sb country n news-rainwater system

SB COUNTRY N NEWS-RAINWATER SYSTEM

i was thinking as she said
theres this grant that we can get for doing something green
that will pay for improvements in the garden

i instantly thought
rainwater system

now i realize that it doesnt rain here that much
the annual rainwater is about 1/3 of what austin texas gets
however
if you catch the rain when it rains
catch as much as possible
thats x gallons of water that doesnt get pulled
from the water systms
and
thats x gallons of water that doesnt just flow out
to the ocean

so
i told her
how about a rainwater collection system i said
do it she said
come up with some figures on what the $300 could
be spent on

i got this i said
since
i put in a 30,000 gallon system at our country n
all by myself
i put in a 3000 gallon tank in my wife shes first school
and
later put in a 1500 gallon tank in another school
plus
i helped a neighbor design and put in his
20,000 gallon system

yep
i got this i said
a  piece of cake

then at an alzheimers meeting
one of the fellow volunteers and i were talking about gardening
and rainwater
she said i got these two barrels that we just never hooked up
you want them
you betcha i said

so i painted those
put in screens at the top
put in the faucets

then
i ordered online 3 more tanks that had all of the connections
like the faucets drain holes screens already done
at a cheaper price than i could do
so
i ordered them

well
we only got one instead of three
so
amazon said
you keep that one and well send you 3  more
so
now im waiting on those other three

so
i painted the blue tank from amazon a nutmeg color
so it would match the other tanks that were donated

now
i took down part of the downspout
replaced it with a 2 inch pvc
that allowed the water to flow easily down into the tank

i hooked all three tanks in a series
using 1/2 inch irrigation tubing from the home center
thats buried underground

when we get the other three tanks
ill paint them
and
hook them up in the series

the two donated ones are 35 gallons
the bought ones are 60 gallons
so when we are finished
we will have 310 gallons of rainwater collection capacity

water that will be used in the garden over the next few
months instead of draining to the sea

the goal i think
is to use these tanks as a teaching tool
for art english writing science math
and
for the kids enjoyment

those veggies
they always prefer rainwater over city water every time

as i went over to the school to check it during the rains
our tanks were filling up
the other gutters were flowing all that water
out onto the grass
out onto the driveway
out
you got it into the ocean
carrying who knows what off the ground and the street
to the sea

add ecology to the teaching tool


flood update
death toll 17
over 100 homes destroyed
several hundreds are damaged
hundreds have been rescued
many by being airlifted out
dozens of folks are missing
the 101 freeway is still closed for a 30 mile stretch
its suppose to be opened on mlk day on monday
scooping up the mess is like shoveling soup
half is scooped up and half runs off the scooper

the alternate route will take 5-6 hours for a trip
that usually would take 30 minutes down the freeway
my relatives still havent been able to see their new home yet
a well known tennis pro just got airlifted out of his place

thatcher update
he is a tough little guy
his valve seems to be working well
his band is doing its job
his pressures inside the arteries and heart are where they want them
he is still on the ventilator and is all swollen up
he is still paralyzed from the drugs
the plan is to wake him up today and extubate him
he will gradually be diuresed ie get the fluid off him
yep
he is a tough little guy

thanks to those who donated to his gofundme accout to help
his parents with expenses
thanks to those who wished him and his family well

here is thatchers gofundme account
#thatcher strong

use some of your charity money or some of your gift money
to help them out some

if you look at the pictures on the gofundme site you will
notice how thin his little arms are
so much of the energy and nutrition he takes in is being used
by his little heart that the rest of the body like the muscles
arent as big as they should be
that will change though as he recovers
i see a little chubby kiddo soon appearing in those pictures

thanks again

the organicgreen doctor