A plan coming together

Got the pump going at 8 AM just like I had hoped. Sometime late this afternoon the stucco tank should be full, and this dirt tank empty. It had gone down more than a foot since the rain but there'll still be enough water to fill the stucco tank, even if I have to take water out of the lower dirt tank that filled when this tank overflowed. The lower tank only loses about 3" a day, so I use that water last.

Upper dirt tank

Lower dirt tank

I'm ready for more rain now. It can fill the dirt tanks, settling ponds, and arroyo. Prefer not too big a rain that would damage the road more than it already is.

I knew our Rock Squirrels (or is it Ground Squirrels?) loved my seed feeder. Since I put up wire instead of the rope they chewed up, I haven't seen them on it. Maybe they've developed a taste for sotol seeds.

The dragonfly pond is getting exciting.

Here's a Twelve-spotted Skimmer in the same shot as a Common Green Darner. It would probably be harder to get a shot without a darner in it. LOL

Later: After 8 hours of pumping the stucco tank is only half full. I think those valves that we installed last fall impede the flow, but I have to have those valves. I'm too old and weak to be down in the lower dirt tank swapping out heavy 3" lines anymore. But it looks like I'll be pumping until midnight. Oh, well, I can nap in between gassing up the pump every two hours.

Looking in the arroyo by my soapberry thicket I saw this tiny black butterfly and thought it might be a Mexican Sootywing, but Brian says it's a Saltbush Sootywing. A Mexican Sootywing would be a lifer for me. But, hey, at least I saw a butterfly today. Kidding. I actually saw a couple other real common ones. And the dragonflies I'm seeing are common ones too, but there are sure a lot of them already. I thought I'd have to wait until mosquitoes returned. This late in the year mosquitoes shouldn't be much of an annoyance.

 6 PM: Still pumping and probably 4-6 hours to go. Whew!

8 PM: It took 12 hours of pumping to empty the upper dirt tank. The stucco tank lacks 2½' from being full. I'm exhausted and it's lightning and sprinkling outside, so I quit for the night. At 8 AM I'll measure and see how much the tank went down. Then I'll do my best to fix some bad leaks in the line and pump out the lower dirt tank. Normally I pump the upper dirt tank right after it fills. By waiting a day and a half, I didn't have enough water left in it to fill the stucco tank. But it was worth it. I'll end up water ahead if the stucco tank leaks less. And if it doesn't, it doesn't matter anyway.