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snoozefestaudioWell, I'm happy to report that my feet were on the floor, and I was standing by 10AM this morning... and I knew it because I heard the Tuesday sirens going off!
First Tuesday of June, and first garbage night in ages that I'll be taking out the bins after work instead of before I go!
Prowly came upstairs to greet me, which was different, and we and Yvette were outside by 10:13AM. A nice, shady June morning with cottonwood seeds still flying, but today I noticed that the mulberries are already out and ripe!
The three zone timer, second sprinkler, and 30 more feet of hose all come on Thursday.
I'll also have two small area sprinkler heads.
So is there a way to create a complex system using two timers?.. one coming off the other?
I'll have five sections of hose, plus a short section that came with the hose reel cart.
--<>--
It's 150 feet from hose bib to Natalie, so lets start simple...
50 feet from bib to a 2 zone timer. Zone 1 is the 100 foot run out to the bubbler. And Zone 2 is a short, five foot section going to a three zone timer that creates Zones 2A, 2B, and 2C.
Okay... so 2A is a 30 foot over to the patch by the back room.
2B is a 30 foot to hit the the barbecue area.
Leaving 2C as a 50 foot to hit the shed site and remaining patches.
I think this could work???... but only if I can hit the barbecue mat with a 30 foot section!
Let's assume that I can!... this means I can water all the seed in the back yard, but it'll be a bitch to break this all down for mowing and put it all back together afterward.
And it ignores the area by the side porch.
Creating another zone for that, using the music room hose bib would require another length of hose... which I'm trying to avoid.
I'll already have 260 feet of hose, by Thursday. And the hose reel cart can only handle 300 feet total, for winter storage in the shed.
Also, after this grass is grown, I'll probably never need that much hose again in my life!
So... yeah. I think the way to go is just hit as much as I can with the hose and timers I already have, and the side porch area's just gonna have to wait until later in the summer.
------------{=0=}------------
To get all that seed to germinate quickly... will require long soaks with the three sprinklers.
And that in turn will cause the entire back lawn to grow like crazy every week, demanding weekly mows.
And this will go on for at least a month.
So... I WILL be pretty busy, all June, breaking down this system to mow, and putting it all back together again, once a week.
So, like I was thinking yesterday, I should break it down before work, then mow after work, and put it back together before dark... which means that nothing starts going until like 9PM at the earliest.
Let's give myself some wiggle room and start the bubbler (Zone 1) at 9:30PM.
Then Zone 2 goes on at 9:40PM.
2A would go at 9:45PM for 30 minutes.
2B would go at 10:20PM for 30 minutes.
2C would go at 11:00PM for 30 minutes.
And Zone 2 would shut off at 11:35PM.
Since Zone 2 repeats 12 hour later, I wouldn't be able to break anything down until 11:35AM... but that's okay, because I don't have to leave for work until 12:50PM.
Okay!
We'll see in a few more days if this crazy system can work in real life!
------------{=0=}------------
7:48PM
Wow!.. talk about living the dream! Today was great!
I clocked in at Cloud, at 1:25... talked to Jeremy for a bit, then put in for PTO on July 3rd.
After that... off to do a garbage run, but there was NO GARBAGE!
Only the office staff was there. The teachers were gone!
So everything I vacuumed yesterday was still perfect.
So... I just focused on drinking fountains and bathrooms today, and got everything perfect and sparkly clean!
On my break, I put in an InstaCart order for groceries.
At 5:25PM, I clocked out and left!.. and got home just before 6PM!
There were my groceries waiting for me on the front stoop!
--<>--
When I got inside, Yvette was asleep! She had no idea I'd be back so soon! But we did go out for a walk, and both cats materialized.
After putting away the groceries, and taking out the garbage, I got that seed spreader, filled it with grass seed, and started in on the ruts closest to the barbecue and the fire pit.
In this photo, all the ruts have been seeded.
And the one on the left has been covered with topsoil that I shoveled into the sifter, and shook over it.
I did that for the other ruts you see... and actualy went through two wheel barrows full of dirt, without it seeming to have made much difference to their level.
So... I think I will probably use up all that topsoil.
I got finished right at 7PM, just as the sprinkler turned on.
And I was able to position it so that it hits both the barbecue spot, and all these ruts near the firepit... and the firepit border as well.
In fact, it reached over to another rut off stage right, and touched the edge of the shed site's dirt!
--<>--
I sat out there with a beer watching the sprinkler go until it was done... then I went over to see how wet everything was.
And 20 minutes did soak all the surfaces quite sufficiently!.. so, no need to go longer than that.
It was also plain that a second sprinkler like that one can hit the rest of the shed site, and the remaining ruts and holes in the back yard.
A small area sprinkler can easily do the north patch, by the back room.
And I do now think I can deploy all three with the hoses I'll have.
--<>--
Unfortunately I used up all my grass seed in this test area. So I ordered a ton more from Amazon, but it won't be here until Monday.
So... well, I can put down grass seed mat on the shed site, I guess, but the rest of it's gotta wait until next week.
Grass seed mat tomorrow, and then I guess I'll mow on Thursday or Friday.
------------{=0=}------------
The forecast is now calling for rain both Saturday and Sunday so... imagine if I was still full time...
What I did tonight out there may not have even gotten done until the following weekend... at which point I'd have finally realized I didn't have enough grass seed, and so would've had to wait another week!
