The Big Thaw

Saturday brought a slow, steady, cold rain rather than snow, thankfully. The temperature hovered right above freezing and it stayed a dreary, sunless day. I have several buckets and water troughs around that ended up with around 4 inches of water when all was said and done. If that had been the powder we normally get here, we'd be looking at 4 feet of snow. At that, I count my blessings! This is the wettest snow we've seen in our two years here. Normally the snow falls as such a dry powder, that one could potentially "shovel" the driveway with a leaf blower. But this snow was a beautiful, large-flake snow, the kind I love to watch.

As darkness settled in, I finished up chores and headed toward the warmth of the house. I stood quietly in the darkness and listened to the run off; a new sound, the sound of babbling steams filled the air. Soothing, it immediately carried me off to my childhood and the creek I played in as a kid. Catching crawdads, finding buffalo bones and arrowheads, and sifting fine gravel sure I would find gold or something equally exciting. I'm brought back to reality by the gentle mooing of Chance as she settles into her rest in the barn. The voice of the water makes me wonder if all of Blue Mountain isn't running down across my land.

Today as we headed to church we noticed some of the weather's effects. Like a voracious lion on a wildebeest, the run off has eaten deep ruts into the roads, in some places as much as 6-8 inches deep as it gathered its momentum. With incredible timing the road association had already scheduled road blading for today and the grader was busy at work by the time we headed for home. Hopefully the run off has slowed enough that the work will not be undone, as the dues that are collected only equal enough to blade it twice a year.

The sun has decided to come out after being hidden for two days...unusual for us. The snow continues to melt and I am happy that the retention areas are full enough that I don't have to haul water to the calves for at least a few days. With temps scheduled to be in the 70's for most of next week I think things will really green up by next week end. At times I have to remind myself that the storms in life are what bring future growth and abundance. I guess I'm happy for the snow after all.

We've rarely have water in here unless we've had a heavey rain. Its about 3 ft deep at the deepest. As of this afternoon, about 80% of Friday's snow has melted.

Another retention area at the south east end of the pasture. We've never seen water in here in the 2 years we've been here. Its a good 5 ft deep at the center. We're still in process on the fence. We've got all strands strung, but only the bottom two tightened. It looks a bit sloppy because of it.

Ben, Jerry and Chance enjoying a bale of alfalfa. I alternate between hay and alfalfa on days the grass isn't visible.

Snow, snow and more snow!

I'm beginning to wonder if this will be the year with out a spring. Are we going to just straight from winter to summer? Are we going to have winter year round? Will it ever stop snowing? Why again did I move to Colorado????? Someone please come out here and smack me up side the head for that decision. I don't like cold and snow and yet I find myself at almost 7000 ft, sitting in the shadow of the Rockies.

We've had some nice days this year so far, but every time I finally allow myself to accept the fact that spring has arrived we get a monumental snowfall. Today, as I sit and type, mind you its mid April, we are in a winter storm warning with 15-22 inches predicted. I can't see the end of the drive, the wind is whipping the snow around like a child with a rag doll and the district did not call off school. I wonder if the kids will be able to make it back up the mountain this afternoon. If not, I guess they will spend the next night or two at Becca's apartment in town.

We decided to turn the furnace off this winter and burn only wood. I thought we had made it through the season, but as of today its cold and I'm out of wood for the wood burner. Due to the snow Steve is working from home. It's 56 in here, he is chilly and pestering me. He has stooped to suggesting I start on the furniture, log steps or perhaps even try to burn chicken eggs. I may have to resort to turning the furnace on.

One one nice day I hiked up the hill to the rock I call "the Altar" to sit, pray and think. I took the camera along and got a couple of nice pictures.



A cactus on the hill


After I've been sitting for a while, the birds start to come around again.



A view to the west from The Altar. The snow caps look so beautiful.


Another view, this time to the south


A nice hot fire in the wood burner


I think the birds are ready for spring too!


we live on the mountain in the middle of the picture about 3/4 of the way up.

