Thursday, February 24, 2011

February Meltdown

On February 13, the outside temperature rose to almost 60 degF!  Late in the afternoon, we heard sounds of rushing water.  To our amazement, the north pasture looked like a small river!  Upon investigating we discovered large amounts of water running off of the surrounding hills and into the drainage gully which runs through our land;  thewater was coming from rapidly melting snow.  The gully was blocked with snow drifts and ice, so the run-off came out of the banks of the gully and ran across our pasture on its way toward the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River.  The water then began backing up at our northwest corner, threatening to breech into our corral.  We spent the next two hours digging out a pathway for the water away from our property. 

Benjamin digs with the tractor while Doug chops at the ice and snow to break up a blockage.

Doug takes a break and surveys the rushing water.
The tractor and loader made the work easier and faster.    Our steers came over to watch the activities.

The steers acted like they were stranded!

As the sun set, the temperatures dropped below freezing again, and the flow of water gradually declined.  Were we tired!

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