On Friday Ron went home after work, picked up Jo and headed out to THF so they could start soaking more mushroom logs. Definitely not a one person job. It involves the 4 wheeler, trailer, water tank, water pump, 2 huge tanks, cider blocks, a hose and of course the logs. Soaking is most important if you plan to actually have shiitakes.
I was going pop out there after work to help with the watering of our pawpaws and elderberries. Again not a one person job. We will need again the 4 wheeler, trailer, hose, water tank and pump, but for this we also need our trusty cat litter bins and gallon pitchers.

We had done this many times now and pretty much have it down pat. But this time, things did not go as I had expected.
The first tank load of water is just enough to get all of my elderberries done. A second run is needed in order to get the pawpaws and garlic watered too.
As Ron and Jo had also picked up mushrooms to share with his cousin Mary, they needed to get set up to clean them off. So I went with Ron to fill the water tank up again. I have done this before and it went fine so I knew the routine and had no worries.
I blame Ron, of course. If he had stopped the 4 wheeler where it belonged, all would have gone well. He had some lame excuse about it getting too muddy where he usually stopped. Sure.
So there we are, Ron manning the water pump and me struggling to get the hose into the tank and getting set to hold it down with all my strength. Of course the hose is full of water and quite heavy on its own. So much harder than it should be to shove it into the tank and I couldn’t pull it up high enough. Ron asked me if I had it and I was sure I did so he let the water pump rip. I managed to hold on for about 30 seconds before the hose blew out of the ank and water went flying everywhere. I was immediately soaked. Ron’s quick reaction got the pump shut off but he couldn’t hold in his laughter. Neither could I.
Caught my breath and struggled through the mud so I could pick up the hose again. Again pump was started. This time I managed to hold on for about a minute before I lost my grip again. And then it happened again. Finally Ron caught on and set the pump to run at half speed. But he nearly got me again as he wasn’t paying attention to the water level in the tank and just got the pump shut off before the tank overflowed.
Jo was watching my ordeal from across the stream and I am sure she was laughing too. She was certainly paying enough attention to yell for me to put the lid on the tank. Such a waste it would be if most of the water bounced out on our way back to the field.

One might be forgiven for thinking I had fallen into the stream in order to end up so wet. I slopped my way out to the field so we could finish the watering job. Then I packed up and headed home for a warm shower and change of clothes.
Obviously Jo will be Ron’s water tank filling co-worker from now on. She has the needed knack for it. I am going to stay far away from the hose and the water tank from now on.