winter is ending | Life on a Colorado Farm

The storm left last night….pushing itself up and over the mountains in the north and the north east…the setting sun cast lovely lights of pink as the rain or snow showers played across the foothills

Terry worked late plowing.

When it comes to the soil everything has to come together in a perfect dance….right now the soil is ideal for creating soft malleable soil. Time is of the essence….plow up the land, let it freeze then go back in with the roller, smash the plowed dirt, then run the disk over it so it’s all nice and soft, but also firm. Capable of holding water. Then mark out the furrows.

After which we will pre-irrigate…wait one week, then plant.

The irrigation water will start down our canal April 1st. The onion farmers have already asked for water and have received it this week.

Winter is ending. (Thankfully) We may have more snow and we will have more wind, but the ground is saying NOW. Now is the time to prepare for planting.

So for Now the ending of our last storm has happened. The soil is perfect for farming.

Today is cold, but clear with a hint of the true Spring yet to come.

Your friend,

Linda

Finally, Fuzzy and I, Mom and Dad have made it through the mud days of March. March is spring for us here in Western Colorado…..well, at least our part of Western Colorado.

March is also the time of mud, wind, and little green shoots of weeds and such.

March is still cold. There isn’t much anyone can do about it. Fuzzy and I are still wearing our heavy outside fur, and Mom and Dad are still in their carharts and sometime mud shoes.

But the bulk of the calves

and the lambs have been born and the best of all……the days are growing longer and longer!

Winter’s darkness (which squishes you at both ends of the each and every day) is gone! Gone until sometime next year! GONE!

Fuzz and I love it!

Around here everyone is glad to see March arrive. It’s the time when all the farming starts, and well….that’s what we are about. Stirring the soil, having the seeds delivered, fertilizing the ground, getting everything ready to plant.

Dad has started ‘opening the ground’, which means he is doing tractor work, which means there is always some little grandchild that likes to ride with Grandpa, up and down, up and down. They do get bored after about three rounds, but they still want to be up high on the tractor with Grandpa.

I love helping Dad…we go out and do shovel work together.

Fuzzy would like to go, but he has trouble doing too much. We do lots of chasing of things around the yard, but he really can’t walk much past the haystack area.