Robbin and I went up to Greasy yesterday to check cattle and to see how our water was holding up. A fairly cool morning under light clouds. Lake Kaweah is dropping quickly in Greasy Cove with agricultural irrigation demands in the Valley, leaving a little green ring for the cows in Belle Point to graze.
The old concrete trough that Lee Maloy and Earl McKee Sr. poured in the 30s still holds water at Sulphur Spring, the overflow of which is keeping the troughs in Sec. 17 and the Gathering Field full.
We found a good pocket of water in Greasy Creek at the head of the Lower Field,
and like the pond at Spanish Flat, it may or may not last until fall. We opened the gate between our Lower Field and the Gathering Field to allow access to more water for the cows in the Lower Field, taking the pressure off Greasy Creek and Spanish Flat.
My father told me that in 1939, the water at Grapevine Spring was the only water available on Top after the Gill cowboys rode up and dug the spring out with shovels. We have since developed it a little more.
Railroad still has a fair amount of water, but down substantially from normal years.
The top pond at Railroad has gone dry. We put out protein supplement tubs as we went to go with the dry feed that looks pretty good everywhere considering the drought. Water will be the big issue until it rains. It’s a relief to see it holding up as well as it is, but we’ll have to monitor our water situation weekly and start bringing a little hay when we come.
drycrikjournal 
I hope you get rain soon John. 🙂
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Thanks, Jane. Some early fall rains would be nice, enough to get the grass started while it’s still warm. No cover of dry feed in the lower clay ground when it gets too cold to grow. I think I have the perfect scenario in my head to hope for, but even so, we have 60-90 days to take one at a time. Thanks for the good wishes, we’ll get there one way or another 🙂
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No rain here either John, probably not until October for us, but then it usually storms on/off for 5 months. Hoping this coming winter is a vast improvement on the last.
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Our seasons are much the same, Spike, as well as crops, and that intrigues me. I keep up with your blog for different ways of doing things in Turkey. All very educational, and humorous, of course 🙂
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Cheers John.
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I think we’ve got to white-knuckle it until fall. We’ll be moving over the Altamont into the more surbanized East Bay soon, and it’s heartening to see signs all over the place reminding people to conserve water and some signs of restrictions. Over here in the Tracy/San Joaquin area, people just don’t seem to be aware or care.
Keep the faith!
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John, I remember EJ telling me that in the drought of ’39, the Middle Fork here on the Kaweah went dry. Hopefully, next year will see lots of rain to soak up the ground and fill up those reservoirs! Keep up the good work.
Sophie
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