Desert heat
So this past weekend had the first hot days of the year here. Friday got into the high 90s. Saturday got to 101, and Sunday got to 103.
The idea that "it's a dry heat" really does apply (as long as you're out of the sun) up until exactly 100 degrees. Ninety nine is tolerable, but 100 is... the kind of hot that is really hard to describe without swearing.
I like to remind people that gas grills produce a dry heat too, but that doesn't mean you'd be comfortable in one.
So, my trees and my little pieces of grass are only possible here because of the irrigation system the yard came equipped with. There are 11 valves along the side of the house that control 11 different irrigation zones. There's the base of the slope in the back, the first level up the slope, the middle level of the slope, the top of the slope, the back yard shrubs, the back yard grass patch, the area around the valves on the east side of the house, Bubba's side of the house on the west, the front tree, the front shrubs, and the front grass.
An electronic controller in the garage activates all the sprinklers at whatever time or times I program. I can have three different programming patterns, and each program could come on up to three times each day.
So maybe on program A, I run all of the grass patches seven minutes a day every day with the first starting at 7:00 AM. Then program B could be the slope zones for five minutes every other day. And program C could be Bubba's cactus garden and it gets it just twice a week for three minutes. That would be the most simple, but you could get more complex within that if you wanted. The idea is that the controller does it automatically and it keeps you from draining the water pressure by only doing one zone at a time.
It's actually fairly simple to program, Scott got me a good controller an showed me how to use it. You really only need to water once a day, but for an increasing number of minutes per day depending on how hot it is.
The layout out of our plot is below. North is up. The bottom of the plot is the top of the rear slope, which is higher than our roof line to give you the idea of how steep it is.
I don't know if my little diagram helps anyone visualize or tie in the videos and the layout any better. Our five visitors who all saw the blog before getting here said they were still surprised at how the place is laid out. Maybe this helps.
So, since the valves run on water and have electric actuators, and water and electricity aren't really friends, you can imagine the headache the valves on the side of the house are.
In 103 degree heat, Scott and I tried to replace all the broken solenoid actuators on the system. Seven of the 11, as it turned out. The problem was that the grass patch in the back was not working, so I had to hand water every day and the grass was showing signs of stress despite my best efforts.
We tried everything and finally settled with having to jerry rig it by daisy chaining a working actuator, the one that waters Bubba, to the actuator for the grass plot. Bubba's water is a good choice because there are only a few sprinklers on that side, so having both going at once doesn't sap all the water pressure. But it does mean that I have to water the cactus garden as often as the grass needs it.
We're going to have to dig out and rewire the whole system. Amazingly, Scott volunteered to help me accomplish this. As it is, it's rigged with sacrificed speaker wire and excessive splicing. It probably makes the sound designers among us lose sleep thinking about such sketchy wiring.
The good news is that I'm doing something really right with my watering because, with all the trees and greenery here (more than anyone else in my neighborhood), I was billed at the lowest, "conservation user," rate for water and only used $26 worth in my first two months. That means that I used less water than a "normal user" in LA county and therefore paid the lowest amount/unit. I'm sure that I'll move into the normal range over the summer, but I'll get it back down by late September.
It's hard to describe the pride I felt at getting the conservation user rate. As those who've lived with me know, I like some long showers and I've made the concerted effort since we got here to forgo long showers in the interest of enjoying a desert oasis instead.
It's fairly painless. We have water efficient appliances and fixtures, I take quick showers of about 10 minutes, and I don't over water the lawn or gardens or let the sprinklers water the driveway or sidewalk.
My next project is to learn all the names of the plants in the yard and find out more of what they realy need from me to be happy.
The idea that "it's a dry heat" really does apply (as long as you're out of the sun) up until exactly 100 degrees. Ninety nine is tolerable, but 100 is... the kind of hot that is really hard to describe without swearing.
I like to remind people that gas grills produce a dry heat too, but that doesn't mean you'd be comfortable in one.
So, my trees and my little pieces of grass are only possible here because of the irrigation system the yard came equipped with. There are 11 valves along the side of the house that control 11 different irrigation zones. There's the base of the slope in the back, the first level up the slope, the middle level of the slope, the top of the slope, the back yard shrubs, the back yard grass patch, the area around the valves on the east side of the house, Bubba's side of the house on the west, the front tree, the front shrubs, and the front grass.
An electronic controller in the garage activates all the sprinklers at whatever time or times I program. I can have three different programming patterns, and each program could come on up to three times each day.
So maybe on program A, I run all of the grass patches seven minutes a day every day with the first starting at 7:00 AM. Then program B could be the slope zones for five minutes every other day. And program C could be Bubba's cactus garden and it gets it just twice a week for three minutes. That would be the most simple, but you could get more complex within that if you wanted. The idea is that the controller does it automatically and it keeps you from draining the water pressure by only doing one zone at a time.
It's actually fairly simple to program, Scott got me a good controller an showed me how to use it. You really only need to water once a day, but for an increasing number of minutes per day depending on how hot it is.
