THIS WATERING SYSTEM MOVES FORWARD A FEW FEET ABOUT EVERY 30 SECONDS
THIS IS THE GOOGLE EARTH IMAGE OF THE SAME CROP CIRCLES I PHOTOGRAPHED THIS WEEK. RANCH IS AT LOWER LEFT
It was nearly a year ago when an email landed on our desktop while we were boondocked just west of Yuma in California. That email from DOUG & JOANN, people we had never met, led directly to our ranch sitting job here in southeastern Arizona. (we later did meet D&J) They put us in email contact with a couple in Arizona who were hoping to spend a little time catching up on some RVing themselves.....if they could find someone to look after their ranch while they were away. Well, one thing led to another & we began emailing back & forth with Jeanie & Ray the ranch owners near Douglas, Az. They gave us the location of their ranch so I fired up our Google Earth to see if I could find the location from the air. First thing I saw in the approximate ranch area were 6 very round & very large circles on the ground. I had no idea what they were & the only time I had ever seen anything remotely similar were pictures of mysterious crop circles. It wasn't until we finally arrived at the ranch about 6 weeks later that I found out what those very larger round circles really were.
Irrigation!! In southern Ontario we have lots of rain so there is no need for irrigation. Fields are typically square or rectangle like a patchwork quilt. In the Sulphur Springs Valley here the land is very arid & dry making it difficult for crops to grow. And, especially this past 7 years since the annual summer Monsoon rains have not been dropping their usual heavy rainfalls. The water table in the valley is low & it was one of the factors here at the ranch that persuaded the owners Jeanie & Ray to sell their 40+ head of cattle a few years back. Not enough rainfall to sustain their crops for cattle feed. There is an extensive irrigation system here on the ranch but if the water table isn't up to where it should be, the system becomes less effective.
The way some ranchers have dealt with this problem is to plant their crops in large circles. A single water pipe, well, & pump system brings the water up & out of the ground from the center of the circle & into a long piping system that travels in a slow circle around the field on sets of wheels. To-day's photos show a new system being installed last week & another one in operation. I was lucky enough to come across the watering process on my way home from our photo group yesterday.
(click on photos to enlarge)
While Kelly was at her Yoga class this morning I was able to get some shrubs trimmed around the ranch & spent some time cleaning up the corral area. ‘With no-body around I was really able to belt out some cowboy tunes too:)) To-morrow morning a Ferrier is coming to trim the donkey's hooves. I wanted the corrals all spiffed up before she got here. This afternoon we brought the donkeys into the corral from an adjoining field & first thing to-morrow morning we'll put them into a smaller stall for their manicure. And how do we move these donkeys around so easily?? Yummy hay bales, that's how. Just place a bale of hay on the ground and they will be there:))
HAULING OUT SOME HAY FOR THE DONKEY GUYS. ONE BALE FOR SUPPER, ONE FOR BREAKFAST……HEEEEE-HAWWWWW!!
To-morrow afternoon we're heading over to the New Tribes Mission where Jeff the head pilot will give us a tour of the facilities. And Thursday afternoon I will be slipping over to Belle Starr's to give her a hand at re-vitalizing her blogsite. Yesterday we only had 2 people out for our photo group but that was OK because I was able to help fellow photo grouper MARYBETH set up her own blogsite. Both Kelly & wish we knew how to do full blown websites but without some kind of instruction course it's not too probable. If we could land a website course some time, Kelly would take it because she has the most good brains in the family:)) Much easier for her to attend the course then teach me rather than the other way around because the only thing I would probably remember at the end of the day would be what we had for lunch!!
OLD RUSTY FARM MACHINERY
Kelly brought a book home from the Elfrida library the other day called, The Day After Roswell. To-day I started reading my first ever book about that UFO incident. I have a very open mind about that sort of thing but have not done a lot of reading about it because there has been no way to separate fact from fiction regarding that incident. And I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in fiction!! If this book I started reading to-day is indeed fact, & so far I have no reason to believe it isn't, then the crash of an alien craft northwest of Roswell..........is true!!
WEEKLY SATURDAY NIGHT DONKEY DUST BATH
And one year ago to-day we were boondocked at Pilot Knob just west of Yuma for the night & that is where I took the photo you see at the top of our blog:))
SUPER PALS
GROANER'S CORNER:(( If David Letterman were to define the term "Top 10 reasons for Owning a Recreational Vehicle"-
1) A hobby that doesn't make you money, isn't relaxing, and leaves you broke!
2) A lifestyle choice that can kill you...or at least try to!
3) An obsession that will land you in the Funny Farm...or a Campground in Yeehaw Junction, Florida!
4) An amusing distraction...but you don't smile that much!
5) A great way to spend your kids inheritance!
6) A potentially deadly disease for which there is no cure!
7) A terrific way to see the very best and worse in humanity, from your living room.
8) There are easier ways to squander a lot of money! Live and pay Taxes in California for example!
9) The only cheap way to take a vacation that leaves you broke!
10) A way of life that is guaranteed NOT to make a 'homeless guy pushing a shopping cart with all of his worldly belongings in it' jealous!
BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.
