Shoveling …um… mud

I’m getting ready for incoming cattle here on the high plains and that means making sure that water and fences are up and in good shape.  Our water is supplied by several sources- natural ponds, windmills, and an electric well pipeline.  One of the things I need to do for the mills and pipeline is clean out the stock tanks.  They’ll accumulate dirt, moss, and, well, cow poo.  Cows don’t think anything about pooping in the water they drink and it can build up in the tank, esp over several years.   Thus, we clean ‘em out, generally every years, but every 2 years at least.

What I have to do is first get the tank dry.  Usually this means just letting the water evaporate all winter but it can also mean pumping the tank dry.  I pumped 2 tanks last Weds and let them sit for several days.  Today, me and the boys went out to check on those and a couple more and get the mud out.

This here is a windmill

Once the inside of the tank is fairly dry, it's time to get in and shovel.  There was a lot of moss last year and therefore the tanks didn't get very dry as moisture hid out beneath the moss.   Also in the mud were parasites- flat worms, red worms, and so forth.  Cleaning the tanks out will  help knock those down a little bit.

Me and Derek are shoveling "stuff"

Look how thick and matted this moss is!

A flatworm in the mud.  These are cattle parasites.

A raven skull.  Probably a chick that didn't make it.

Last week, I mentioned that I'm really not much of a traveling man.  You know why?  Because I get sick, that's why!  Look at poor David on our DC trip!  I managed to escape that one, barely, but Mom and Lil' Bro all came down with whatever David had.  And now, a week back from our Grand Canyon escapade, Mom and I both have hacking, deep in the lung, coughs.  I can barely talk and I'm supposed to be in the pulpit tomorrow.  I'll probably pull thru, but I'll be glad when this latest sickness is over.  I will say this- working outside today helped a bunch.

I’m finishing up a series for KLMX radio that I have to record tomorrow and get to the station by tomorrow evening.  I’m on the radio every 5 weeks as part of the local “Ministerial Alliance”.  Last time I was on, I started on the “Minor Prophets”, covering Amos, Joel, Hosea, Obadiah, and Jonah.  This time, I’m looking at Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Haggai.  If you’re interested, you can find the text of the messages on the church website (http://www.fbcdesmoines.org under Sermons-Text). 

That's about it for today.
All of today's pictures taken by David!