NEWS FLASH: Drought ends at Ponderosa

Missed you about a county Maynard? Wish you'd get some out there! I'd like to come out during the season and buy us both some coffee.
 
Prairie Drifter said:
Missed you about a county Maynard? Wish you'd get some out there! I'd like to come out during the season and buy us both some coffee.
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Works for me. Spent the night in Pratt at the motel taking care of grandkids while the son & daughter-in-law attended her class reunion. Told my son to give you a honk as he passed your place today on their way to our friends in Elk County.

I keep looking at the radar and precip indicator and it comes out gray(zero).:(
 
Grandkids should have kept you busy, especially in a motel room! I'm just hoping that 3/4 inch of rain is enough to keep me from having to throw the cattle off of the wildlife area early for awhile. It was getting close. They are baiting us again with rain Wednesday thru Friday. Another dose would sure help. We need one of those 200 mile long belts coming out of Colorado and sweeping into Missouri! Any luck finding things on your equipment list?
 
Rains sure are spotty this year for sure. I got 1/2" last night just east of Pittsburg, that goes well with the 1/2" we got the month of June......

Northern Kansas is wet, southern is dry, so on average we're just right?
 
My son mentioned that he noticed cattle on BW when he came to Pratt. The boys and I hunted BW back in about 1989 to 1989 while we were rebuilding the birds at the ranch. Those were years that no one, including us hunted the ranch, so the boys and I experienced a lot of public hunting.

I am still at this moment, tractorless. I need to change that this week, but likely will be working out of the area again, including 'Colorful' Colorado. I have a salesman checking on a GP 15' NT that Mike C leveland mentioned to me. I am also checking on a Crustbuster drill.

I need to check the water level in a PVC cased well on the new property. Only had ten foot in there in March, but I think the casing may be full of sugar sand. If it appears I can bucket it, I need to get the well man there, get that done, then probably replace the windmill(not working) with a solar unit. The wildlife could really use a drink of fresh water. There were eight turkeys headed to the water hole at ranch headquarters. They were too far away to really get a good look, but looked too big for this year's hatch and looked more like hens. If so they are not on nests.

Lots to do before the snow flies. Just hope the old land, the critters and my old body can hold on until then.
 
cheesy said:
Northern Kansas is wet, southern is dry, so on average we're just right?
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That is correct and here at Dodge winds from the south at 40mph, next day wind from the north at 40mph, means average conditions are calm.:)

Glad you got some rain.
 
Maynard, have you looked into the solar well system already? Where are you finding the systems? Have you got a cost yet? I've got a windmill that the wheel imploded on in that 70 mph wind in May. I'm considering solar as an option, but don't know where to start.
 
I am looking at a couple options on the solar.

My-D-Han-D here in Dodge sells Bison. As I recall the 3" unit complete is about $2,250. Looks simple enough that a cave man could do it.

http://www.bisonsolar.com/

I have a loaner pump from another one of my contacts in the business that I have not had a chance to try. There is about a gallon of water in a foot of 5" pipe, so when I found I only had ten foot of water in that well, I knew it might have to be a low volume pump. On this little unit I can hook a garden hose to it and hook it up to my 12 volt battery and see if it pumps the well dry or if the casing will let good flow in. With all going on in my life, I just have not had the time to do that. I think if that casing went to clay the well should be about ninety foot deep, but I hit bottom at 53 and water at 43. Bottom felt really soft like sugar sand. The last well at HDQ was about 108 deep with water at 60 and there is about fifteen foot elevation change between well locations. That well at HDQ pumped sugar sand for awhile when first put on line. I don't recall pumping any sugar sand on my livestock system up on the hill. It is a five hp three phase submersible pump.

I have a couple other options I can tell you about on solar. You might call me sometime. I have a new cell number, that I will PM to you.
 
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I knew that my last beneficial moisture was in November, but wasn't sure how much so I checked the calendar at the ranch today.

November 12th 1.55"
November 13th 0.25"
November 14th 0.05"

This year there has been a handful of showers, but nothing strung together to be beneficial. I did dump 0.30" out of the rain gauge on May 27th, which is the high for the year. I also noted on the calendar that on May 29th the temp was 104 with 50 mph winds and May 30th was 95 with 60 mph winds.

My shelter belt is really hurting along with everything else.
 
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Prairie Drifter-

Decided to take some time today and check my well and try that little solar pump a buddy loaned me. My well has dropped a foot so the water was at 44 foot and the bottom at 53. I attached a 5/8" x 100' hose to the little plastic pump and dropped in the well. He doesn't have the solar unit for it so he just told me to hook it to a 12 volt battery. It pumped a little water, about a pint per minute. The pump is rated at 28 volts so I hooked another 12 volt battery in series to give 24 volts and it pumped right at a gallon a minute.

The Bison unit I am looking at is a 3 inch stainless steel pump. I don't remember now if the water level switch is standard or optional. For my situation I would sure want it in case the flow into the casing was not sufficient.

I didn't have enough time to pump a tank full for the critters. Will try to do that tomorrow. There were some turkey interested in what I was doing, so it won't take long and they will all know it is there.
 
I drove past Satanta & Sublette yesterday, wanting to see how that area that had burned earlier this year was faring. The pasture that had burned showed yucca stubble and nothing else...and I mean nothing but bare ground. No weeds, no sprouts of grass...nothing.

I can see some nasty dirt blowing from those fields if they don't get some kind of cover soon.

Really dry out that way.

Mike C
 
The difference a little rain makes... the Cimmaron Grasslands are absolutely gorgeous when they have rain...as your pictures towards the end show. Put a little water on that dry, arid land and it's beauty busts forth with wildflowers blooming everywhere. Just breathtaking, IMO.

We'll just have to hope and pray we get some of that soon.

The pictures of the burned pastures give meaning to "high desert".

Mike
 
Hen, hen, if you can dish it out, we would sure be able to take it. I'd even give Maynard first shot at it!
 
Sorry guys - dang, they just keep on going north of I-70 - surely one or two will push down to that sw corner of KS sooner or later... :(
 
hen said:
Sorry guys - dang, they just keep on going north of I-70 - surely one or two will push down to that sw corner of KS sooner or later... :(
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Let's hope. My reports have been pretty discouraging from several farmers around Dodge. Wish we could pipe some out of the mighty MO down that way:(
 
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