Water II

Then Israel sang this song; "Spring up, O well and sing it's praises"  Numbers 21:17

This weekend we managed to clean out the 3 working spring fed watering troughs. It was very messy work. During attempts to siphon water out of one I managed to get a mouthful of the filth from the bottom and promptly vomited up my breakfast.

There was about a foot of silt and sediment and accumulated detritus in the bottom of each trough and it required a lot of work to get it out. I did manage to save some of this black gunk to spread on the garden. I have heard mix reports about its effects positive and negative on gardens. We will see. 

I also visited the spring above crab-apple pond. It too seems to be silted up and filled with detritus. I know that Bob and Aunt Sandy have both worked to keep this spring clean but I am thinking that it too may need an overhaul and thorough cleaning. I have a soft spot for this little spring because if has a fairy tale quality about it. It is set off the trail 12 metres or so and is formed from a cutting set back into the hill. I can easily imagine the princess Sabra collecting water to bath George's wounds received from fighting the dragon.

There is another spring on the farm which has a similar quality about it on the other side of the ravine near the driveway. The water comes out of an old pipe set into the rock and is collected in a small stone cistern before over flowing down into the ravine. We cleaned this out a bit in the winter and we hope to make it a summer picnic spot. We can move the most freely around the farm in the early spring, before the hay gets high. But we can get to this spot via the road and woods.
 
Water is precious and an important part of farm life. We hope to be good stewards.