What we take for granted
At the moment we have no water supply to the troughs in our fields – and there is none to the neighbouring fields either. The problem is the pump that takes the water from my well up to the header tank at the top of the hill that in turn gravity feeds the troughs.
It will probably be fixed in the next day or two but in the meantime I will be carrying buckets of water out to the horses to make sure they have enough to drink. The cattle next door have been given access to a stream so they too are provided for. Fortunately, the house has a separate pump from the same well so I have water in the house.
As I carry the buckets out to the horses, I can’t help thinking that this is how people (and especially women) used to spend a considerable amount of time – and still do in some parts of the world. Now that we have running water and other “labour saving” goods and services, are we putting the time we have “saved” to good use? I’m going to keep a rough count of how much time I spend water carrying and start to notice more consciously what I am doing with the rest of my time. After all, it’s just as precious a commodity as water.
Hi -Red Horse Speaks – Your blog has made Haynets Blog of the Day today!! Come and have a look http://hay-net.co.uk/member/haynetadmin/blog/600/blog-of-the-day—the-red-horse-speaks
I can identify with the water problem. When we first moved to our current yard our horses were “temporarily” in a corner of the hayfield and we had to barrow water up there. I bought and borrowed camping water containers which you can roll along. It was very successful except our temporary paddock lasted for six months. I was glad when we could finally move to a field with water on tap!
Jooles