Hi Everyone!

gja1000 · 08-09-2010, 05:09 PM

Well, I was Mrs. Green Jeans (for those of you old enough to remember that Mr. Green Jeans was a farmer and Captain Kangaroo's right hand man) for most of the weekend. With the 100+ temps, if you have any outdoor trees, grass, garden or flowers, they need A LOT of attention right about now. It seems I watered off and on all day on Saturday. Then Sunday, I tended to the garden, watered a few more spots and then Gary and I shopped for gutters for the back of the house and started to work on them a bit (no, he really isn't able to do the work, but he wants to try, so I'll help him as long as he can work at it).

We saw some rain barrels at the Farmers Market a couple of weeks ago and we have talked about setting up barrels to catch the rain off our roof, for some time now. Gary needs "projects"

, so we bought rain barrels. Here is a link to see them. The pictures all show two barrels together, but we only have one barrel in 3 locations. http://austingreenwater.com/rain-bar...om-green-water

They are nice as they are elevated on the wood platforms and the valve where you hook up the hose is at the bottom of the barrel, so the water will drain out through the hose via gravity. You can use a soaker hose also.

We can get a rebate from the City of Austin to pay for about 25% of each barrel. We have one in the front (or side of the house - it's hidden behind our crepe myrtle bushes) to water our white oak tree and crepe myrtles in the front yard. We'll put two in the back yard, one at one end of the house for the red oak and one at the other end of the house for the chinquapin oak and the garden.

We've needed to put up gutters in the back of the house for several years, but just haven't done it. We have friends who will help us if we can't get them done. We already have gutters in the front of the house, so we just have to adjust the downspout to empty into the barrel.

We are also having an arborist come tomorrow to trim our trees. We have a 3 1/2 year old white oak (Montery oak) in the front yard that needs the lower branches trimmed off. Then we have a red oak in the back yard that is rubbing the roof in places. Hopefully, tomorrow they will look all prettied up when I get home!

judy · 08-10-2010, 04:58 AM

Those rain barrels are great Gayle! That is one good idea!!! Luckily, we get rain almost every day for at least a couple of hours. It's raining now, and I think it rained overnight. I rarely have to water the plants. I do have to separate my coleus. They are growing fast, and are probably root bound. I forgot to buy a pot, so will have to hunt for one today.

DianaB · 08-10-2010, 09:42 AM

I saw rain barrels somewhere recently and I think that they're a good idea. It's really nice that the city will give you a rebate for them too. It will be nice to have water that hasn't been treated to water your plants with and they'll probably do better. You could even add some water soluble fertilizer to the water as well.

I know that our temps have been really high and we're in an "extreme heat warning" again today. The corn is drying out really quickly and Glen told me today that they'll be cutting corn early this year. We could really use some rain......Judy, why don't you send some of that rain here!!!!

The yard is looking so brown and dry. I watered my plants and flowers last night but I know that it's not enough. I probably should start running a trickle on some of the shrubs so the water can soak in really good and not just be on top of the ground.

Janet · 08-10-2010, 11:56 AM

It's been really hot here too. Today it's 94 and the heat index is 105. Naturally...I'm staying in. Way too hot for me. It's suppose to be this way all week and we are under a heat warning also. I don't do well when it's this hot.

Spoke with Mom a little while ago and she told me that my brother Brad is taking her to Lafayette on Saturday to look for a car. SHE DOESN'T NEED ANOTHER CAR!! My brother has got to be out of his mind. She wants a station wagon/van type so she can load everything to go to Florida. Don't know what she'll do when my sister-in -law tells her she won't take her. Well....yes I do...mom will drive herself. Heaven help those on the road. Hopefully they won't find anything she likes.

Nothing else really going on here....pretty boring.

gja1000 · 08-10-2010, 05:35 PM

Well, we put up 20 foot of gutter this evening. Actually it is only up with temporary screws - we still have to put in the permanent screws, but that won't be very hard. We only worked about 30 minutes today and 30 minutes on Sunday, so for an hours work, we have a lot done. We only have 10 more feet on one side and then 12 feet on the other side so it won't be too bad. It's been pretty easy so far. We'll have to put in the down spouts when we get the gutter up, and then we'll have to caulk all the seams, but I think we can do it!

judy · 08-11-2010, 05:26 AM

How did you get up to get the gutter up Gayle? A really tall ladder, I guess! Good job!