Chicks, Chance and Cheddar

Sorry for the lag in posts, I've had a lot on my plate lately. Too much to think about and still feel like blogging. But alas, I feel like dumping my brain contents, for a change. Hope you enjoy.

The 200 chicks arrived, with only one casualty in shipping, not too bad. I loved carrying the two giant peeping boxes out of the post office. I ordered the bargain, meaning I get whatever is leftover. Unfortunately they gave me 100 sex-linked chick, meaning the males and females look different. So much for hoping to end up with a bunch of hens. Oh well, into the freezer they will go once they start crowing. The other 100 were Rhode Island Reds, they were all males too, but hopefully some hens slipped through.

I have 12 kindergarten classrooms hatching eggs for me this year as well, woo hoo! So I'm hoping they have a decent hatch rate and I can add some hens that way. If not, I'll probably just buy a bunch of pullets next year. It just kills me to pay $4 apiece for them. I'm collecting eggs right now for that project. They will keep them for a week after hatching and then return the chicks to me.

Chance is 6 weeks old already and growing like a weed. I'm starting to wean her off the bottle, much to her dismay. She is somewhat resistant to being halter broken as well. I need to work with her more. She is much more feisty than either of the boys. Probably TMI but, I had banded both the bull calves...but could only find one testicle on Jerry, turns out he had two as I figured...so now he may come in handy when I'm ready to breed Chance. I was going to AI her, but don't want to mess with Jerry now as he outweighs me by a considerable amount. Ben is a good foot taller than Jerry, already up to my chest, he weighs a good 350-400 lbs.

Cheddar continues to be a pain in the butt. She likes to climb the rock behind the house every day and even spent the night up there once after refusing to come down at dusk. I was certain she would be a mountain lion snack, but she made it through the night just fine....of course. Knowing her, she gave the rest of the wildlife what for.

I'm a bit tired of doing chores in the cold and am so ready for spring! The 16 inch snow we had last Thursday didn't help matters! I'm holding off on the garden for a couple more weeks since I started a bit too early last year. I can't wait to get out and dig in the dirt. I've got to clean out he barn and cow pen and till that all in.

Steve found out last Monday that he will no longer have a job as of April 30th. The merger found his project being cut entirely. Everyone else had a weeks notice and Friday was their last day. too bad, so many are hurting in that area right now. we serve a good and faithful God and I am not swayed by the circumstances around us. The old job, although I was thankful for it, was stressful on us as a family. I know God has a better plan and look forward to what He has in store for us. Isaiah 43:19 comes back to me time and again. "See, I am doing a new thing; now it is starting; will you not take note of it? I will even make a way in the waste land, and rivers in the dry country."


I took my camera and bible up on the hill to a big flat rock I call the altar. I like to hike up there and spend time talking with God. I seem to connect better when I can physically place myself on the "altar." The problem with being a living sacrifice is that I continually climb off.


A view of the snow caps in Rocky Mountain National Park from The Altar. Its a great place to go and clear my head.


An image I was surprised to find on my camera when I uploaded. Steve admitted to taking it when I went out to do chores. The morning of the 16 inch snow, we had about 4-5 inches at that time. chance and Hershey are following me back to the house. Chance is hoping for a bit more milk!


On my way up to Estes to get the van tagged. Josh is delivering Pizza's now so I registered the van and got things switched over to CO. It was a cold snowy day!


The creek near our place. God is amazing, such beauty everywhere I look.

Chicken.....House?

Today was a gorgeous day, with a gentle breeze and temps almost touching 70. I woke up early and took "Gato" the dog out to do his thing. We are dog sitting for my sister Melissa while she is on a bug hunting expedition in Costa Rica with Rachael.

I've always been an early riser, I love the peace and quite the morning brings. As I walked Gato I heard the gravel crackle under the tires of the neighbor's car as it slowly snaked its way down the hill over a quarter mile away. Steve says its just not right to be able to hear a fly buzzing 20 feet away, but I love the silence. It makes me feel like I'm in another world, somehow separated and distant from the troubles that attempt to surround me daily. It's nice to feel that all is well with the world, even if just for a few minutes. Even the sun rose quietly, without the usual colorful fanfare from the clouds.

