Water Woes
This is probably not an appropriate ALL EARS topic for the Blog, but I really need to vent.
Human beings are composed mostly of water, so it isn't an understatement to say that water is vital to all aspects of our lives. For a person who is dehydrated from vomiting and diarrhea or from working outside in 100 degree weather, water is the best medicine. Once the person is re-hydrated, they feel so much better. Water is my favorite drink, but it has be cold enough to cause that brain-freeze headache.
My brother lives in Maryland where they had 12 inches of rain in the last week. I live in Northern California where it does not typically rain at all in the summer. This has not been a problem for me since we have an ample and inexpensive water supply. We are allotted 16,000 gallons a day from our irrigation system. Although I have some thirsty landscaping, lawns, and a vegetable garden, I tend to conserve water and only use enough to keep things strategically green during the hot summer months.
Our deep well produces an adequate amount of good-tasting, cold, pure water sufficient for drinking, laundry, toilets, dishwashers, and showers. We don't have a pool and I rarely wash my car (much to the horror of my neighbor who pampers his fleet of vehicles). Needless to say, I don't really have a water problem...usually.
Last week started my much-needed vacation. We rented a beach house in San Diego with room enough for the adult kids and grandchildren who would be attending my youngest son's wedding.
The very day we were leaving, my irrigation system crashed. This was also the first day of many 100-plus degree temperatures that soared as high as 108 degrees for one day. I have a talented neighbor who told me not to worry, he would take care of the problem, likely the pump.
To make a very long and depressing story shorter, it wasn't the pump. Why? Because the pump was still on warranty and expensive items only break down AFTER the warranty expires.
It was an electrical problem, most likely caused by my arch nemesis: The Mole.
One of them apparently chewed through a spot somewhere along the 2000 feet of electrical line from my house to the irrigation canal. My only consolation in this incident was that The Mole likely fried when he bit into the 220 line, but not before causing damage that will take some big bucks to find and repair.
Moles! I wrote some unflattering comments about them in a former Blog. They apparently read it and were out to get me where it hurts.
So, while the rest of the family is enjoying the beach house, going to the zoo, and having fun, I had to fly home late last night to deal with my water woes. I will be entertaining a series of electrical contractors over the next few days for estimates.
In the meantime, I am hand-watering the brown spots, the drooping shrubs and flowers, and what is left of my vegetable garden with a hose to my well pump and hoses from my neighbor. It is a good thing that I don't have enough water to drown myself.
Related Topics: Get Fit By Gardening, Organic Gardening
Technorati Tags: mole, garden, garden pests
Human beings are composed mostly of water, so it isn't an understatement to say that water is vital to all aspects of our lives. For a person who is dehydrated from vomiting and diarrhea or from working outside in 100 degree weather, water is the best medicine. Once the person is re-hydrated, they feel so much better. Water is my favorite drink, but it has be cold enough to cause that brain-freeze headache.
My brother lives in Maryland where they had 12 inches of rain in the last week. I live in Northern California where it does not typically rain at all in the summer. This has not been a problem for me since we have an ample and inexpensive water supply. We are allotted 16,000 gallons a day from our irrigation system. Although I have some thirsty landscaping, lawns, and a vegetable garden, I tend to conserve water and only use enough to keep things strategically green during the hot summer months.
Our deep well produces an adequate amount of good-tasting, cold, pure water sufficient for drinking, laundry, toilets, dishwashers, and showers. We don't have a pool and I rarely wash my car (much to the horror of my neighbor who pampers his fleet of vehicles). Needless to say, I don't really have a water problem...usually.
Last week started my much-needed vacation. We rented a beach house in San Diego with room enough for the adult kids and grandchildren who would be attending my youngest son's wedding.
The very day we were leaving, my irrigation system crashed. This was also the first day of many 100-plus degree temperatures that soared as high as 108 degrees for one day. I have a talented neighbor who told me not to worry, he would take care of the problem, likely the pump.
To make a very long and depressing story shorter, it wasn't the pump. Why? Because the pump was still on warranty and expensive items only break down AFTER the warranty expires.
It was an electrical problem, most likely caused by my arch nemesis: The Mole.
One of them apparently chewed through a spot somewhere along the 2000 feet of electrical line from my house to the irrigation canal. My only consolation in this incident was that The Mole likely fried when he bit into the 220 line, but not before causing damage that will take some big bucks to find and repair.
Moles! I wrote some unflattering comments about them in a former Blog. They apparently read it and were out to get me where it hurts.
So, while the rest of the family is enjoying the beach house, going to the zoo, and having fun, I had to fly home late last night to deal with my water woes. I will be entertaining a series of electrical contractors over the next few days for estimates.
In the meantime, I am hand-watering the brown spots, the drooping shrubs and flowers, and what is left of my vegetable garden with a hose to my well pump and hoses from my neighbor. It is a good thing that I don't have enough water to drown myself.
Related Topics: Get Fit By Gardening, Organic Gardening
Technorati Tags: mole, garden, garden pests
2 Comments:
Like your brother, I live in Maryland. I know I'd gladly send you water. I expect he would too. I'm just glad I don't live in a flood-prone area.
Next year, I expect we'll be back to our usual summer drought conditions.
My heart goes out to those on the East Coast who are facing this most recent flooding. I guess I would rather have my kind of water woes....
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