I would love to send you all the rain we're getting! It rained again last night. The weather up here is hot during the day, but we have the pool. Honestly, if it wasn't for that, it would be terribly hot. I would have to invest in air conditioning, which is really expensive for casement windows. As it is, we don't stay in the house during the afternoon when it is too hot. Max lays on the bathroom floor to cool off. Poor guy! It's too hot to take them outside during the day, and too buggy in the evening. There's a flea explosion due to the rain.

But, it cools down beautifully at night, and I am really enjoying this summer. I have my summer friends, and my winter friends (I don't see them that much), and the pool.

I really am lucky!

DianaB · 08-11-2010, 11:04 AM

Janet, you're just going to have to put a ball and chain on your Mother!!!! She's going to keep all of you hopping!!!! I'm sorry that you're going to have to deal with this. Maybe your brother could find something wrong with everyone she picks out.

Gayle, you and Gary have gotten a lot done for just working an hour. Having the guttering will really help with your water barrels. I have a place in my guttering where I really need another down spout because it always runs over.....it just carries too much water in that one spot and runs over.

Judy, I can just picture you lazying around on a float reading a book!!!! How nice!! I'm in a dirty pond....with mowed grass floating in it!! I'm not complaining.....I'm just glad that we have it to enjoy.

gja1000 · 08-12-2010, 04:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by judy

How did you get up to get the gutter up Gayle? A really tall ladder, I guess! Good job!

Yes, a couple of really tall ladders! LOL! Gary was a carpenter in a former life, so we have all that "stuff" stored in our garage/shed. It comes in handy sometimes!

08-09-2010, 05:09 PM	#1
gja1000 Donating 4WT Yakker Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Central Texas Posts: 5,717	Well, I was Mrs. Green Jeans (for those of you old enough to remember that Mr. Green Jeans was a farmer and Captain Kangaroo's right hand man) for most of the weekend. With the 100+ temps, if you have any outdoor trees, grass, garden or flowers, they need A LOT of attention right about now. It seems I watered off and on all day on Saturday. Then Sunday, I tended to the garden, watered a few more spots and then Gary and I shopped for gutters for the back of the house and started to work on them a bit (no, he really isn't able to do the work, but he wants to try, so I'll help him as long as he can work at it). We saw some rain barrels at the Farmers Market a couple of weeks ago and we have talked about setting up barrels to catch the rain off our roof, for some time now. Gary needs "projects" , so we bought rain barrels. Here is a link to see them. The pictures all show two barrels together, but we only have one barrel in 3 locations. http://austingreenwater.com/rain-bar...om-green-water They are nice as they are elevated on the wood platforms and the valve where you hook up the hose is at the bottom of the barrel, so the water will drain out through the hose via gravity. You can use a soaker hose also. We can get a rebate from the City of Austin to pay for about 25% of each barrel. We have one in the front (or side of the house - it's hidden behind our crepe myrtle bushes) to water our white oak tree and crepe myrtles in the front yard. We'll put two in the back yard, one at one end of the house for the red oak and one at the other end of the house for the chinquapin oak and the garden. We've needed to put up gutters in the back of the house for several years, but just haven't done it. We have friends who will help us if we can't get them done. We already have gutters in the front of the house, so we just have to adjust the downspout to empty into the barrel. We are also having an arborist come tomorrow to trim our trees. We have a 3 1/2 year old white oak (Montery oak) in the front yard that needs the lower branches trimmed off. Then we have a red oak in the back yard that is rubbing the roof in places. Hopefully, tomorrow they will look all prettied up when I get home! __________________ Gayle

