MAY 1
I was hoping that none of April's problems followed me into May.  Only one did and that is that it is raining cats and dogs today, and it will continue raining all weekend.  So brother and I did not get to work on the sprinklers today.  We did manage to map the sprinkler heads out to each station to come up with a game plan.  First thing I did was manually override all the manifolds individually to identify where each sprinkler head was located out in the yard.  Oh and behold, #4 station sprinkler heads all popped up and are working fine now.  So now we at least know it is a sporadic manifold.  Replacing that next week will cure the problem for sure.  

Sorry you have to wait another week to find out how this is going but I do not work in the rain.  LOL

Again, I do have to say retirement is great and I sure do appreciate the time I now have to work on all these projects without having to stop and go back to work on Monday's.  I will have to admit an ocean front condo is starting to sound better though.

 

May 9
Made it through the whole week without a lot happening and the weather is user friendly again.  Yesterday my brother and I installed brand new sprinkler manifolds in the front and back yard.  This was quite an experience and was not done without any problems.  We had a couple small leakers on the mechanical joints, one which caused us to have to rebuild one of the manifolds.  The problem with the older homes that have the old metal piping is when you want to convert it to plastic the one joint where the old metal and plastic threads connect can be a difficult joint to make up.  I ended up having one joint that is seeping in the backyard.  Sometimes they will seal on their own but if not I will purchase some sealer and put it over the joint.   Good part is they are all wired up and working very good now, even the one that was my problem station before. 

Since the new manifolds are working so well and I now have increased pressure throughout the system we are walking around the yard getting wet while adjusting all the sprinkler heads for spray levels and adjusting the overlapping areas in the yard.  Good thing it is hot out today.

The wife came home with some summer squash plants the other day so I went out and purchased some zucchini and tomato plants and put them in the ground around the fence lines.  I am also now running lots of 1/4" soaker lines and running them to all my new vegetable plants with mini sprinkler soakers.  .

I still have to run a sprinkler line to replace the only one that is running on top of the ground for about 8 feet before it goes underground from one of the manifolds.  Why this was done?   I believe it was a quick repair since the previous owner could not dig the ditch to bury the line.  As soon as I install and bury this new line I will be able to finish off the area that I need to plant my actual garden. 
 

May 10
Beside working around the yard I have managed to continue with my walks and a bike ride, so I feel good about that.  So easy to bust out of an exercise routine.  We got the results back from the medical lab and all our results were great except Vitamin D, which indicated some low readings.  This lab actually checks your vitamin D levels unlike Washington.  Mine was in the low range also but the wife's was much lower.  Doctor is starting her on large dose of vitamin D medication immediately.  I believe Washington should be checking for Vitamin D deficiency as part of there normal lab checks.  I know my levels were higher because of all the time I spend outdoors now.  It will take a little time and I also may have to start taking a supplement when I hear from my doctor.  Interesting, isn't it sunshine?

Today's plans are to finish regulating a couple more sprinkler heads.  I have one other sprinkler head to replace that was grown over with grass and was not functioning very well.  I have two more soakers to run and I am done for now. 
 

May 16
Wow, look at them temperatures sore today.  It was a blistering 100 today and its going to be just as hot tomorrow.  I actually went for an hour long walk in the heat when it hit 91 degrees.  It felt good actually and without the humidity it was tolerable.  I did take a nice cold bottle of water with me.  It was not that bad but I will not do that often.  You need to either get the walk in early or later in the evening around here with them temp's. 
 

Check out this big bad boy out.  No I am not going to let the wife shot me out of a cannon.  Looks like it could be one, doesn't it?

Actually it is a Urban Compost Tumbler.  I could not pass it up as they run on sale for about $250.  It was on craigslist for $175.  I replied to the ad stating that I was retired, on a fixed income, and could only come up with $125.  He said if he lost his original deal that he was offered that morning he would call me.  Well, lucky for me it fell through and I got the call to come pick it up. 

I took the money I had made from the sale of my 55 gallon barrels over the past month and applied it to good use.  I sold 3 more barrels this weekend so I am still way ahead of the game.

You are probably wondering by now, where the heck is Rich?  As you may well know the internet may go anywhere in the world, but you need a link up to use it. LOL, we are on our journey across the states.  With the perfect brother moving into our home and house sitting for us, all the chores up to date, or at least turned over to someone else, and enough work completed on the house it was more than time for us to get a move on. 
 

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