Different area on the farm from our new flower area, but I could not resist including these farm roses, which by the way, also happen to be edible. Imagine how they would look crystallized and candied, on a cake.
You might also enjoy our Flower Farm photo album.
Last week, this poor little guy flew into the power lines, let out a loud "Gak!" and fell into our arena, dead. Power lines are hard on the birds, and I can only wonder how much more of this we will see when the power lines across the street are relocated to our historic farm as part of the North Shields St. widening project just outside of Fort Collins city limits. Going underground with the lines would be best, but Xcel does not want to spend the money, according to county and city workers I have asked about the problem. In other developments, rumor has it that the City of Fort Collins is sending the sewer line off of my property under the river and all the way north to Highway 287. If you believe the internet real estate sites, a property about 100 yards from my east border, 832 Wood St., just sold for $2 million. Unbelievable. I can just see all the real estate investors licking their chops.
Read also:
'They came slowly out of the forest ...' - Bambi meets bulldozer
One of our veterinarian clients just sent me this update:
STATE VETERINARIAN'S OFFICE - Positive EHV 1 Horse in Colorado EHV-1 Update 5/15/14 The Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (CSU-VDL) has notified the State Veterinarian’s Office at the Colorado Department of Agriculture that the horse which was showing signs consistent with EHV-1 on 5/14/14 tested positive to EHV-1 The horse was euthanized due to complications from the neurologic form of EHV-1, also known as Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy (EHM). A second horse from the same facility has developed a fever today and considered a suspect case but is not displaying any neurologic signs at this time. This second horse attended some of the same events within the rodeo/barrel racing circuit as the original horse. Because of these developments and the recent history of other EHV-1 cases in other states, the State Veterinarian’s Office in Colorado recommends that equine event organizers and horse owners competing in the rodeo/barrel racing circuit exercise extreme caution with regards to the planning and holding of equine events. Disease prevention practices and good biosecurity should be implemented. Owners should consider the risk for exposure to EHV-1 at upcoming events to be elevated and owners may want to consider keeping their horses at home to limit their individual risk.
Read about our stable's last experience with voluntary quarantine:
As the Biosecurity Turns: Our stable awaits EHV-1 test
Horse quarantine: A harsh bargain
Read also:
Horse first aid emergency: Surprise ingredient halts reaction
Legolas the Goat enjoys his canopy of crabapple blossoms. The crabapple trees produced spectacular blossoms this year, which are also edible. I've also heard of people drying blossoms to use instead of dried rice at weddings because the blossoms are better for the animals and the environment.
You might also enjoy our Flower Farm photo album.
A new project has required planting tons of flower seeds, and a poem about sunflowers in this collection caught my eye. Does anybody out there know about Elliott C. Lincoln? I bought this 1920 book ages ago at a flea market along Interstate 80. Lincoln's idea of homesteading is very "western", complete with old paint horses, which he mentions later in the book in lower case, not as a capitalized breed. A certain regret surrounding the side effects of progress rises to the surface in "Rhymes of A Homesteader", as later in the book, the automobile and barbed wire scar Lincoln's world. Publishers didn't spend a lot of money on cover design back in those days. Here is the first poem in this rare treasure:
The Sunflower Road
THERE'S a land of opal mountains, singing creeks,
and springing fountains,
A land of magic distances in hazy, lazy light,
Where the pastel greens, and yellows, amber
browns, and purple shadows,
Make a glory of the daytime, and it's dusty blue
at night.
When the summer sun is burning, there a friendly
road is turning.
Twisting, bending, rising, falling -- just a trail
among the hills;
But 'tis bordered by the graces of a million golden
faces,
And the laughter of the sunflowers frees the heart
of all its ills.
Now the winter snows are driven through the
land; the trail is hidden.
Desolate, the white hills glitter under skies of
turquoise blue.
But in June comes summer weather, and again
we'll ride together
On that friendly, glowing, happy road, just wide
enough for two.
You might also enjoy:
32 truths about homesteading
Working too hard at farming to succeed
'They came slowly out of the forest ...' - Bambi meets bulldozer
Had any "cow-tastrophes" lately? RIP, Bud McCaulley
My book, Winning Bet, hits Berlin!