Water

Kris just said he loves listening to the rain. It's raining and thundering and lighting outside right now, on this nice first day of summer. Not only is it good for our crops and pasture, but ... we also turned on the irrigation for the first time yesterday, so now we can turn it off.



My dad put up the first irrigation system on our farm, which is this one above that covers 75 acres. (When we moved here we put up another one to cover an additional 100 acres.) He said he always wanted to put one up, because there are creeks on both sides of the farmland, but the middle pasture was dry - especially during the 70s and 80s. Grass is a shallow-rooted plant so it needs regular watering.

In 1995 dad had been pasturing for eight years. He said that most of those years, there was a drought. So that year he put up the irrigation system.

My mom said that year it rained and rained and rained. The other farmers in the community kept joking, telling him, "We're so happy you put up that irrigation system!"

But there have been many years since then we've really depended on it. And more to come, I'm sure!