Irrigation Season - Part 2

In the last post I showed photos I took while getting ready to irrigate the pasture.DSC_8185This is the ditch that runs north-south and brings the water from the upper ditch to the one that goes from west to east along the bigger pasture.DSC_8186This photo is looking the same direction but from a little bit west of the first one. You can see the same row of overgrown blackberries along the fence. The standpipe where the water comes in is in the upper left corner.  In the lower center of the photo is one of the cut-outs that lets the water flow from the ditch into the field.DSC_8188Looking to the east as the water is flooding the pasture from north to south. In this photo the water hasn't gotten very far into the paddock where the sheep are.DSC_8189Here is that tarp I showed in the last post.DSC_8183There are things to see besides just water and grass. One of the first things I noticed after the water filled the ditch was buzzing. These insects were everywhere over the water. I tried to ID it on the internet but didn't find it. Anyone know what this is? DSC_8192 Swainson's hawkThis is one of the pair of Swainson's hawks that lives nearby and hunts in our pasture.DSC_8197 Swainson's hawkWe have enough gophers to feed an army of hawks.DSC_8205 Swainson's hawk I was hoping to see the hawk catch something but it continued to soar higher and higher. When I saw the buzzard (upper right) it reminded me of watching airplanes that you know are in different flight paths, although they look as though they'll fly right into each other.