Wednesday, February 3, 2010

just the right amount of rain...

Woke up to a dreary looking Wednesday. Lots of clouds, a cold breeze and some drizzle. Puttered away the morning then took an hour nap at 11:30. Woke up just as my neighbor Capt. K came by for a visit along with 22 longhorns....and some little bits of blue sky. A nice surprise was that my old friend Beatrice (the first longhorn I could hand feed) was with the group. I haven't seen her since early November. Of course I called her right up to the front of the herd and fed her first. She still knows the drill...

At exactly 4:22PM is started to rain again. Had a pretty good gusher for about a half hour. Based on how the water was running down my driveway - I figured it was time to pump finally. As soon as it started to let up, I headed strait for the creek and sure enough it was a flowin'. My little gas powered pump came through like a trooper and started up after about 6 pulls - not bad considering this thing has been sitting there about 5 months. The beauty of this little rain event is that the skies cleared right afterward for a nice bright end of the day. This last little rain amounted to .33" in 25 minutes. I captured 44.5 gallons off the roof of my little hut while it rained...but at the creek - I pumped 1750 gallons into a tank in about 30 minutes after the rain stopped. Been there - caught that... 46,54,44, .65"

12 comments:

Nat said...

I don't know why, but I always find your water bonanzas the most exciting events you report on. Good job!

Scavenger said...

I sure hope your using a fuel stabilizer like Stabil or something for the pump.

tffnguy said...

Glad you got the rain and I missed it. Of course when I get some storage and a way to capture it then that will be a different story. You could have really cleaned up here in Odessa. Rain ALL DAY and it still is.

Too bad Benita wasn't with the gang. Maybe soon...

Ron/Debbie said...

Has anyone seen Benita this winter? How old is Benita?

neil said...

TFL-TimeLapse-20100203

Caboose said...

I like Neil,s time laps, good job Neil. Rain much needed happy you caught some, off the roof and ground. Your blog is very exciting every day John. Hope and praying that Benita returns safely.

mike said...

I would make a pond to pump the water out of that creek,maybe line it with black plastic.

Andy V said...

Mike - read his past blogs. John has damned up an area of the creek to pool some of the runoff so he can pump it. I am not speaking for him but making a pond with black plastic wouldn't work in the summer desert heat IMO. Evaporates too quickly. Now building a covered swimming pool.....

Allen Hare said...

It's good to see one of your old friends showed back up. The two-tone fur on her face is amazing to look at!

Hurray for the rain! Glad you caught some. Wish I could send you some of mine.

mike said...

Thanks Andy, I miss reading his blog once in a while.

Andy V said...

You're most welcome, Mike! It might take a couple of hours but well worth it. John is a modern day folk hero and a guru of off-grid life! For him to share it is a gift to all of us.

Unknown said...

Still wet in Abilene, too ... three days in a row of constant rain.

We are prone to droughts so I 'spose I ought to be thankful.