Saga of an "Irrigation Ditch."

This little ditch has many stories...It has been revered, cursed, rerouted, used for irrigation and also as entertainment for children of all ages...The gurgling sound lulls me to sleep at night as it flows past our bedroom window...It runs for approximately 6 months out of every year...We pump water for irrigation as do our Barton Heights neighbors...This little ditch is hardly noticeable, and has been the scene of many mishaps...People unaware of its presence have been known to drive into the ditch or fall into the ditch...Luckily no one has been injured, just aggravated and embarrassed.

Forty one years ago, when we moved to Barton Heights, we didn't take much notice of the ditch but water magically appeared every spring and disappeared every fall as Kirk Hayes did his job as keeper of the ditch...Herb cleaned our part of the ditch and we lined it with heavy timbers to make mowing around it easier...Now it has fallen to Herb and other neighbors to care for the ditch...It has become a spring ritual, making repairs to the small dam and head gate, directing water into the ditch, cleaning the ditch and adjusting the flow...Herb has spent the past week making trips on the 4-wheeler to the head gate...He carries a shovel, rake, axe and other tools...First the ditch is a trickle, then a stream and then as someone else is also "messing" with the ditch it becomes a muddy, raging torrent as they dump more water into our ditch...And so it goes, another trip to the head gate, more adjustments made and this morning the water is running smoothly, ready for us to connect our pump.

Yesterday Herb hauled hoses to the pasture, filling the old bath tub, giving the animals fresh drinking water...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

"Tate" the dog, helping Herb 

"Will" the llama, always curious

Looking for more grass after a refreshing drink.