A thought

From time to time I see quotes that just stick in my head and sometimes even tug at my heart and I say "Yes, that's exactly how I look at it". I've decided that from time to time I will post a quote as they come across my desk and through my life. Many of these I keep close at hand on my desk in a small notebook. I pull them out and read over them from time to time. It just seems to help me stay balance and focused... as much as I can be balanced and focused! LOL! You might even see one I have come up with myself.





"Life is not about riding out the storms ... Life is about learning to dance in the rain." ~unknown

Wandering Bear Farm ... in color!

Well, it's official ... or as official as it can get for a postage stamp sized ranch in Colorado! LOL! My old roommate, who's also one of my closest friends, probably ever, helped me come up with this great logo for the farm. Michael took some pushing and prodding but he was able to take my ideas and suggestions and pull them together with his great talents to come up with this very cool design. I can't begin to thank him enough! His talent as a graphic designer speaks volumes. Michael works for a world wide engineering firm and he and his work is very well respected in the company. He's incredibly good at taking very tough design tasks, and the idiosyncrasies of coworkers that really know nothing about the difficulties of his work, and continually gets praises, awards, and promotions regularly. Thank you again Michael.

At the time I wrote this I did not have a picture of him to post that he really approved of. You can see him in pictures of the Labor Day Party blog.

I know the image is a bit small on here. Try clicking on it and you may get it to open a little larger.

The morning light

This morning my friend David called me at about 6:45 to see if I was watching the sunrise. David calls me whenever he sees some cool sky on his long drive to work in Pueblo or on his way home. He's knows how crazy I am about the skies here. When he call this morning I had just looked out the window to the south and noticed how beautiful the sun after just creeping over the horizon was illuminating the hills to the south and the rain clouds were in stark contrast. Then within just a matter of minutes the rain began to fall gently, a blue bird was calling to the west. I looked over to find it and to my surprise I watched the rest of the display unfold before me ... Now this is the way to start a day. All before 7am.

Interruption

While I was enjoying my dinner tonight of beer boiled brats and roasted potatoes ... yeah, I hear the gasps and the jokes and don't laugh, I did actually try to cook tonight ... Bacci started barking like crazy at the kitchen window. So I got up from my tasty dinner to see what the commotion was all about. He rarely barks at anything out here for some reason. I looked out to the back and I was very surprised to see a small herd of antelope making there way past the pasture gate and around to the west into the high grass and the ravine. I got only a couple chances for pictures. They saw me and made a dash. I had seen a huge herd of about 30 back in July right after I moved here over a couple roads from mine but none in the immediate area. Then I get this great surprise today!

WBF Weather Station Update

7:30am MST

Temp 36F
Wind Chill 22
Winds from E/NE
Wind Speed at 29
Gusts at 32

I guess in a way we lucked out over night. The predicted 3-7" of snow was nothing but lots of rain. I'm not complaining. The issue about not wanting snow is that Colorado depends heavily on winter snows. So as we get deeper into Winter my wishes not to see more snow really need to be controlled. Like any other good farmer and gardener I don't want to have sprinklers on my gardens all summer long. It's my feeling that we waste far too much water anyway. These irrigation derricks all around my place suck out thousands of gallons of water daily to grow sod. This watering system is one of the most wasteful types there is. When the aquifer drops or dries up the sod Barons will be rich and can move away to greener pastures. The smaller farmers and ranchers who if lucky scratch out a living each year will be stuck with thousands of acres of dry lands and dry wells. Water, and rich ranchers are king out here in the west. The laws complex, and not on the side of the small families trying to live their dreams. I wish there were a way to get everyone to be more aware of wasteful water practices. In a future blog I will talk about the simple ways I reuse and recycle water, plastics, paper, compost all I can, and try very hard to watch my electric usage. And I save a bit of money at the same time.

Uh, from Summer to Fall? What's the deal?

OK, I don't even know how to write this blog other than to say that in a matter of 24 hours I have seen the gambit of weather here at the farm. Yesterday's blog gives you a recap of at least the mornings weather that took place. When I got up this morning the wind had declined dramatically bit there was one change in the landscape .... I could for the first time living here see snow on the mountains! It wasn't a big shock, in fact I was expecting it, and I was just hoping the clouds where high enough above the mountains to see the peaks. I attempted to get pictures from my office window. I could make out snow capped peaks far to the south and end of the Sangre de Christos mountain range. Approxiamatley 100 miles from what I am told. But haze interfered with the pictures.

