Auto Water Needed

We NEED to get an automatic waterer set up in the pasture next to the barn. I want to turn that into not only the winter pasture but also a pen setting so I can move the ponies over there this winter as well. But it's already the first of September and I'm not sure how to swing getting everything lined up and done. I always think that we can do it ourselves because it's so expensive and we don't have the money to pay someone else. But we don't have the time either it seems.


We spent the long weekend running around and enjoying the last little bit of summer before going back to school (school already started but for me Labor Day has always signaled back to reality and the end of summer). So we did a bunch of running and it was super hot both Saturday and Sunday. We'd get home late from all of our fun and I'd head out to do chores. The pasture with Diavlo and Mayhem has the 100 gallon tank and I was making sure that there was water but it wasn't topped off.


I went out yesterday  morning after Mayhem whinnied at me and realized the tank was low. So I filled it just enough to what should have made the day. When we stopped in again for a quick minute, I checked the tank and it was below that level again. So I'm not sure if they drank that much (normally they don't), or if it has a crack in it. If it has a crack, I'm going to be mad. I searched all around for leaks but didn't so maybe they just drank a ton of water because it had gotten so hot. I feel sort of like a horse mom failure for this one. But it's a definite reminder that we need to put an auto water in rather than deal with a 100 gallon tank.


With how I'm seeing the winter unfold, life is going to get a bit chaotic. There's some personal stuff going on, outside of the whole pandemic and kids going to school/daycare and that stuff is pulling me away from the horses. But family is my number one priority so it has to be this way. But if it continues, it means my mind wont' be thinking sanctuary work and it'll be focused on other stuff. But that also means that I need to make my chores as minimal as possible this winter if we need to make a quick run somewhere. It's the unknowns that boggle my mind and make it hard to plan, since I'm a planner.


But just having the auto water would make life easier and much less stressful at times, especially for the winter months as the farmers almanac is calling for more cold and snow this winter. But that's typical of South Dakota but it's 2020 and the Black Hills saw snow yesterday. In all the years we used to go to the Black Hills for Labor Day (and even after that), there has NEVER been snow this time of year. But it IS 2020 and I want to be prepared for anything. And that means we NEED to get an auto water purchased, the lines buried, and everything installed before the snow starts to fly here.


Anyone want to help in any fashion? We need funds to purchase the auto water which is $500 (at least the last time we bought one). I have no idea how much it'll cost to bury the lines but we can rent a mini excavator for a couple hundred for the weekend. But the plumbing will have to be hired out. It'll all cost money but will be 1000% better than me lugging buckets and hoses all winter!