On Thursday or Friday of this week our irrigation water will be turned off.
No longer will irrigation water from the Gunnison River flow through our canal on its way to California.
The canal will dry up and stay empty until next spring…the last week in March.
I am showing you pictures of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. 40 miles from our farm.
This is the canal that diverts the allotted portion of the Gunnison river into canals for irrigation and drinking water.
This canal is so large a grain truck can sit in the bottom of the canal and there is still several more feet to the top. Lots of water flows through here. Lots of water.
I actually like this incredibly dangerous and frightening water. I enjoy knowing the life that it brings to the land. And I like drinking it too 🙂
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 
I imagine that these were taken before your snow storm? There is nothing like the sound of rushing or falling or burbling water.
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That is impressive! Do you ever have issues with flash floods or is the water flow pretty well-controlled?
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That is indeed a beautiful beginning!
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Water rights; they defined the west, formed it’s shape and color, and regulated it’s growth.
It’s a complicated dance.
Lovely shots, Linda.
~Faith
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It has got to be a pain to have to irrigate, is it not? Do you do it all summer long?
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Wow, that is incredibly beautiful….as I have said before I love reading about how you folks do things….so different in so many ways, and yet with the same goals in mind. Take care.
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Awesome pictures! That must have been quite a ride. Is there no reservoir system to hold this water? Or does California get it all when you don’t need it.
We just heart the report that our reservoirs have more water than any time in the last ten years. One big body of water has been so dry that grass was growing in the shallow end and four wheelers were using the place for trail riding. No now!
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That’s amazing. I wouldn’t want to fall off that cliff 😉
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Water..such a valuable resource..one we take for granted. Lovely photos, but they had me hanging onto my computer chair. That is quite a drop..:)
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OMG – we drove through Black Canyon of the Gunnison several years ago on our way back from a llama show in Grand Junction. Never again. I was scared spitless! I’m terrified of heights.
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Wow. Just plain wow.
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