Oh what beautiful corn!

This is the corn around our house. It is getting so tall (at least to me it is) and it is so beautiful. I will go out in the cool, early mornings to watch and listen to the breeze blow through the stalks. Oh what a wonderful life!

Maggie and Jack

This is Maggie's best "doggie", Jack. He is the neighbor dog and when they get together they will play until they both collapse. It is good for Maggie to have good socialization with other dogs.

The Little Red Hen Garden

This is Chayla. I know it is amazing that I am blogging, it is a monumental occasion (says Ben).
I want to show you my garden. I am so proud of it and I have been working so hard, so I thought that I would let everyone see my progress. The reason why it is called a little red hen garden is because it is centered on the book the Little Red Hen. 5 families that have come together and planted a great big garden. And whoever will help plant and cultivate and harvest will get to partake of the fruits of the garden. It is really great! And it is keeping me pretty busy, seeing as it is an acre and a half of needy veggies. Isn't that exciting? We have planted melons, corn, pumpkins, squash, popcorn, beans, beets, lettuce, cabbage, radishes, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cantalope and honeydews. Doesn't that sound so great! I am so excited for harvest. Hopefully I can put up some good food storage.




The Irrigation Watering System. Yes, I learned how to pump the water through these pipes. It is harder than you might think.

Bishop's Castle

Just up the canyon from where we went camping a couple of weeks ago amidst the tall trees and the palatial rocky mountains lies a red neck dream. Bishop's Castle has become one of the most popular eye sores in the state of Colorado. Jim Bishop has been risking his life to build this monstrosity since 1969 and is apparently quite proud of it. Every rock used was taken from the national forest in which the castle resides. Multiple charges have been filed against him including stealing rocks from the San Isabel National Forest. According to the signs and local lore public officials have tried to stop him from building this castle. Day after day he climbs upward of 70 feet in the air on rickety and rotting scaffolding to add on to his masterpiece. It is a very frightening experience to walk around this castle. The outer walkways are made of thin steel and shoddy welding. There is a detached gift shop and restaurant that probably doesn't have a food handling permit or business license. But if you arrive early enough you can get a pork chop, two eggs, and hash browns for breakfast for only $5. We would have stayed longer than we did but we forgot to go in for a tetanus shot before.

Camping at San Isabel Lake

Located about an hour and a half away from our house to the west is a beautiful lake and campground where we went camping last weekend. It was very nice. We are very much enjoying our new camp set up and hope to get a lot of use out of it. For the most part Maggie makes for a pretty good companion on our new adventures.

Beautifully Allergenic

Out our front door and across the road to the north is a beautiful alfalfa field. It has been so exciting to watch the farmer cut and then bail this alfalfa from flowing flowery grass to neat and clean rows of 1 ton cubes. Due to the heat lately we have been sleeping with the windows open. This has caused me to have incredibly clogged sinuses. Apparently I am allergic to alfalfa. So it will have to be pretty to look at.

All Things Growing

When we arrived here in early March we were surrounded by a bunch of dirt. Now within the past month we have started to see perfectly straight rows of green. These are getting bigger and bigger. Seems to be a good year for corn.
People around here seem to take on a more optimistic outlook on life as the ground turns green and as crops mature. It doesn't matter whether they are farmers or not.