They cut off several more old poles, too. I'm going to replant the cut-off tops of them the first chance I get. That will give the Elf Owls, Ash-throated Flycatchers, and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers even more nesting options.
Meanwhile, I'm still cleaning out one of my two storage tanks. As you can see from the above photo that tank won't be ready to clean out for a while. At least I hope so, as that's my irrigation water until it rains again. Currently there's about 7 feet of water in it. In good years it doesn't get cleaned out because it rains before it gets low enough. On years it gets really low before a rain, I pump what's left of it into the tank I'm now cleaning. And ration water to my oasis accordingly as I clean out the above tank. I have to transfer my gambusias (mosquito fish) too, which is a real chore. After about the first million I just leave the rest and hope birds will get them. Right now, in the tank I'm cleaning there's a puddle of murky green water in the bottom with dying gambusias in it. I took out all I could catch with my net. They reproduce really prolifically in the summer and since the water in the full tank will keep going down, it's got about all the gambusias it can support in it.
It's hard to tell what's what on the below photo. My shadow in early morning light stands out as I'm positioned on the south wall looking down into the tank. The top 3 feet of the wall are above the height of the spillway. It had to be that way due to the terrain. So, althought the tank on the south end is 15 foot deep, it only holds 12 feet of water. In a huge flash flood like the one I had in 2000 it filled the whole 15 feet, but of course when the water level in the arroyo that was flooding went down it flowed from the tank until it was contained at the level of the spillway. It's an engineering marvel to behold during a big flood. Those tanks can fill up in a matter of minutes.
At the spillway, far right, mostly off the frame, the tank level holds 8 foot of water. That's due to impenetrable bedrock that our equipment couldn't dig when we built the tank. I've patched the tank again this year, as I do every year, and I think it's sealed good. Around that puddle of water is mud. Since I carry all the silt up a 15 foot ramp in 5 gallon buckets, and since I'm 70 years old, I wait for the mud to dry before I remove it. It's much lighter that way. This year the silt is only an inch or two deep so I'm about two-thirds through the project. And there's no hurry. I prefer to do it before the weather gets too hot, like it can in March and April. In previous posts I've posted photos of this tank when it's full.
3 comments:
Wow Carolyn. Thanks for all that you do for birds! Do you have any sort of bird fund or something I could send a few dollars to?
I'm worried what will happen when you aren't strong enough to do all that hauling anymore. Is there somebody from the younger generation in your area that can help you?
-John Berner (Houston)
Hi, John. To answer your question, I do have a donation box at my oasis now finally. When I'm physically unable to do the work, I'll get relatives to help, or hire it done. Hopefully before I die, when one of my grandkids grows up, they, or someone else, will be motivated to do it. Or the kids may sell the place to a motivated person. Otherwise, my oasis will be on its own to do what nature has it do. Conservancy organizations aren't interested in it because of the high maintenance involved, but that may change. I plan to be around at least another 20 years. A lot can happen in that time. Thanks for your concern.
mkircus, I accidently deleted your comment. Here it is: "It would be lovely to have a little Pay Pal button for donations. You do wonderful work. I'm working as a full time volunteer at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge and will be hauling water all summer to the 400 trees which we'll be planting next Saturday."
My reply: That's a thought. Maybe someday I'll be setup with Paypal. It sounds like you're doing some awesomely important work yourself. That's way more trees than I can water. I look forward to visiting Anahuac someday.
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