Rural Montana neighbors who saved my grass Lisa Schmidt

Sometimes ranching raises a lot of questions.

Questions like why a water trough pump keeps shorting out.

And whether your neighbor is observant.

And whether the electrical grid works without fail.

And whether fall grass will burn.

My cousin, Brent, and I had just returned from checking on a water trough pump and float system that has been kicking off periodically.

The pump would fill the tank and the float would shut the pump off, then at some unknown time, the breaker would flip.

The local Northwestern Energy lineman had checked the meter.

All was well.

Another company employee had checked all of the power poles.

My electrician had changed the outlet box and fuses – I’m not a fan of mixing electricity and water when I don’t know what I’m doing – but the breaker kept flipping.

B