Rain & Pleasant Summer Days

Summer rain early Friday morning, once again refreshed the heat weary crops and garden plants (and people!) and also brought some cooler summer weather (80's -90's F vs 100+ F).
The Joseph's coat and petunias in the front planter are enjoying the summer weather and growing well. The Jospeph's coat is more green in the summer and gets it's colors in the late summer and fall when the nights are cool.

Hard Work Growing Corn

Farmer Ken has been working hard growing the corn and it has GROWN! This is some of the tallest corn for this date.

I love the smell of the fields of corn on these hot summer days! The tassels are ready to send out the pollen (look out allergy sufferers) and the ears have the tender light colored silks. A little breeze disperses the pollen, each individual silk will be pollinated and a corn kernel will develop (lots of kernels on each ear we hope!).


The last photo of the yellow flower on the native plant is one of Farmer Ken’s and my favorite (maybe because the name is so intriguing): Birds foot trefoil. (This city girl was on the range and pasture judging team in high school and college for Lancaster County, so I hang right in there with native plant and grass identification!) This low growing, dark leaved plant joins the morning blooming Spider Wort (a native with lavender flowers) that fill the ditches and grassy areas this time of year.

Busy Summer Days on the Farm

After a hail and wind storm last Thursday that did some damage to the corn; and the cows escaping into 150+ acres of corn Saturday and Farmer Ken couldn’t find them until mid evening, everything else seems pretty calm! The cows were herded back to the farm place (a mile) after their escapades and put in solitary confinement.
The weather is oppressive today, but that is to break soon.
Busy days here on the farm, with final field spraying by the young farmer with his spray buggy, that Ken contracts and Joel B in his plane last night. I caught a photo of Joel flying in over the house to get some of the corn fields in the family farm west of the house. Great fun to watch this expert pilot!

RAIN!

Farmer Ken is in great demand! When we come out to spend time in Grand Junction (AND farmer Ken washes the windows), the rain usually comes. PLUS, we get rain on the farm! I think at this point, there are several on both ends, who would contibute to his leaving the farm at least once a month spending time in GJ!
We had a nice gentle rain the day before yesterday in Colorado and last night a strom came out of Utah and it poured. The farm has seen rain Fiday am (o.70 inch!) and some this morning, so all is better for the time being, until the hot weater sets back in. The extreme fire danger warnings were even lifted here Colorado.
The following 3 photos are the rainbows after the storm yesterday.
The photo below is looking down the valleys of the Colorado National Monument.

This photo is across the valley with Mt. Garfield and the bookcliffs in the lower protion of the photo and the below it is bascially the same view, but larger.


The photo below is our "resident" Gamble Quail. He and his girfriend go right by the office door every morning to go to a neighbors water feature to drink and come back by to send time around the rock pile in the empty lot. (He's sitting on top of the rock to the right of the photo).

HOT Hay days!

Farmer Ken's Nephew has an acreage with grass hay. Newphew Warren and his daughter Beth, cut and baled the hay. They loaded it on a trailer and brought out 5 loads and put it in our barn. With temps between 90-100F, it was a gruling task! Hay time is always the hottest of the summer, without fail! Nephew David also got out of the office a day to help and all three were unloading last night after 11 p.m.!
Now the cows will have good eating this winter. Farmer Ken takes a few bales out to lure the cows to the pick up in the winter, to make sure they are all doing ok.

Beth on the trailer and the photo below of Warren in the barn. (He actually did work!)

465 bales total! Thanks!