Saturday, July 10, 2010

Water Water Everywhere... 10.7.10

The Rain Pours Down

So we go from weeks without any water or rain to weeks with nothing but! 'Be careful what you wish for' Penny said when I mentioned we needed rain for the garden. How right she was. That rain dance we did was clearly far too effective. While much of the UK basks in the 30s, down it comes.

Oliver, the chap who came to sort the well out, cut the top of it a bit low. Jim went out and the hollow around the well top was full of rainwater, which he bailed out! We don't want it going into the top of the well as it may be contaminated in some way. Off Jim went yesterday to Galway for some shopping.

After a while I thought I'd better go and check the well head - it was again full of water, so I bailed it out. It filled up as I stood there. I then realised the water was running down the trench, under the ground where Jim had filled it in and into the well area! Hmm. It was absolutely tipping it down at that point too.


The old well head with the pipes down to the new one!

I realised that the only thing to do was to dig a trench to let the water out, both from the water filled trench above and the new well head.


The water starts to flow out of the pipe ditch.


The new well head with bowl to cover it until the manhole is fitted. Ditch I dug has effectively cleared out the water.



Down the water goes


Down the yard. I made a way through into the gully the goes along the bottom of the Fairy Hill and away it all went. Phew! I was soaked to the skin by then! I went inside and fetched the camera just as Jim drove into the yard! He said he had been a bit worried about it and was prepared to be trench digging when he came back. It's a good thing I'm a practical woman!

It's clear we are going to have to deepen my trench and lay some proper drainage to remove the water away from the well head. Hey ho!

Other things

Jim and I made a list of the jobs that needed doing in each of our rooms. I put on my facebook profile 'Has anyone got any more paper'!!

I did manage to tick one job off yesterday - clean limescale out of shower head. Not a big job but a necessary one. The jets start flying off in all directions otherwise.

One of Jim's jobs was to cement my new washing line 'rounder rounder' (as my mum used to call them) into the ground. Marvellous, all done. It's rained since of course!!


The rain drops look pretty on it though!


How smart is that? It'll be lovely when I can peg some washing out on it. Anyone want some stone?

The poor cats were fed up and spent much of yesterday sitting on a mat in the porch, looking out. Buster hardly moved all day. In fact since his last 4.30am outing, he's only been into the garden to do what he must, then he's headed straight back in and gone back to sleep. What a crazy dog we have.

Fruit and Veg

We have had loads of raspberries and strawberries and Jim has frozen some of the raspberries. Wow - the rain has stopped for the moment, so he's rushed out to pick the rest of the redcurrants, some peas and lettuce I should think, plus potatoes. Lovely. We also have a cherry tree but it grows those 'cooking' cherries. Last year the birds ate them all but this year:


Don't they look delicious?

Jim de-stoned them and added some apple and made a fabulous crumble. We had half of it and it'll be the rest today. It was delicious with custard.

Jim's just come back with a cabbage, new potatoes and some raspberries and a large bowl of peas! I'm off to pod them now. I've already eaten 2 pods full - I just love fresh raw peas.

Back to the 'list' then to mark off a few more jobs!

Happy Saturday everyone.

Re-reading this its like Jim and I have swapped the 'normal' male and female roles!!

15 comments:

marianne said...

In Holland it is just warm and dry weather. We can use some rain, but I won do the dance though when I see what comes of it.........

I love your new header with Buster and the cow!!!! Spectacular!

have a wonderful weekend BT!

Rachel Green said...

Hasn't Buster grown!

How enterprising of you to dig the trench. Wish it would rain here!

Love the fruit! The birds are eating our cherries before they even go red.

BT said...

Hi Marianne, you're welcome to our rain! We have too much. It's a good photo of the 2 animals, isn't it? Taken last year.

Hi Rachel, Buster is large but has now lost weight again but is still tall. I couldn't see any choice but to dig! The South East are having it bad too in terms of lack of rain.

I don't think the birds really like those cherries as they're not sweet like the others. We netted the redcurrants this year and the strawberries and raspberries.

Shirley said...

