Hello Everyone!
Getting off schedule, Still hobbling about, Gutters are costly, An easy aqueduct idea & The corn lives!
Alright, it is several hours past the time that I have been making this entries at... because I keep tinkering with some music software and letting myself get distracted. Perhaps now that I have armed myself with a fresh cup of espresso, I can remain focused on the writing long enough to get it done before this big looming storm breaks loose.
It has been steadily growing darker outside and although a few fat drops of rain have splattered down... it has yet to actually rain or even begin rumbling thunder. There is also still a 'heat advisory' for the ongoing heatwave plus warnings about strong thunderstorms this afternoon... which hopefully are fast moving like the others that have blown by recently.
My dang foot is still not healed enough to walk around on... and even though some rain would be nice... it would also make it challenging for me to safely navigate the muck as I hobble about to let the dogs in or out... or to tend to the chickens. That has really been the extent of my activities for the most part... and although everything looks to be healing just fine... it is a slow process.
Having all this time on my hands to think has been good... because I now have a clearer picture of how I want to setup the new camp near the building. I am still not completely sure that I can do everything that I am thinking of doing... but I will say that creating a very simple root cellar and turning the retention area into a pond nearby will be rather straightforward.
While I was window shopping for fencing online, I looked at what it would cost to get gutters... and wow they are rather expensive and all the various parts and downspouts are not cheap either. Considering the price per foot to install actual gutters... and the hassle of having to clean them out... I am leaning more and more into my idea of constructing some 'ground gutters' (aqueducts) instead.
I keep musing over different materials to build the aqueducts with... and while concrete (or roofing metal) channels would be super effective... a simpler approach might be to use pond liner. I know that I have mentioned doing this kind of setup before using logs to form the 'basin' but after further thought... I think that I want it to be higher off the ground.
The tricky part to that whole setup is going to be the frame... but I think that I can use sections of welded wire fencing to form an 'M' shape to create the frame. Then I could lay (and attach) the pond liner over the entire structure, fill it partially with gravel... and sandwich the edges of the pond liner between the ground and the frame before staking it all in place.
On a different note, I hobbled up the hill yesterday to receive a food delivery... and got to get a peep at how the corn that I transplanted is doing. Most of it actually looked like it was doing well under the circumstances... but could do with some water... which I almost convinced myself to do before realizing how much hassle it would be with my foot throbbing.
Well, I think that I am going to wrap this up and get on with my morning. I hope that folks are doing well. Ta ta for now.