08-10-2010, 04:58 AM	#2
judy Donating 4WT Yakker Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Denver, NY Posts: 8,097	Those rain barrels are great Gayle! That is one good idea!!! Luckily, we get rain almost every day for at least a couple of hours. It's raining now, and I think it rained overnight. I rarely have to water the plants. I do have to separate my coleus. They are growing fast, and are probably root bound. I forgot to buy a pot, so will have to hunt for one today. __________________ *Judy*

08-10-2010, 11:56 AM	#4
Janet Moderator Donating 4WT 18K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: INDIANA Posts: 21,625	It's been really hot here too. Today it's 94 and the heat index is 105. Naturally...I'm staying in. Way too hot for me. It's suppose to be this way all week and we are under a heat warning also. I don't do well when it's this hot. Spoke with Mom a little while ago and she told me that my brother Brad is taking her to Lafayette on Saturday to look for a car. SHE DOESN'T NEED ANOTHER CAR!! My brother has got to be out of his mind. She wants a station wagon/van type so she can load everything to go to Florida. Don't know what she'll do when my sister-in -law tells her she won't take her. Well....yes I do...mom will drive herself. Heaven help those on the road. Hopefully they won't find anything she likes. Nothing else really going on here....pretty boring. __________________ To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. ECCLESIASTES 3:1

08-10-2010, 05:35 PM	#5
gja1000 Donating 4WT Yakker Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Central Texas Posts: 5,717	Well, we put up 20 foot of gutter this evening. Actually it is only up with temporary screws - we still have to put in the permanent screws, but that won't be very hard. We only worked about 30 minutes today and 30 minutes on Sunday, so for an hours work, we have a lot done. We only have 10 more feet on one side and then 12 feet on the other side so it won't be too bad. It's been pretty easy so far. We'll have to put in the down spouts when we get the gutter up, and then we'll have to caulk all the seams, but I think we can do it! __________________ Gayle

08-11-2010, 05:26 AM	#6
judy Donating 4WT Yakker Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Denver, NY Posts: 8,097	How did you get up to get the gutter up Gayle? A really tall ladder, I guess! Good job! I would love to send you all the rain we're getting! It rained again last night. The weather up here is hot during the day, but we have the pool. Honestly, if it wasn't for that, it would be terribly hot. I would have to invest in air conditioning, which is really expensive for casement windows. As it is, we don't stay in the house during the afternoon when it is too hot. Max lays on the bathroom floor to cool off. Poor guy! It's too hot to take them outside during the day, and too buggy in the evening. There's a flea explosion due to the rain. But, it cools down beautifully at night, and I am really enjoying this summer. I have my summer friends, and my winter friends (I don't see them that much), and the pool. I really am lucky! __________________ *Judy*

08-10-2010, 09:42 AM	#3
DianaB Moderator Donating 4WT 13K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kansas Posts: 16,069	I saw rain barrels somewhere recently and I think that they're a good idea. It's really nice that the city will give you a rebate for them too. It will be nice to have water that hasn't been treated to water your plants with and they'll probably do better. You could even add some water soluble fertilizer to the water as well. I know that our temps have been really high and we're in an "extreme heat warning" again today. The corn is drying out really quickly and Glen told me today that they'll be cutting corn early this year. We could really use some rain......Judy, why don't you send some of that rain here!!!! The yard is looking so brown and dry. I watered my plants and flowers last night but I know that it's not enough. I probably should start running a trickle on some of the shrubs so the water can soak in really good and not just be on top of the ground.

08-11-2010, 11:04 AM	#7
DianaB Moderator Donating 4WT 13K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kansas Posts: 16,069	Janet, you're just going to have to put a ball and chain on your Mother!!!! She's going to keep all of you hopping!!!! I'm sorry that you're going to have to deal with this. Maybe your brother could find something wrong with everyone she picks out. Gayle, you and Gary have gotten a lot done for just working an hour. Having the guttering will really help with your water barrels. I have a place in my guttering where I really need another down spout because it always runs over.....it just carries too much water in that one spot and runs over. Judy, I can just picture you lazying around on a float reading a book!!!! How nice!! I'm in a dirty pond....with mowed grass floating in it!! I'm not complaining.....I'm just glad that we have it to enjoy.

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