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Post date: Apr 3, 2016 1:27:19 AM
I am a participante of an acequia. That means that I can draw water from the irrigation ditch. But it also means that I must participate in cleaning the ditch — usually in the spring. Last weekend we cleaned the main ditch and this weekend we cleaned the lateral (side) ditch that runs near our houses and out into Sunset Park, which adjoins our community.
There was not too much to clean, except parallel to a road (really a long driveway) that had been improved about 20 years ago. The ditch ran last summer, when we had above normal rainfall, but the owner of a strip of pasture parallel to the road had replaced the fence and that clogged the lateral ditch even more.
Bob used his backhoe to loosen the dirt in that portion of the ditch and also to extend the ditch into the park yesterday. So about half-dozen of us participantes shoveled out the loosened dirt and raked leaves and grass out of the lateral. I dug out from around a culvert under the road that had blocked the ditch.
When Bob adjusted the gates that control the water flow I expected it to take a day or so before the water would appear by our houses, but by 2pm water was flowing in the ditch — more than had flowed all last summer. This ditch draws water from Rio Pueblo, which flows from Taos Mountain and Wheeler Peak through the Taos Pueblo and then into Rio Grande.(The photo would show the ditch running by my neighbor's house, except that Google rotated. The stepping stones should be on the left.)
This morning I received the bare root Serviceberry plants that I had ordered a week ago. So this afternoon — after the excitement of the ditch — I planted these. Originally the landscape plan called for only five. However they came in batches of four, so I ordered eight and dug seven holes — expecting to give away one. But I got carried away, and planted all eight. They just look like little sticks with small green buds. I’m hoping they will grow to be about twelve feet tall.
That means that many of my major plants are in the ground. I still have a big list of smaller plants (and some Aspen trees) to acquire, so I’m not done yet.
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