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| My Makeshift Rainwater Collection System (the stones are to keep the lids open) |
You can't really tell from the photo (because water is clear), but, the buckets were almost full when this photo was taken in the early evening! I really didn't expect that! I thought, at most, I'll collect a couple of inches of rainwater! Now I wish I had thought to leave the two old trash cans that I have out to collect some rain, too! Such an abundance of water!
It has been raining steadily all day, today. I had a leisurely morning, then, put away the clothes airer and dusted the living room a little bit (just the piano and coffee table) as my daughter was expecting a few friends to visit in the evening.
Then, I put away the washed dishes, washed the brunch dishes, put away a few baking trays and other items that were out, and wiped down the kitchen counters. I started dusting the family room, but, I was dropping so many things that my daughter begged me to stop before I broke something! LOL.
In the early evening, my late friend A's daughters visited us. We all wore masks (even though I stayed in the family room while the girls visited in the living room) and the air purifier was on in an attempt to keep everyone's risks to a minimum. Later in the evening, daughter's friend A visited her. Again, with masks and air purifier on.
I went off the meal plan today and didn't cook! Instead, we had leftovers for both brunch and dinner!
Today, I am grateful for:
- More rain to soak into the ground
- The buckets of rainwater I was able to collect
- Masked visits from daughter's friends
- A home that is warm and dry
- Daughter making me coffee
Today's joyful activity was discovering the buckets were filling up and having daughter's friends visit.
Guess who else visited:
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| Chicken Little |
I've nothing special planned for tomorrow. I'll probably spend most of the day repairing the triangles quilt.
Love the chicken! Glad you managed to catch some water, it will come in handy. My sister has a water butt (rainwater tank) that connects to her gutters and has a tap attached. I've thought of doing something like that if I ever manage to get a garden up and running as it can rain quite a bit here but we have dry spells too.
ReplyDeleteThat chicken seems to consider my yard to be its yard as well! LOL. The garden cat tolerates it and no longer even tries to chase it. I looked into getting a rain water barrel, but, they are costly and I'll have to ask M to cut the gutter to put it in place, etc. I'm not sure just how much water I'd be able to collect during the regular years when it doesn't rain as much. This year has been a bit unusual in the amount of rain we're receiving. But, if this is an indication of how our winters will be in the future, then, a rain barrel might make sense!
DeleteMy neighbors 2 doors down used to have chickens who thought the entire neighborhood was theirs. They moved and I kind of miss seeing the chickens, though they rarely made it to my yard.
ReplyDeleteThat chicken is now pecking at the sliding glass door to ask for more food! Too funny! :D
DeleteThose buckets would be overflowing here! The rain has been relentless and the gloomy weather is beginning to get me down. Fortunately, we are expecting some cold, bright weather this week, although spring can't come soon enough for me :)
ReplyDeleteI love Chicken Little. Xx
The buckets are overflowing here, too, Jules; it's raining, again. Hope your rain stops soon and you get some clear, sunny weather. :)
DeleteGardening all morning, housework all afternoon, and dozing in front of TV all evening! Happy Saturday
ReplyDeleteYou had a very busy day! Glad you were able to relax in front of the TV in the evening!
DeleteYou did catch a lot of water, I'm afraid all this rain and flooding is a sign of things to come, a worry for us as we live on the coast and this town has flooded before. That chicken certainly is a cheeky bird but looks very cute to me :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I do hope that your town won't flood again! Or, if it does, then it won't impact you too much.
DeleteIt is a cute chicken, isn't it? It's started to peck at the sliding glass door to tell me that there's no more cat food out there for it! :D
We have had a couple of rain barrels. The first one we made at a workshop that an environmental group held and was free. We eventually gave that one to my father-in-law because he needed it more than we did. The next one I got for my birthday and I find it quite useful. At our new house, the vegetable gardens are far away from any water source and it was a hassle to water them. We installed the rain barrel on the downspout of an outbuilding which is close to our veggie beds. It has a spout where a hose can be hooked up to. This one was an old olive barrel (the first one was an old Pepsi syrup barrel) and was made by handicapped people in a sheltered workshop. While not free like the first one, it was much cheaper than the commercial ones I saw online. So, it's possible if you look around you can find a rail barrel for a decent price if you're still interested.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you found two good rain barrels and a way to participate in the community, too. :) I shall look around to see if I can find something similar. Our water department does give a rebate of $35 for installing a rain barrel, so that is something to take into consideration.
