A simple pivot check proves that even the best “labor‑saving miracles” come with mud, timing and a little chaos.

As far as winters are concerned, the past one was pretty easy on me. I started to get quite concerned in mid-January when I glanced up at the mountains to the east where my summer water supply is usually stored in the form of some stout drifts and snowpack on the peaks and in the draws and north facing hillsides.

The skies were clear as the sun flirted with the idea of peeking over the mountains to the east. Despite the cool of the early spring morning, it promised to be a beautiful day. As I stepped out of the pickup next to the loading chute, I could see the breath of the  cattle in the adjacent pen hanging in the air as they began to mill about, eagerly anticipating the arrival of the feed truck.

Lately, a verse from the Old Testament has been circling in my head. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV).

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