are not here regularly, or at least when I’m outside I haven’t seen them regularly.

The types which are in Colorado are:
Broad-tailed, Rufous, Black-chinned, Calliope, Blue-throated,Magnificent, Anna’s, Ruby-throated, Broad-billed, White-eared, Green Violet-ear.

I sure hope I can see some of the others, maybe not at my feeders but around.

Then to get a photo…a good photo…MY Goal for the year!

Have a restful Sunday everyone! We are off to watch grandchildren play soccer for the last time. Summer break starts soon for the grand kids!

Linda

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Dayphoto

Yesterday Terry and I had to change out the rubber gaskets, which had hardened over the winter. (They were leaking and making a mess)

We had to pull apart the pipes and then reset them after the gaskets were in place…not hard, but time consuming. One of those little housekeeping jobs that is so necessary, but tedious to do. I’m sure every last one of you can relate to that in some fashion.

Today we try to take off…as much as a farm and running water will let you.

Our grandson has two soccer games, either both or one of us will attend.
Our oldest granddaughter has a soccer camp, which we will NOT attend.
Our youngest granddaughter has a dance recital that Shannon and I will be taking her too.

Then after all of that we will be celebrating our youngest daughter’s 36th birthday…goodness time flies!

Most of the time Terry and I don’t really feel old, but when we look at the ages of our four children we realize we HAVE moved into the last part of our lives.

But we AREN’T Dead Yet….so onward we go! 🙂 🙂

Have a great Sunday you’all! It’s supposed to be 80* here today.

I’m delighted!!!

Linda

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Dayphoto

Finally we are warming up!

Yesterday, Terry and I went to Grand Junction to so some shopping…Sam’s Club, Whole Foods, Michael’s, Hobby Lobby…all the places I save up for so we can do it in one day.

Terry goes to Home Depot, Sears, Western Implement, Sutherland’s ..it’s a busy big day when we make the trip.

Last night was just lovely

And today even better…we plan on getting rid of all the trash today, changing water (always) and getting a few things done that are restful, not huge.

I hope everyone has a peaceful Sunday,

Linda

Opening the Fields

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Dayphoto

We opened the fields Friday — which means we started water. This is a big job as all the ditches have to be flushed, the weeds cleaned out.

Hank enjoys helping the water move through the mud at the bottom of the ditches. He gets the mud packed into his nose. Such a goofy dog! (said with love)

Then the water is set in the proper fields.

Boomer only likes the water to get a drink out of, most the time he is out scouting around!

The day started out cold, warmed up, and then cooled down again. Of course when you are working you warm up fast!

We had help, Misty and Tallen, Hank, Boomer, and Fuzzy.

Fuzzy didn’t want to get off the four-wheeler so I just let him stay up there. This is not normal for him as he loves ‘chasing water’. I guess, he has decided he is just too old now and will opt for directing the other dogs on what to do. The patriarch of the dog pack so to speak.

I would set him down and he would hang out in the shade, go over and get a drink and then head back to the shade. Sort of sad really, but at least he still like going with us.

Tallen really does help…we gave her a row of her own and she truly worked at getting the water down it.

These little grandchildren may never live or work on a farm, but they are getting a good taste of what it takes to make a row crop farm go. 🙂

This photo shows you the gated pipe at work. The little gates are nice in some ways, in others not so nice….like having to clean the trash out of them. You have to reach clear inside and pull the trash out, lots of bending over and getting your hands and fingers wet.

The end of the day we were all back out there.

When you open a field every end of the row has to be dug out so your water goes down the row it is supposed to be in. Corn is watered every other row. Lots of digging when you first open a field, lots of digging after you plant and after you cultivate.

Terry always waters the corn fields first so he doesn’t have to worry about cold weather coming along and causing the VERY EXPENSIVE corn seed to rot.

We will soak the fields, let them dry, then he will plant.

In the beginning your winter body doth protest loudly, by the end of the season you are ‘fit as a fiddle’ — as my beloved maternal grandfather would say.

Terry packed rows ahead of us so we didn’t have to walk the water through the field, sometimes packing helps sometimes not. Yesterday and Friday it worked great!

I hope each and everyone of you have a really nice Sunday…a day of just doing whatever you feel like doing!

Linda

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Dayphoto

The big nasty cold storm blew itself away last night and left us with a sunny (:)) day. The dogs went out as soon as the sun came up…they were ready.

Looking around I saw green

Everywhere

Little bits starting up

and the promise of tulips not far off!

JOY! JOY! JOY!

Linda

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Dayphoto

We had another winter storm come in, complete with wind and drifting snow…I guess I really should expect it since IT IS FEBRUARY!

Some of the farmers, around here, started plowing…now they have a mess. Plowed up ground is like a huge sponge, then when it drys out (finally) it is just as hard and brittle as a dried out sponge.

Water is still an issue, although the snow pack should have grew some with the last several storms —- the last we heard snow pack was 77% of normal. Still a ways to go to normal, but much improved.

Usually the water is turned on the last week of March, but not this year — they will turn it on the third week in April and then at only 50% of your allotment. Of course, you still pay for the 100% you are entitled too. Our water bill is higher than our taxes, go figure.

As I am writing this the sun is starting to break through the clouds, always a good feeling.

I hope you enjoy your Sunday.

Linda

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Dayphoto

It’s snowing here today.

Last night, I remembered that I hadn’t taken my 4 o’clock photo yet. I usually take it on Wednesday afternoon, but for some reason it slipped my mind.

Our days are growing longer, instead of 9 hours and 30 minutes long, we have reached new lengths of 9 hours and 42 minutes.

We are still cold. Although, three days ago we warmed up to above freezing for about two hours, I did the happy feet dance the whole time.

Our day was darkening down when I got outside, the snow clouds just starting to blow in over the Plateau. Our storms usually come out of eastern Utah, crossing the Uncompahgre, then moving on past us toward the North Fork of Delta county. From there I don’t know where the storms go.

Randomly and very rarely (right where we live) a big storm will roll into Montrose from the Durango area, blow itself around to the Plateau and then land on us. The storms from the San Juan area can lose steam at Montrose and never make it clear on down here to our Mesa.

Even rarer is the storm that comes in from Gunnison, spins onto Montrose, then to us. Usually those storms (the ones from Gunnison head into Peach Valley and the Black Canyon area, then into the town proper of Delta).

I watch the sky a lot……as if you can’t tell. The sky and the weather are major interest and concerns when you farm and have animals that live outside.