It's always something...

Today I fixed some of the drops on the sprinkler. This job is simple enough in theory, but is definitely not easy. The problem is that the hoses that hang off of the top of the sprinkler eventually wear out right at the point where they meet the sprinkler. This apparently happens after about 10 years, and just on whatever type of hose they (Reinke) put on this sprinkler, since the Zimmatic is a couple of years older and has not had any problems. What is great is that I didn't even know that this job existed until last spring.
The whole part of the job that is difficult is putting the ladder up. It is pretty tricky because it has to go up between the supports and the actual water pipe to work, which means I have to leverage it up sideways, which is not easy to do with a 22 foot tall ladder. It could be worse-- last spring I had to put the ladder on top of the pickup bed because I hadn't gotten my new longer ladder yet (having not anticipated this particular use for a ladder.)
Here is the problem. Besides being a big waste of water, the hoses will eventually fall off. Not a big problem when the corn is 6 inches high (since you can spot where it fell off), but a huge one when the corn is six feet high. If they fall off mid season, I will probably just have to replace the whole thing. The problem there is that each nozzle is different based on it's position on the sprinkler so each lost nozzle means a separate trip to town to get just the right replacement.
The fix is pretty simple: just cut off the hose and reattach it. Last year I'll bet I had to do this to 25 hoses, and I've done about eight more this spring. That only leaves about 230 more which I assume I will eventually have to fix. Renting a cherry picker and "operating" on all of them at once is looking like a better and better idea all the time.
Having gone to all this trouble, it is always important to stop and enjoy the view before climbing back down.