Glory, glory!! It is raining at Silo Hill Farm today and I swear I can hear my corn growing! We are so far behind on rain and way ahead on heat and humidity. Last night after dinner, when we mistakenly thought it would be cooler, we went down in the field and worked on our irrigation system. Of course, we had help.......
Ya know....if these two would just grow oppositional thumbs, our work time would be cut in half! Mostly, they just like to get in the way!
These pictures are a little dark because, well, it was getting dark. We blew out the pipes with water to make sure they were not obstructed. We capped off the ends and marked where the water holes were with orange spray paint. We sorted them out according to size and laid them out in the field. Once that was done, we began assembling the pipes with connectors, elbow joints and end caps. Sometimes you have to cut the pipe here and there to make it fit where you want it.
These pictures are a little dark because, well, it was getting dark. We blew out the pipes with water to make sure they were not obstructed. We capped off the ends and marked where the water holes were with orange spray paint. We sorted them out according to size and laid them out in the field. Once that was done, we began assembling the pipes with connectors, elbow joints and end caps. Sometimes you have to cut the pipe here and there to make it fit where you want it.
Did I mention it was super hot??? Check out the Sam's shirt....we were
both just soaked with sweat. I don't love humidity. See those storage
tanks in the background? They hold about 900 gallons of water and are
continuously refilled by a ram pump that Sam built himself. Sam has a degree in Engineering and an understanding of fluid dynamics. Me? I know two things about water....first, it takes the path of least resistance and second, and this is a highly technical fact I learned from my brother-in-law, who is also an engineer....."There's NO trickin' water!"
A ram pump
is a thing of beauty out here at Silo Hill Farm. It does not require
electricity and it's power source is the flow of the creek. I'm posting my first ever video and I'm seriously hoping it works. I'm having sound issues, so there may not be sound, but you can get the general idea. If you are interested in Ram pumps and how they work, you can check out the video below.....maybe!!!
Anyway, we did get all of the pipe laid out and connected, then we connected it to the water tanks and turned it on.....
Success!!!
Of course, now that it's raining today, we obviously don't need to have it on, but we are glad to have it done and ready.
Now to plant these pumpkins in the ground where they can be happy!!
Enjoy your day! We are taking my father-in-law, who is the very proud father of two engineers, out for breakfast today and I'm looking forward to it!
Geez, that looks like tough, hot work. Glad you got some rain. Isn't that how things usually happen - when you're working on the irrigation, it rains, lol.
ReplyDeleteIsn't is amazing how as soon as you find a way to cool off your pets, cool off your kids, water the garden....it rains? Happy day!
ReplyDeleteHow funny! Maybe we should be thanking you for the much needed rain. Maybe you should have tried getting the irrigation system set up sooner :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Father's day!
How wonderful! it works here every time too. Once you have watered the garden, washed the car, hung up the washing and invited 30 people for an outdoor activity, it starts to rain! enjoy it xxx
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you go the much needed rain, we did too. But at least the irrigation system is ready for when you do need it.
ReplyDeleteHolly
Glad to hear you got some rain! Hope you enjoyed your breakfast. Megan
ReplyDeleteWe need rain SO badly too ! I'm really getting tired of watering all the flowers. Every year I say I won't plant so many , then I go to the greenhouse and lose all self control !
ReplyDeleteSo glad you got some rain , hope it moves on north :)