Hose Bib

Eight ayem on April twentieth.  I set the hoses and turned on the sprinklers.  Let the watering begin!  Well… we call it “watering” in our house but, lately, I have the term “irrigating” used instead.  My understanding of “irrigating” has to do with ditches and canals.  Irrigating was big in the valleys of California when I was growing up.  We didn’t irrigate our lawns; we watered them.  Still do.

On the other hand, here in Oysterville we do speak of our “water for irrigation” to indicate that we have a well on the property and to reassure others in the village that we are not using the village water supply for other than household use.  Whatever…

Let The Watering Begin

In any event, it seems early in the year to start the hose-moving process.  To cover  all of our lawn, it requires moving two hoses from two water bibs at least five times.  If I begin the process at eight in the morning, I can be finished by six in the evening.  That leaves out our south lawn which is too narrow for the sprinklers that go round-and-round.  It requires two applications from one of those back-and-forth sprinklers that usually get stuck in the up position and do no good at all.  Did I mention that moving hoses is not my favorite pastime?  (But don’t tell Nyel.  If he could figure out an efficient way to do it from his wheelchair, he’d be out there in a nano-second.  I do think he’s working on a Plan B.)

Another Hose Bib

Farmer Nyel says our pump isn’t strong enough for good coverage if all three sprinklers going at once.  So it’s usually an every other day decision — which area is most needy?  Meanwhile, we hope that this isn’t really a long-term drought… just a dry spell between rainy periods.  At least until July…  While we wait and see I’m trying to figure out how I can train those chickens to move hoses…  To myself I call it Plan C.