I was asked to take my friend Bill to the Colorado Springs airport this morning and here's one of the shots as we headed into town looking west to Pike's Peak and Cheyenne Mountain.

Excuse me, but I was taught in elementary school that we had four seasons, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. The simply question is: "What the heck happened to Fall?" I understand from pics on the news that the Aspens have turned in the mountains. But my Box Elder and Elm trees are still quite green! And for the record, yesterday was the last day of Summer!!! Come one now!

And apparently animals are indeed good weather predictors. The goats and the cats have not once ventured from the barn the last two days. I guess it's time to buy heaters for the water tanks and get the window installed in the barn that's been missing.

Tonight they have announced a winter storm warning for northern El Paso County predicting 3-7" of snow. Yeah, I live in northern El Paso County!

Ever since this region and especially Colorado began getting lot record breaking rains this year I began predicting a long, white winter. Now that I live out here I am sorry that I predicted that ... I really do suspect that we might have a lot of snow this year.

I have come to a quick realization that this blogging might be more of an extension of The Weaher Channel than that the Farm and Garden report! Hopefully in a matter of a couple months I will be able to see my dreams come true and you'll be reading volumes of blabbery about what seeds are germinating, and the challenges of gardening in the dry high plains at about 6,500 feet above sea level. Yes, I am a dreamer. And dreaming gets me through life and through the rougher times of life ... Spring will arrive soon! LOL!

What a difference a day makes .... SNOW!

Yesterday it was a beautiful day. Today I woke up to cold strong winds and temps dropping down. It's dark and cloudy, lightning and thunder, sleet and rain. And as I write this I am seeing SNOW for the first time this year!

My friends at the Matrix Compound are schedule to have their wind generator erected today. Word from Cheyenne Wind Energy is that they work in all kinds of weather

The wind is howling. Here's some weather stats I took from the weather station here at Wandering Bear Farm:

7:15am MST

Winds from N/NE at 14 MPH
Gusts 21 MPH
Temp 46F
-----
7:30am MST

Winds from E at 31 MPH
Gusts at 49 MPH
Temp 42F
-----
11:45am MST

SNOW flurries!
Winds from E at 25 MPH
Gusts at 28
Temp 35!!!
Wind Chill 25!!!

Holy buckets I hate thinking about what is ahead out here! LOL! The attic is popping and groaning and the desk is vibrating as the house shudders against the gusts. I have heat on and Bacci is hibernated away under the pile of the down comforter. I may not see him again until spring.

The trip home Sunday

After hitting the bank, Walmart, Safeway, and Home Depot I headed back eat towards home and was treated to a beautiful ride home. While I was in town a pretty decent storm had passed through and I was getting the tail end of it. The lighting was incredible.

As the light began to fade I was approaching my turn towards my place. In the last light of the day you can barely make out Wandering Bear Farm.

And the day is done ...

Sunday morning

Yesterday morning I had to make my weekly resupply trip into Falcon. It was a beautiful morning. I took a ton of pictures and couldn't decide on which ones to blog. So here are a few.

Cows from North Dakota

OK, If you've never lived in the country you may not think this funny....

Ole is a farmer in Minnesota. He is in need of a new milk cow and hears about a nice one for sale over in Nordakota (that would be North Dakota for you non- Scandahoovians out there).He drives to Nordakota, finds the farm and looks at the cow. He reaches under to see if she gives milk.When he grabs the teat and pulls... the cow farts. Ole is very surprised. He looks at the farmer who is selling the cow, then reaches under the cow to try again.He grabs another teat, pulls, and the cow farts again. Milk does come out however, so aftersome discussion with the cow's current owner, Ole decides to buy the cow and take it home.When he gets back to Minnesota , he calls over his neighbor, Sven, and says, 'Hey, Sven, come and look at dis ere new cow I yust bought. Pull her teat, and see vat happens.'Sven reaches under, pulls the teat and the cow farts. Sven looks at Ole and says, 'You bought dis here cow in Nordakota, didn't yah?'Ole is very surprised since he hadn't told Sven about his trip. Ole replies, 'Yah, dats right. But how did you know?'Sven says, 'My wife is from Nordakota.'

All of you followers!

