Water, water everywhere

Forgot to mention the other fix-it job for the week. Water is an essential commodity on the farm, and for some time the supply here has been impacted. For starters, the bore is out of action. Something to do with electrics and with no power, the pump won't work. Or so we thought, but more on that later. In the interim, we have had to get inventive with moving cows and sheep so that everyone has access to water. So, cows in one paddock with access to a dam. Sheep in another paddock with access to troughs. Problem is that the trough levels kept falling inexplicably. Initial thoughts that the sheep and rams were ultra thirsty proved incorrect. No way, could the animals drink this much without turning into little water filled balloons with toothpick legs. So, much head scratching was taking place. Then we twigged. While checking the paddocks I was asked to jump off the four wheeler to open a gate - pretty standard request. This time however I balked. Wearing new Blundstones I didn't want to get mud on my boots so I declined on account of the huge puddle. Puddle? Where did the puddle come from? Well, that was the challenge for the next hour or so. Back to the house we go for tools and other essentials, then back to start digging. Well, to confess, I didn't dig. My job was to make appropriate noises and provide moral support. Long story short, we found the cause of the problem. A well meaning neighbour who had put in a new fence post (embedded in concrete) had cut through the water pipe assuming it was an obsolete water pipe. Result? Pipe cut on each side of the concrete slab and water flooding out into the paddock - hence the troughs bleeding out and what we thought were thirsty sheep. So, one hole later, various pipe connectors(some very kindly supplied by the previously mentioned neighbour), new lengths of pipe, trips back up to the water tank and lots of tools and hard graft and we had reconnected things. It was only a matter of testing things and checking water levels and hey presto, all sorted. That too explains why the electrics on the bore pump failed. Working overtime to pump a never ending supply of water was too much for it so the fuse blew. Bingo! So, last job before we fly out today is to turn the tank tap on to ensure continued water supply in our absence. Fingers crossed.