The Old Water Bucket

One of the really cool things about being in the desert is the critters that live around the area.  I first stayed here in the month of JUNE when I thought I had done something really bad because it was SO HOT outside.  What made it worth it was the animals that came to my water station.

Can you believe it?  Can you just feel my excitement?  Mom Bobcat came to visit.  As you can see, the water station wasn't the best.  In fact, the big animals drank from a bucket I filled up every day.  

Javelinas wreaked havoc constantly as they chomped the water lines in half.  I became really good at watering the desert.  Mr. Chance finally buried my bucket in the sand and set the drip system up so it would keep the bucket full.  The javelinas continued to chew.  Every time Dan came over to check, water was going everywhere.

It was finally time to replace it all with a stock watering tank.  Unfortunately they were all too big until I found just the right size.  But wait!!  What was that scurrying under the bird bowl?  

Dan spotted him instantly.  Talk about camouflage, he's VERY hard to see.  Mostly because he's barely two inches long from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail.  The cutest little horned lizard I've ever seen!!  We shooed him under the nearby cactus and continued our work.

This whole setup is maybe 35 feet from my fence, fed with water from my drip irrigation system for the lawn.  First up, run the drip line through PVC so no one can chew it in half.  Yes we could bury the line, but have you ever tried to dig a hole in the desert?  Hard as a rock is an understatement.

Dan drilled a hole in my 14" x 24" bucket and set up the connections while I dug the hole to set it in.  Luckily it was still damp from the rain and snow ..... and my leaking water system.  He attached an adjustable bubbler to the end of the hose to control flow, or shut it off if necessary.

Once together, I turned on the water and watched it fill up.  Now all I have to do is keep an eye on it for a few days and adjust the timer to give it the right amount of water.

One last thing.  Baby quail can't swim.  Not the smartest when they are young, they will jump right in (or maybe they fall in) and drown.  We took some pieces of concrete and made steps from the bottom of the tank to the top so if they DO fall in, hopefully they can get out.  So far the adult quail love the steps .... they walked right down them for a bath last night.  

After taking this picture, I adjusted the blocks to make a nice home for the horned lizard.  I hope he hangs out around the water for awhile.  

I spent another hour trimming back some of the cactus and shrubs for easier access, but leaving enough for cover.  Hopefully I'll have more critters coming to visit this summer.  Now maybe the water company won't be leaving notes on my door.

I have some more trimming to do around the house with my handy dandy extendable-handle shears (best thing I ever bought) before I can relax and enjoy the patio.  The weather has been perfect for afternoon reading outside.  Until tomorrow when it's going back down to 34 degrees.