It was nice enough to open the doors and windows as I worked at the computer. One of the great things about a nice February day, no bugs. But, I do have to watch out for livestock because they will always take advantage of an open door.

As I sat at the computer getting some work done, I heard a rustle at the door. Hershey lifted her head from her bed and attentively peered between the log steps out the front door. I too looked up from my desk tucked under the steps to see who had come to visit. Two hens poked their heads in and casually walked across the living room floor. They curiously poked around and made their way up the stairs. After shooing them out the door a third time I shut the door behind them and returned to my tasks. I have a feeling they were sizing up my accommodations.

With all the woes and uncertainty these days, sometimes its nice to just stop and smell the roses....er...uh...watch the chickens.


A couple of hens checking things out.


One of the girls making her way upstairs.


A little shaky on her feet. Its her first time doing stairs after all.


Almost there... When I chased her out, she flew from the top step all the way down and out the front door.

Two Guys and a Pair of Pants

I apologize up front for being a bit chauvinistic, but I had to tell on the two men I love most in my life. Mom and I laughed so hard I had to make a mad dash to the bathroom to avoid wetting my pants. I figured a good laugh ought to be shared.

Last time Mom & Dad came to visit Steve was getting ready to leave for China. The night before leaving he had everything pulled out of his closet ready to go into the suitcase except a pair of jeans that were in need of laundering. He was leaving for the airport around 4:30 a.m. the next morning, so I was quick to drop them into the washer and make sure they were taken care of. I don't have a dryer here; the dry Colorado air makes for no need of that appliance. Everything in this household is line dried, which usually presents no problems.

Well, in my book, having company in town is a recipe for memory impairment. We got busy visiting and other random stuff and I kinda forgot about the jeans still being in the washer. About 8 that evening Steve asked where his jeans were....ooops! I was in the middle of making dinner and somehow Steve & Dad got the job of hanging the jeans out on the back deck's clothes line.

I will say Steve was none too happy about the whole thing and I really couldn't blame him either. He came in mumbling something about them not being dry by morning. I assured him all would be fine, they would be plenty dry by 4 a.m. I didn't mention I would be happy to hold them out the window for the hour plus drive to the airport...somehow it just didn't seem an appropriate thing to say at the moment.

After dinner I went out back to see how the jeans were coming and much to my surprise when I opened the door I was greeted by a man's version of doing laundry. I let out with such a screaming laugh Mom came running and we both laughed till we cried and proceeded to rib the guys for their effort. Further, we explained the proper way to hang laundry. The guys insisted their way was the correct way and we were just plain crazy which unfortunately just incited more giggles on our part.

Dad wasn't too happy about the fun being poked at him and Steve. Figuring he had Em on his side, He later that evening quietly asked her how she would have hung them and she proceeded to explain the proper way to hang a pair of pants. We overheard the question which led to more teasing. I think by bed time the guys were plain fed up with us. But oh we sure had a great laugh.


Dad taking revenge unexpectedly. Somehow I think their manhood felt diminished by us gals laughing at them all evening.

A Beautiful week

Looks like its going to be a nice week around here. Almost got up to 50 today and is forecast to be in the 60's by the end of the week. My heating bill so appreciates the cooperation Mother Nature has shown lately. We filled the propane tank June 22nd and are still at 51%. Since they will only fill to 80% to allow for expansion, we've used just 29% in seven and a half months. Even with two cold snaps in January one for a week straight hovering around 16 below dipping down to 23 below and the other one down to 14 below for a few days. We've been able to heat mostly with wood this winter, thanks to Josh's muscle power.

The chicks I ordered last month will be arriving in another 10 to 12 days. I'm looking forward to picking them up at the local post office. I got a great deal by ordering the leftovers of the day. 200 for just .25 each, .47 each with shipping. I'm hoping there will be plenty of hens in the bunch, but they make no guarantees. They just take whatever is left over at the end of the day, toss them in a box 200 at a time and put them on the airplane. And I bet you had visions of sharing an airplane with chickens as a third world thing.

