The old and the new

Grace Crayston from Glenora, Man., sent me this photo with the caption, "The old and the new technology." The heifers are drinking at a trough made out of an old steel tractor wheel with water supplied by solar energy. I asked Grace to tell me more about the solar pump. She wrote, "We are quite pleased with our solar pump. This is our third year using it. Sometimes the filter plugs but Greg just cleans it.

"The pump is a Roto pump powered by a 64-watt solar panel. It is supposed to be able to handle 75 cow-calf pairs. We have 22 cow-calf pairs at this pasture that overlooks Rock Lake. We have fenced off the pasture so the cows can't go into the lake .The lake is a special place for our family so we try to look after it. We have spent many hours  walking along Rock Lake shores. It is a beautiful lake."

        Thanks Grace for sharing this information.

Happy Birthday Dad!

It's my father's birthday today. It was a rain day in southwest Manitoba so he spent much of his day at home relaxing after a good stretch of harvest. Dad helped my brother Jon get his wheat harvested last week with good yields and decent quality. It's nice for them to have the wheat in the bin ahead of the rain. He's probably also pleased that his 'Riders beat my Bombers yesterday. (My grandma is from Saskatchewan and my dad inherited her green blood.)