I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and we have had heat lately followed by afternoon/evening thunderstorms. The lightning show has been fantastic but we are watchful for swirling clouds. Yes, we are in a tornado area but luckily they are few and far between.

Our dogs are just like yours. They go out to do their business and then back in again and lay around. This they do if it's hot or if the weather is inclement. It's a dog's life!

DK said...

What a lovely post!

Cherry & apple crumble envy, beautiful new header and most impressed with trench digging!

Heather said...

Bits of our garden are beginning to look parched but rain is forecast overnight and the next 2 or 3 days. Hope you get the well head and drainage sorted quickly. Lovely to have fruit and vegs from your garden - they always taste so much better. I would have loved some of your big stones when we had the new pond put in - bit too far to come though, and I'm sure you wouldn't have delivered! I love your new header photo of Buster and the cow - beautiful.

Jason said...

Amazing header shot. Superb.

Well arent you the practical one. Well done, good job!

Crumble and cherries, marvellous.

xx

Lisa at Greenbow said...

All I can say is that you two are the busiest people I know. I do wish I had some of your stone. I would love a stone garden like the one you built. I drool every time I see it.

BT said...

Hello Shirley, your weather sounds very dramatic! We hardly ever have lightening here. Ireland is notoriously wet though except for this Spring and June when it was really dry! Crazy place.

Dogs don't realise how lucky they are!

Glad you liked it DK. xxx

Heather, I hope you get your rain but that it stops after a couple of days! It's amazing how much stone we have and how expensive it is to purchase just a bit in the UK. We can't get rid of it. I do try and use it where I can of course.
You are so right about the fruit and veg from the garden. It was all delicious and so flavoursome.

Glad you like the new header Heather and Jason. It's from last year actually but I liked it.

Aren't I a good ditch maker? lol.

Hiya Lisa, if only we could get our stone to those who need it! But I don't think Ryanair would approve! We have huge stones just lying around all over the place. Lisa, we are not always that busy, it's just that I write about the busy times. I can't really put 'had a lazy morning. Sat and chatted for 2 hours. Read paper'. It'd be a bit boring!

Bea said...

First of all I absolutely LOVE your header. That is worth of framing!!!!
Love seeing all your fruits and hearing about your veggies. I'm still waiting for mine to grow or get ripe. No cherries this year. The plums are still green, the grapes are still green haven't turned dark yet. Some critter ate all my baby eggplants right off the bud.
Quite a woman you are, digging ditches. You should get a day off for that and go to the tea shop and have something yummy. :)Bea

Lynn Cohen said...

Love the header while reading about family members, what a hoot! Then the raindrops on line attracted me next. Glad I do not have a well to deal with...
cherries look wonderful. Fun catching up.

We are sweating in the 90's where I am, that is F. not C.

Mim said...

wow you're busy! so good that you decided to dig the trench - I think I might have waited!!

BT said...

Hiya Bea

I'm glad you like my new header, it's from last year but it is fun isn't it?

Jim picked another heap of raspberries yesterday! We're up to our ears in them.

Pity about your baby egg plants!

I need to lose some weight so will pass on the tea shop!! The sun is actually shining today - well, it was - but it's still warm and rather muggy.

Hello Lynn, I'm glad you like the header, it seems to be a hit! God, I'd hate those temperatures! Too hot to do anything.

Hi Mim, I had to dig the trench or the water might have gone in the top of the well - not good! I'll let Jim do the rest of the drainage now I've made a start!

Pam's English Garden said...

Crumble and custard! How my mouth is watering! I'd dig a trench for that.

Cris, Artist in Oregon said...

You do need some rain to water that land of yours. Hope it heads off soon so you can get back out to enjoy your gardens. My neighbor has two cherry trees. A bing and Royal Ann. None of the cherries made it this year. What a shame. A freak freeze came thru and killed all the buds. But our pie cherry tree had oodles but the squirrels and birds got them before us. Guess thats life. Groan. Oh.. A good tip to keep the birds from eating the cherries is use a transitor radio put in a plastic bag set on a news staion. It worked last year on our neighbors trees. Our tree is to tall for us to do anything.