Agave Heaven

Today was water day. We went to check the levels of the alberca and our domestic water tank, both of which were full. Then we went up the lane to fill a reserve tank of 1000 litres which is placed at the highest point of our land so that it can supply the plants by gravity. This took a little jiggling of taps, stopping off the supply through one pipe so that it fed another etc.We are getting the hang of it! Soon we had 1000 litres tucked away. Not nearly enough, and we are looking at purchasing several more reserve tanks in the near future for irrigation purposes. We have also been discussing putting in pipework to carry the water to the plants  instead of through the channels that have been carved into the terraces, which is wasteful and erodes the soil. This needs a bit of planning, measuring up and discussion before purchasing the necessary materials. Finally, we went further uphill to view with satisfaction the magic stone that diverts the water to our property. On our return, whilst humming 'roll away the stone', a Mott the Hoople classic, the cicadas were in full song. They start at about 10am and quieten down at approx 4pm. They sing so loudly that we have to raise our voices slightly when sitting in the shade outside the main door to the house. On the way back from the water mission we had bumped into our lovely neighbour who informed us that there is likely to be a drought in  August and we might only get water once during the whole month, instead of every 8 days. That should be interesting.

After our second breakfast (!!!) I set about finishing painting the window frames that required a covering of mosquitero, whilst Mark tidied the workshop from the previous day's woodwork activities and went again to check out the workings of the water system which will help plan the irrigation water-pipe project we have in stow.

As the drinking water was running low, we decided drive to a village higher up to fill our containers. The water is from melted snow that filters through to springs and is of superior quality. The agaves are in flower at present and are spectacular. A flower head is approximately 5 metres high. Beautiful! They warranted us stopping to take a photo, especially as they may be over their best in a few days.