About 3:00 yesterday afternoon the ditch rider came by and locked our head gate down more holes…we are now at 50% of the 100% of water we pay for every year. We will still pay the 100%; there just isn’t water in the mountains. Snow pack was only 4 feet last winter and is gone now, accept for a few tiny drifts here and there.
And it isn’t even July!
What is July going to bring? An even worse thought…what is August going to bring!?
We are back to changing the water every 8 hours. 6 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 10 at night. At least we got caught up and the ground is starting to hold the water. Less water and less rows we can set.
To give you an idea…say at 100% you can set 35 rows, at 70% you can set 23 rows so now we are looking at 15-18 rows. This is just an approximate, a general idea. Each field is different and sometimes each row is different.
IF this heat continues and the hot, heavy wind (we had 40 m.p.h. gusts yesterday) ….. let us not go there. Worse thought yet, is what if there isn’t any snow in the mountains this winter…!!!?
Okay, okay.
July could/can be a wet month–typically that is our monsoon month, with moist air moving up from the Gulf of Mexico…this would be good! RAIN!
The middle of July starts to see the Winter Wheat being harvested and the sweet corn crops going into to market. (The sweet corn harvest starts in July and ends the second week in September.) As these fields are harvested the farmer does NOT continue with water on the field. This reduces the strain on the canal. So if these two things come together…rain and crops being harvested the rest of the crops in our area—onion, shelling corn, hay,and pinto beans all the farmers in the area should make it.
We will just have to wait and see.
The hummers are back!
This year instead of one soft tiny nest in the tractor shed we have TWO! I tried to climb up on the tractor to see if I could peer into the nest, but it was just too far up there for me.
At least I can see the nests, maybe if I keep checking I will see the baby hummers!
Sorry about the worry/rant…sometimes I think farming very stressful.
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 
Let’s just all pray for rain for you all this summer. Farming is stressful… Even here, we get stressed when we go through a very hot and dry summer….Not fun!!!
We still have no hummers here so far. I have two feeders out and keep on changing the liquid–but so far, I’ve seen none.
Hugs,
Betsy
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Do hummers nest communally? Except for swallows, I don’t think I’ve ever seen nests that close together. As much as hummers fight over who gets to rule the feeders, it’s hard to imagine them being so cozy with their nests.
I’ll keep you in my thoughts for rain. Is there a dam upstream on your water source, or do you rely strictly on runoff?
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So sorry for your water shortage! I hate to know how hard it is for you and the other farmers in your area. Hope you get the rains you need soon!
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I’m so jealous – hummer nests!!!!! I don’t think mine nest anywhere I’ll find them. Oh well…we need to set you up with a webcam or something so we can watch the babies! 🙂
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I do hope you get rain very soon! We are supposed to get up to 104 this week…it never really gets that hot, rarely. I imagine they will have to cancel school since none of the schools around here have air conditioning.
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I understand where you’e coming from with the rant. It’s tough to be a farmer. Where my family farms there is no irrigation. They depend on may and June rainfall. fortunately that’s when 75% of the yearly precipitation falls.
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I hope things are better for you soon. I appreciate your lesson on the use of water. Where my dad sold irrigation equipment there is a very high water table, so each flatland farmer had their own pump. Rant all you want!! I’m excited about the hummers nesting. I’d like to know if they always nest so close together. If I can stay home long enough I hope to get a feeder up.
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You have every right to rant. We’re sending rainy thoughts your way. We have experienced the drought years and will again, but this year we have had some good snow packs.
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I sure hope the water comes sooner rather than later for you! Hummer nest, that is pretty neat.
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Prayers for rain.
Congratulations on the hummers! One of the babies must have returned to nest or something. :o)
*hugs* ♥
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You have to keep us updated on the hummers. I’ve never known anybody who had their nests in a building. I always thought they nested up in trees where nobody can see them. But then I’ve never lived anywhere but heavily forested areas.
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Sometimes? Seems to me like it almost always would be — especially when it’s so DRY! I’ll try to do a rain dance for you….. sorry for my thoughtless comment on weeds on the post below! I’m not a farmer, so it’s very easy for me to look at them as wildflowers. I see now what damage they can cause.
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Rant away. We have broad shoulders. I didn’t know hummers would nest in a building!?!?
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Bless your heart. I hope you get some good moisture soon. I know how you are feeling. Prayers with you!
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Farming is stressful! It’s the nature of the beast. You can plan and plan, but Mother Nature has a way of putting a kink into the best laid plans. My brother has already been irrigating 24/7, but they got some welcome rain this week and he’s been able to slow it down.
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I hope you get some rain..we finally got some! It took long enough…almost a year to get any measurable precipitation. I swear that earthquake in Japan over a year ago did something..the wind blows almost everyday..and people either are too wet or too dry…nothing is normal..we are all out of whack.
Maybe you should do a rain dance:)
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