By Patric Hedlund, TME

It is a strange thing: 80 beautiful acres without water is just 80 beautiful acres that no one can live on for long.

Barbara Bishop’s home in Lebec sits above a green meadow sprinkled with purple flowers and springtime poppies. She moved there in 1989. But as California’s long drought persisted over the past five years, her well began burping up mud and sand.

She is a tiny woman just recovering from shoulder surgery, who speaks about…(please see below to view full stories and photographs)

Photo captions:

James Ramirez from CAPK with Ramon Flores, Dakota Green and Barbara Bishop in front of the Self-Help Enterprises’ 2,500 gallon water tank.

Stephanie Bishop and her daughter, Starr, came to live on the O’Neil Canyon ranch to help get the water problem solved for her mother.

Above: Barbara Bishop comes down to greet Dakota Green and Ramon Flores who brought the 2,500 gallon water tank.

Below: Daughter Stephanie Bishop has moved back home to help her mother find a solution to their ranch’s water problem.

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This is part of the April 29, 2016 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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