When we moved out to the Orland area, we were told that we were now part of the Orland Water Users Association.
“Oh, great! Uh, what does that mean?”
“Oh, they’ll explain it to you.”
The real explanation would have been like this: ” Every ten to fourteen days, your world will revolve around a flood irrigation system that uses the ancient pharaoh’s system of gates and canals, only his system was better. You’ll get 30 minutes notice of when it is your turn to get the water and there is a good chance it will be between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.. Then you will have to go down the road, open an irrigation gate and close another irrigation gate to divert the water and hope that the water flows to your property instead of your neighbors. Oh yeah, the snakes will be coming out fast and furious, for a snake, when the holes in the ground begin filling with water. This procedure goes from April to October and since we’re in one of the worse drought areas in the state, you’ll actually be glad that you are part of the association.”
Today was our last day to get our irrigation water for this year. Truly, it really should be a National holiday.
(Benny loves running through the pasture when it is filled with water. Birds come from everywhere to feed off all the insects coming out of the grass and sometimes you get a pretty photo from it all. And, you get to have a green pasture all summer while you don’t need to water your fruit trees. The poplar and willow trees thrive with that type of irrigation.)
Another Picture On The Wall 
I remember when you first wrote about this and the llama encounter you had, in fact I kept the photo of the llamas by your canal because it was so unusual to see and I’ll bet very weird to experience. What a ton of work to get your garden watered, it sounds like an Egyptian creation, the plus is that the system gets water to you as you said. Must be a joy to watch Benny run through the water, most dogs have a field day when there’s water to run through. Well now you get a nice, long break from the arduous work, enjoy the slower pace of the coming winter.
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One of those poor Alpacas died last summer during an intense heat spell. They really connect to each other and it kills me to watch the one left in my neighbor’s pasture. Benny goes over to the fence once in awhile and the two species try to each other out. Generally speaking, out here, animals are just objects to folks. I understand their perspective, as I lived the same way, but along the way, perhaps because of a natural attraction to Francis de Assisi, I had a major shift. Still not a vegetarian but often think about it.… oh, yes, we are tired of the long growing season. It was 95 degrees here today and will be for the rest of the week. I think each season should be exactly three months long!
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Figure each other out
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Oh how very sad, when animals bond it is a lifetime bond, I’m sure the one left will always feel the loss. I’ve had pets all of my life but felt a connection with my last two cats that started when my late cat Princess crawled across my bedroom to be in my arms as she crossed the rainbow bridge, I cried for days. St. Francis became my hero around the same time, it’s the best kind of love. I’ll bet you’re tired of the heat, I don’t miss it at all, it stopped about a month ago, it’s in the 60s for a high and drops to the mid 30s for a low, it feels so.good. I wish you and your family cool fall weather as soon as possible!
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A precious gift, water is. But what you have to do to get it, must be a bit daunting. Enjoy your next 6 months of uninterrupted sleep! 🙂
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So fortunate to have access to the water out here in Dry Town, USA. We’ll see what next year brings us. Hopefully final week of temps above 95 this week!
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Have you ever experienced really cold Winters, like in Canada? The warmer weather must be easier on the body than freezing cold. Though I guess both extremes may be just as bad. The watering process seems like a lot of work for you, but the results for your blogging followers seem worth it, says the guy who doesn’t have to get up at 3:00 a.m.
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Not really, Len. My hometown got down to 0 Fahrenheit (-17c) but we rarely get below 20 F (-6c) but those are brief cold spells. Yes, the extremes are not nice to us. I know 117 F (47c) sure doesn’t feel good on the body, at least mine!
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Sounds like hard work Gary and the idea of snakes everywhete doesnt sound too great. On the other hand having enjoyed seeing all the amazing fruit you produce I guess its worth the agro.
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