Ben and Jerry are getting big. They have 40 acres to roam, but prefer to acrobatically cross 5 strands of barbed wire and electric fence onto either one of the neighbor's property. The grass really is better on the other side, they'll tell you its true.

I'm trying to hold off starting some garden seeds. I started too early last year, probably need to wait till mid to late march. I do have plenty of manure to till in this spring. I hope to get a nice crop of sweet corn this year; hopefully no goating accidents this time around.


Ben, down by the garage hoping for a handout.


Tigris and Cheddar. "Its cold out here, can we come in?" They like to hang out on the back deck, Steve hates it since they leave puddles and dingleberries everywhere.


Becca and Em after the superbowl game with their 3-D glasses on.


Because we are in a bit of a valley, we don't get the greatest sunsets, but I never tire of the incredible sunrises.


It was beautiful, even to the north west. Every cloud in the sky looked as if it were on fire. Just incredible.

Out of Hibernation....I hope

I feel like I've been hibernating over the past few months. Winter tends to do that to me. I think I'm more sensitive than the average bear (pun intended) when it comes to daylight hours and that winter-blah funk. Thankfully the daylight hours are on the rise.

The hens are laying again, after slacking off for a month or better. Egg sales are going well. Steve had someone from his building pop into his office and ask "So Steve, what exactly is it that you sell out of the back of your Jeep? It looks like egg cartons, but it couldn't be eggs, so what is it really?" So he had to explain we have hens and the whole "Egg Fairy" thing; he puts eggs in the cooler and sometime during the day the egg fairy comes, takes the eggs and leaves money. He has only ever seen one of the egg clients. Another of the clients rides his bike to pick up eggs, three dozen at a time, rain or shine snow and cold....must be good eggs!

Ben & Jerry are growing, adding about 10-12 inches since they came. They roam the place and have on occasion hopped up on the porch deck to see what exactly I am doing inside. They know when I holler "hear, hear, come boss" it means dinner is on.

Speaking of dinner, I got the hook-up when it comes to feed. I found out, compliments of Craigslist, that the local brewery has a bunch of spent grains that they have to haul to the dump each week. But alas, no longer. Now Ben, Jerry, Cheddar, Tigris, Gretel and the hens eat high off the hog compliments of the brewery. Last load I got was about 700 lbs of grain. They win because they don't have to pay to dump and we win because free feed is a always good thing.

I placed an order for 200 chicks. Woo hoo! I found a place that sells the days left overs for $45/200. So I scooped up an order of 200. They should arrive around February the 9th. I'll have a few schools hatching for me as well, so I'll probably end up with 250-300 chicks this year. Yikes! I'm going to raise them up till I can tell hens from roos and them butcher and sell the roos, keeping the hens to add to the egg business.

The goats have a new past time, rock climbing. At the north end of the property is a pretty big rock, I'm guessing 70 or 80 feet high. They like to climb that thing up and down back and forth. Scared the bejeebers out of me the first time I saw them up there. They even bedded down for the night up there once and I had to go retrieve them with a flashlight in one hand and a can of feed in the other to lure them back down. I've sold Tigris and Gretel, they go to their new home the first week in February. I'm really, really sad to see Gretel go, she is a very good-natured, affectionate, obedient doe, but I need to get out of goats.....they have a mind of their own and are just too stubborn and mischievous for me. The kids wont drink the milk, which was the purpose of getting them in the first place. Besides, I'm getting kinda tired of climbing that rock with a can of grains every day.


An incredibly beautiful sunrise


I'm an early to bed, early to rise sort of person. Gives me the opportunity to see the handiwork of God that those night owls in the family tend to miss.


Goats on the rock


Gretel likes to walk along the front of this rock. scares me to watch.


One of the roos picking through the spent grains in the steer's feeder.


Got a bunch of handsome guys around the barnyard.