WATevER Will I Do?

First fire and now water. I find myself at the fickle mercy of the elements this week. Huh. Might as well embrace the theme and roll with it…

I went outside to water my flowerbeds yesterday only to discover that the hose had ran dry. This is a fairly common occurrence around here. The cowpoke is a great inventor of labor and energy—read money—saving devices. I am able to water guilt free and to my heart’s content—thanks to his handy dandy Gravity Fed Water System. *ahem* When it’s working that is.

The first year of the clever invention was wrought with frustration. The cows knocked the pipeline apart on a daily basis. This has since been mostly rectified but bitter memories will linger.

There is one memory I can recall with a certain degree of fondness…

I was down on my knees one morning—no I wasn’t praying at the time—I was taking a sprinkler head apart to check for a blockage. When I didn’t find an obvious obstruction, I tried shaking the hose and raining unladylike words upon it. To my utmost chagrin, none of my resourceful efforts brought the water back. I stood up in dismal defeat, threw the offensive hose down, and said something like, “How the heck am I supposed to water now?”

I turned around and there was my precocious Blue Dog—sitting quietly, watching me intently—with a half full watering can clenched firmly between his teeth. Wow! Epiphany. There are alternative solutions to every problem.

He was right of course. However; the water shortage I am facing at the moment is not easily fixed. The water level in the lower dam has sunk below the pipeline. The upper dam is being held in reserve in case we need it to fight a forest fire. Alas, there will be no more creek water this gardening season. And pumping the artesian well water for yard usage would be an unfair tax upon the old pump.

So that brings me back to Blue, the epiphany, and the pink plastic watering can. Hmm…

No—I simply can not envision myself toting a watering can whilst trudging back and forth from the house to the garden several million times…

And so without further ado—I'm off to grab a shovel. I shall miss my little garden.

"As a principle-centered person you try to stand apart from the emotion of the situation and from other factors that would act on you, and evaluate the options. Looking at the balanced whole--the work needs, the family needs, the other needs that may be involved, and the possible implications of the various alternatives--you'll try to come up with the best solution taking all factors into consideration. We are limited but we can push back the borders of our limitations." --Stephen R. Covey