This is layflat. The durable hose that is used to transfer water spewing at 30 gallons per minute. A secure connection is made at the water main and hundreds of feet run in different directions to the edge of the fields in need of water.
Irrigation pipes are placed parallel in the center row. There should be fifty feet between each sprinkler. Make sure all connections are secure and do not forget the end cap. Turn the water on full force. Even at that speed, it takes a couple minutes before water is spraying out the sprinklers and hydrating the thirsty plants.
Irrigation is never boring. There is always a leak, a spray, a puncture. Just when one is repaired, another appears. A field is watered over night to avoid evaporation and drying out from wind. This length of time on one field equals an inch of rain. Once plants are in the ground, irrigation has to constantly be on the mind of a farmer. It is a never-ending task. A constant battle of heavy hose and 30 foot pipes and ten trips to turn the water off then on and splicing and repairing and getting drenched from a sudden disconnection and hours upon hours of work.
But its water. The main source of life. Its what blood is for humans. The vehicle that transports nutrients. Without it, life cannot go on.
In my mind, rain has always been a good thing. But today, when we woke to the steady pitter patter of rain on the tin roof, I praised God for the life He was sending to every single plant we nestled into the soil these past two weeks. What one rainfall gave this morning was a weeks worth of irrigation. Another reminder of how big our God is and how small our efforts are in comparison.
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