DeleteThe rain barrels can be costly but they do help save on the water bills in the summer. Your buckets are doing the job and the old trash cans are a good idea too. Of course, we have plenty of rain over here every year so it is worth the cost. I want to buy new and bigger ones this year as the plastic barrels gets brittle after a while ... the one I have was here when I bought the house so is at least 10 years old and I noticed that it has spung a leak!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you daughter was able to meet with her friends. How are A's daughters coping? Wouldn't you consider inviting any of your cousins or friends to come to yours, just for some company occasionally? xx
I found out that the water department will give a rebate up to $35 once a rain barrel has been installed according to their specifications so that will help. I'll need to read up a bit more to find a barrel that will withstand our summer temperatures!
DeleteIn the meantime, I set up one of the old trash cans to catch some of the rain. The second one had a crack in the bottom, so, that wouldn't have worked.
A's daughters said they were doing OK; missing their mother, of course, but, keeping themselves busy. They've been visiting the cemetery frequently, they said, and offered to take me with them, one day.
Inviting my family and friends over will be a bit difficult; I'd feel awkward asking them to wear masks while visiting and not offering them food or drinks as that would require them to remove their masks. My daughter doesn't mind asking her friends to wear their masks and not offering them snacks, etc. Even then, I feel bad because it's ingrained in me to offer food and drinks to visitors.
Yes! i look forward to my buckets catching rain.
ReplyDeleteHope your buckets fill to the brim with rain, Jozien. :)
DeleteI enjoyed your post today. Here in Pennsylvania we have received a lot of rain but we are counting it as a blessing because it could be snow. Today it's sunny for a change but cold, in the low 30's. I am knitting a scarf/shawl in hand dyed variegated colors in the purple family and it will be a cozy day of knitting and watching football with hubby. Enjoy your day.💖
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan. :) The weather seems to be changing everywhere! But, we are grateful for the rain after several years of drought. Except for the fact that so much rain is falling so quickly that places are getting flooded and there are mudslides and roadways collapsing, etc.!
DeleteThe hand dyed variegated yarn sounds lovely and I hope you will post a picture of your finished scarf/shawl. Hope you are having a lovely weekend, Susan. :)
I'm laughing at your daughter having to control her crazily dusting mother before she trashes the place! 😃. I can see all the water in your containers. I hope you will always be able to have enough rain to collect some for the drier times.
ReplyDeleteI am just taking a break from a little sewing repair for DGD, who is doing her homework while her parents take a walk with DH. We have been having a lovely visit.
Ha, ha, I finished the dusting, today, without dropping anything or breaking anything! :D
DeleteThe buckets are overflowing! I have now set up the old trash can, as well (the second one had a crack in the bottom, so I left it as it was!)
I'm glad you are having a lovely visit with your son and family. I'm sure DGD appreciates having Grandma do some sewing repairs for her. :)
How green your garden looks! As for your makeshift water butts, they look very similar to various vessels I have dotted around my garden! Never waste a drop! It's surprising how quickly they fill up, isn't it? If there is likely to be more rain for you, would it be worth emptying your little buckets into your old trash cans and leaving them out again to refill?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lady Ella. The garden is responding well to all the rain! Nice to hear that you, too, have various vessels set out to collect your rainwater, too! I did consider emptying the buckets into the trash can but, the buckets are too heavy for me to lift and I'm afraid I was too lazy to take a small bowl and dip out the water into the big trash can. Instead, I just left the buckets in place and left the trash can open to catch what rain it could. Maybe I'll be a little less lazy, tomorrow!
DeleteWow - you did catch some water. That will really be useful for you and will save you money. I see in your replies that you are going to fill up your trash can too. If you have a plastic watering can, they are good to use as a dipper from a large bucket like a trash can. glug glug glug then you're off to water the spots that need it.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice your daughter had her friends over and you were able to see your friend A's daughters.
I did collect some rain water, didn't I? Filling the trash bin didn't work out (there was a leak in it), but, I will use the water I collected and the buckets will probably be empty by the next rain (in the forecast for mid-February).
DeleteI'm glad my daughter was able to visit with her friends and I got to see them and A's daughters again. I've known all these girls since they were children and it's nice to see them becoming capable young women. :)