The layout out of our plot is below. North is up. The bottom of the plot is the top of the rear slope, which is higher than our roof line to give you the idea of how steep it is.
I don't know if my little diagram helps anyone visualize or tie in the videos and the layout any better. Our five visitors who all saw the blog before getting here said they were still surprised at how the place is laid out. Maybe this helps.
So, since the valves run on water and have electric actuators, and water and electricity aren't really friends, you can imagine the headache the valves on the side of the house are.
In 103 degree heat, Scott and I tried to replace all the broken solenoid actuators on the system. Seven of the 11, as it turned out. The problem was that the grass patch in the back was not working, so I had to hand water every day and the grass was showing signs of stress despite my best efforts.
We tried everything and finally settled with having to jerry rig it by daisy chaining a working actuator, the one that waters Bubba, to the actuator for the grass plot. Bubba's water is a good choice because there are only a few sprinklers on that side, so having both going at once doesn't sap all the water pressure. But it does mean that I have to water the cactus garden as often as the grass needs it.
We're going to have to dig out and rewire the whole system. Amazingly, Scott volunteered to help me accomplish this. As it is, it's rigged with sacrificed speaker wire and excessive splicing. It probably makes the sound designers among us lose sleep thinking about such sketchy wiring.
The good news is that I'm doing something really right with my watering because, with all the trees and greenery here (more than anyone else in my neighborhood), I was billed at the lowest, "conservation user," rate for water and only used $26 worth in my first two months. That means that I used less water than a "normal user" in LA county and therefore paid the lowest amount/unit. I'm sure that I'll move into the normal range over the summer, but I'll get it back down by late September.
It's hard to describe the pride I felt at getting the conservation user rate. As those who've lived with me know, I like some long showers and I've made the concerted effort since we got here to forgo long showers in the interest of enjoying a desert oasis instead.
It's fairly painless. We have water efficient appliances and fixtures, I take quick showers of about 10 minutes, and I don't over water the lawn or gardens or let the sprinklers water the driveway or sidewalk.
My next project is to learn all the names of the plants in the yard and find out more of what they realy need from me to be happy.
I have to admit the water + electricity thing is a little frightening, especially when it involves splices and wire stretched out over the lawn (presumably in the water?). But what I really wanted to offer was the idea that you could use solar power to run your irrigation system. Not that I have a clue how one sets up a solar power system, but I envy those people out there with the opportunity to do such things. NYC apartments don't really offer a tremendous amount of flexibility in that regard. We actually get a decent amount of sunlight in comparison to some, but are windows are surrounded by trees and we really only could capture sunlight for about 3 hours a day. I might try anyway though.
Reply to this
The solar thing would be more trouble than it's worth, I think, because the electricity used is really small. All it does is open the valve, then close the valve the prescribed time later. Actually the whole system has a 9V battery backup in the case of power loss. I imagin it could run for a week or more on that if it needed to.
I do have some solar lights in the back, which work really well. Even the solar spotlights.
Reply to this
Oh, and dry vs. humid heat never seems to have any effect on me. 90 and over is 90 and over, regardless. Okay, maybe that would be different in the jungle, but anywhere I've ever been it's not made a bit of difference to me. I just don't like heat.
Reply to this
It's 55 degrees and raining now. I had to have the heat on this morning.
Reply to this
TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY!!!!!
Reply to this
I'm so excited. The rain storm that came through may green things up a bit on the mountains, but it also deposited fresh snow on the mountains, which seems so weird since it was just 103 here last weekend. So oddly, you may see more snow in June than the family did last January.
Reply to this
*That* would be awesome. I rather enjoy seeing snow from a distance!
Reply to this
Its good info. Big thanks. New Hidden object Games and Mahjong for canada or last Download Free Games collection, and new Matching Games, Blox Forever.
Reply to this
My dog is sick (((
Reply to this
Will explode if the reactor in Japan?
Reply to this
There are many superior quality replica watches at our watch shop.replica watches : replica watches,Omega:Omega,Hamilton:Hamilton,Breguet:Breguet,Replica watch BreitlingBreitling,Replica watch TAG HeuerTAG Heuer,Replica Rolex watchesRolex watches,Replica watch Bell and RossBell and Ross,Replica watch CartierCartier,replica watches ukreplica watches uk,Replica watch FerrariFerrari,Replica Patek Philippe watchesPatek PhilippeU-Boat U-Boat,replica watch chopard Chopard,replica watch IWC:IWC,replica watch Hublot:Hublotwatches for sale:watches for sale.Welome to our store.
Reply to this
Go ahead and take Lesportsac Deluxe Everyday bag Shoulder gucci replica handbags bag for instance. With the wide choices of designs and attractive colors, you'll find gucci handbags that will delight any lady. These handbags will go from Little League for an upscale French restaurant on a single day and fit right in. If you are looking for something interesting, stunning, and stylish in fashionable gucci bags on sale handbags for ladies, take a look at regularly the brand new handbags released.
Reply to this