I want to thank all of you who follow my blog. It's becoming very exciting to me to send out my stories and for all of you to read them. I really had no idea that my simple life out here would be such an attraction that so many of you would enjoy following. I would enjoy it very much if you all registered and placed a face pic on it. Because of issues with the automated notification system I will continue to send you an email that I have posted a new blog.

Keep in mind that visually this is kind of a challenge for me to write because I can look at a mistake and not see it, words out of place or words misused. I try to proof each one a couple times and even after I post I catch mistakes. I would appreciate that if you catch one please tell me so I can correct it!

Lots of love and hugs,
Bear

A chilling night

Before I get to the real story I'll tell most of you that don't know me that I have very poor eyesight. A virus in my eyes in my twenties left me with much retinal scaring. So a lot of what I see is through peripheral vision. The virus and the three letter word I don't believe in (age) has combined to also give me big time issues with night blindness. I can see OK to drive at night but I won't do it if I don't have to. And thanks to my old roomie Michael who got me a G.P.S. for Christmas. It has been a life saver at night.

So now to the story. I have been having an awful time getting to sleep lately. My mind goes all the time so bedtime can be hard. Even with medication I have trouble falling and staying asleep. Last night was particularly hard for some reason. Three hours after I went to bed I finally went into a dead sleep.

But at 2:05am I was jerked out of my sleep by the sounds of howling, yelping, and calling. About five nights ago I'd heard it for the first time ... coyotes. They were far to the west of me by maybe a mile or more. But this time they sounded like they were next to my house! I scrambled in the darkness, glasses, socks, pants, out to the mudroom, shoes, jacket, flashlight ... and no gun ... so I grabbed my much cherished grandfather's pitchfork that hangs on the wall. I stepped out into the darkness not wanting at that point to turn lights on. Just as I stepped out they began another round of yelping and crying ... I felt the hair raise on my whole body and goose bumps covered me. I popped on my flash light and saw glowing eyes looking at me. Just off the fence line about 75 yards away a pack of at least seven were in the pasture. For me that is WAY too close for comfort. All I could think about was the safety of the goats and chickens. So I rushed to check them. They were bedded down and quiet. So I walked back over to the east pasture, squeezed under the barbed wire to make a vain attempt to chase them off when seconds later more began howling in the ravine to the south, then another group began to the west in the ravine still on the tract I live, and across the road to the west . They were all over the place ... and the farm was in the center of it all. Basically I was surrounded except to the north. Of course they could have been there and just not making noise. I began running towards them, and yelling and kept that up until the cool air of the night crept into my throat and lungs and I was horse. At that point I was about 100 yards from the house and the animals had retreated further into the darkness. So knowing that I really had no way to control the situation other than making my presence known like I tried, I walked back to the house, grabbed another heavier jacket, and sat outside the barn just listening and looking into the night. By that time my eyes had adjusted to the darkness and even with the poor sight I could make out silhouettes of the tress, the rolling hills, houses, and the amazing star filled sky. The coyotes had moved back to the west and across the road in their usual area by now and they were calling faintly. My adrenaline started to slow and it gave me another chance to enjoy and embrace my new life out here.

Some posh neighborhoods in Denver hire exterminators to come in and kill the coyotes. It's stupid and very controversial. Six months later there's new coyotes in the old territory. It's a losing battle. And of course they don't understand we are the ones who invaded, not the reverse. These people all want to live on the edge or in the wilds and don't get it that in doing so they have to compromise with the coyotes, hawks, snakes, deer, elk and other natives. And they can't handle that Fifi or Twinkle is A1 prime prey at the edge of town with all these wild animals that the residents so want to see but can't get it through their thick heads that wild animals eat too.

The coyotes belong here. man does not. So striking a balance is key in my thoughts. I will do all in my power to protect my pets and animals. If that means culling a pack I will indeed by a gun and do it. It is a last resort for me but I am prepared to go that far. I do not intend to go out with the neighbors on a slaughter campaign. I plan to look into my options like the Division of Wildlife and others. I am told by many that a Llama, or a donkey is a great guard animal. The guys at Matrix Compound have a Great Pyrenese that lives out with the goats. If a coyote pack is destroyed a new pack moves into the empty territory. So it's stupid to think you can dissolve the problem by killing them off. It doesn't work that way.

I climbed into bed at 3:35am worn down from the racing through the pasture, the yelling, and the adrenaline rush, and not looking forward to my body alarm waking me at 5:40am like it usually does most mornings. Chores did get done at 6am, but I am dead tired this morning and moving slow. But there's not much I'd change in this whole life of mine here. Again, I am a lucky man.

Ah, My Life at Wandering Bear Farm ...

The works of Al Livingston

I want to extend a special thanks to Al Livingston for his willingness and generosity in loaning me his art to pull my house together for my Labor Day party and give it life. Al is Navajo and grew up on the reservation. He's got a great life story that should be put into print. His art shows his appreciation and respect for the beauty of the desert south west. If he is representative of the Navajo people then they are sweet, gentle, generous, kind people. Below are the pieces that currently hang in my house.

Arid Treasure

Sage Mesa

Upper Grand Canyon

Pedernal Mesa

Golden Laden Meadows

You can visit Al's website at http://www.livingston-art.com/gallery.html

Welcome to the house

So, after weeks of working in the barn and on cleaning up the yard I was pressed into getting the house all pulled together for the now talked about Labor Day party. Yes, I have even had people I don't know ask to be invited next year! I finally realized after someone pointed it out that I don't have pictures of the interior of the house. Here's a bunch of shots of it. If you don't know me I do have a streak of decorating genes in me. Not that you or anyone else may like how I decorate but I guess it's my own brand. I like collecting eclectic stuff and throwing it together. Many of my objects have a meaningful story to me and I enjoy the house being filled with them.

As a special note I want say a special thanks to my friend Al Livingston who so willingly allowed me to hang some of his paintings in the house for my party and my enjoyment. Not only do they express my love for the desert south west but they really gave life to the house. He'll be hard pressed to wrangle the back from me! LOL! (Only kidding Al!) Please visit his website - http://www.livingston-art.com/gallery.html I think if you like the art of the desert south west you will enjoy his work. I another blog I want to show you the pieces hanging in my home right now.


I am starting at my "front" door which to most all of us is the back door of the house. But in the Colorado country the front is the back and the back is the front ... we're still talking doors here folks! LOL!

The front door and some of my hardy cactus and succulent collection. The first room is the mudroom. I love this room. I can take off and put on my dirty clothes and shoes and it keeps the house much cleaner.

Into the mudroom. The pitchfork on the left and two of the rakes we my grandfathers. My exceedingly wonderful adopted mom bought me the chicken painting a few years ago. It finally has a great spot. Below my work hats is the steps down to the cellar. It'll be a great storage area after I get all my packing boxes and junk organized. More room for Christmas and holiday decorations!!! Yeah, I can hear some of you groaning about my collections.

This is the coolest part of the room. The shelf and clothes bar. This was here when I moved in and has become the hub of action. I rest my hats and hang all my outdoor clothes here. Note the cowboy hats! And there's two felt hats in the boxes! I'm so proud - LOL!

The doorway into the kitchen and my buddy and guard dog (G)

Just a cool flour bag giving color to the wall next to the washer and dryer area

As you look into the right this is the view of the kitchen. Yes, I like refrigerator art.

Turning left is the archway into the living room

To the left some more is the stove and doorway to the stairs on the right and the bath on the left

Into the bathroom ...

My storage and some collectibles

The business area


Now you are looking into the living room and into the bedroom on the left

Moving counter clockwise ...

A peak into the bedroom from the living room

Now in the bedroom and again moving counter clockwise ...

My Zuni fetish collection and some of my other Native American gifts and finds.

Now back in the kitchen you walk through the little hall and go right ... "Up the wooden hill" ...

The attic area is split in two by a chimney and a short stud wall. One side is the extra twin bed I threw up here to sleep on when company stays over. I have slept up here a couple times and it takes me right back to my bedroom as a kid on the farm ... with the exception that I had to walk on splintery wood floors and the walls had no drywall on them. But the sound of the rain on the tin roof always lulled me to sleep up there. On this house it's shingled but I can still hear the rain pound, feel the vibrations of the thunder. and watch as the lightning as it lights up the sky and the Attic.

You are now looking from the other end of the attic where my desk is setting that is next to the south window over looking the barn and the hills and mountain range beyond

As I sit here finishing this blog at about 1145am MST a gentle rain has finally broke loose from the clouds and I can hear it hitting the tin roof of the barn, a rooster is crowing, the grass birds are signing, and off in the distance a hawk is calling ... and Jimmy Stewart thought he was in a wonderful life. I think I have trumped him today.