Instead, I should have the whole thing together by Tuesday!
--<>--
Let's go over the hose math one more time, given what we've learned...
Zone 1, the bubbler, turns on at 10PM, and goes for 5 minutes.
Zone 2A: 10:10PM, for 20 minutes.
Zone 2B: 10:25, for 20 minutes.
Zone 2C: 10:50, for 20 minutes.
Everything's done by 11:10PM... which means Zone 2 will also be done by 11:10AM.
I don't leave until 12:50... so that gives me an hour and forty minutes before work to break down the irrigation system on a mow day... which is plenty of time!
------------{=0=}------------
Okay, it's 8:40PM, and I still have about five hours before bed!
°¦}
https://soundcloud.com/snoozefestaudio
First Tuesday of June, and first garbage night in ages that I'll be taking out the bins after work instead of before I go!
Prowly came upstairs to greet me, which was different, and we and Yvette were outside by 10:13AM. A nice, shady June morning with cottonwood seeds still flying, but today I noticed that the mulberries are already out and ripe!
The three zone timer, second sprinkler, and 30 more feet of hose all come on Thursday.
I'll also have two small area sprinkler heads.
So is there a way to create a complex system using two timers?.. one coming off the other?
I'll have five sections of hose, plus a short section that came with the hose reel cart.
It's 150 feet from hose bib to Natalie, so lets start simple...
50 feet from bib to a 2 zone timer. Zone 1 is the 100 foot run out to the bubbler. And Zone 2 is a short, five foot section going to a three zone timer that creates Zones 2A, 2B, and 2C.
Okay... so 2A is a 30 foot over to the patch by the back room.
2B is a 30 foot to hit the the barbecue area.
Leaving 2C as a 50 foot to hit the shed site and remaining patches.
I think this could work???... but only if I can hit the barbecue mat with a 30 foot section!
Let's assume that I can!... this means I can water all the seed in the back yard, but it'll be a bitch to break this all down for mowing and put it all back together afterward.
And it ignores the area by the side porch.
Creating another zone for that, using the music room hose bib would require another length of hose... which I'm trying to avoid.
I'll already have 260 feet of hose, by Thursday. And the hose reel cart can only handle 300 feet total, for winter storage in the shed.
Also, after this grass is grown, I'll probably never need that much hose again in my life!
So... yeah. I think the way to go is just hit as much as I can with the hose and timers I already have, and the side porch area's just gonna have to wait until later in the summer.
To get all that seed to germinate quickly... will require long soaks with the three sprinklers.
And that in turn will cause the entire back lawn to grow like crazy every week, demanding weekly mows.
And this will go on for at least a month.
So... I WILL be pretty busy, all June, breaking down this system to mow, and putting it all back together again, once a week.
So, like I was thinking yesterday, I should break it down before work, then mow after work, and put it back together before dark... which means that nothing starts going until like 9PM at the earliest.
Let's give myself some wiggle room and start the bubbler (Zone 1) at 9:30PM.
Then Zone 2 goes on at 9:40PM.
2A would go at 9:45PM for 30 minutes.
2B would go at 10:20PM for 30 minutes.
2C would go at 11:00PM for 30 minutes.
And Zone 2 would shut off at 11:35PM.
Since Zone 2 repeats 12 hour later, I wouldn't be able to break anything down until 11:35AM... but that's okay, because I don't have to leave for work until 12:50PM.
Okay!
We'll see in a few more days if this crazy system can work in real life!
Wow!.. talk about living the dream! Today was great!
I clocked in at Cloud, at 1:25... talked to Jeremy for a bit, then put in for PTO on July 3rd.
After that... off to do a garbage run, but there was NO GARBAGE!
Only the office staff was there. The teachers were gone!
So everything I vacuumed yesterday was still perfect.
So... I just focused on drinking fountains and bathrooms today, and got everything perfect and sparkly clean!
On my break, I put in an InstaCart order for groceries.
At 5:25PM, I clocked out and left!.. and got home just before 6PM!
There were my groceries waiting for me on the front stoop!
When I got inside, Yvette was asleep! She had no idea I'd be back so soon! But we did go out for a walk, and both cats materialized.
After putting away the groceries, and taking out the garbage, I got that seed spreader, filled it with grass seed, and started in on the ruts closest to the barbecue and the fire pit.
In this photo, all the ruts have been seeded.
And the one on the left has been covered with topsoil that I shoveled into the sifter, and shook over it.
I did that for the other ruts you see... and actualy went through two wheel barrows full of dirt, without it seeming to have made much difference to their level.
So... I think I will probably use up all that topsoil.
I got finished right at 7PM, just as the sprinkler turned on.
And I was able to position it so that it hits both the barbecue spot, and all these ruts near the firepit... and the firepit border as well.
In fact, it reached over to another rut off stage right, and touched the edge of the shed site's dirt!
I sat out there with a beer watching the sprinkler go until it was done... then I went over to see how wet everything was.
And 20 minutes did soak all the surfaces quite sufficiently!.. so, no need to go longer than that.
It was also plain that a second sprinkler like that one can hit the rest of the shed site, and the remaining ruts and holes in the back yard.
A small area sprinkler can easily do the north patch, by the back room.
And I do now think I can deploy all three with the hoses I'll have.
Unfortunately I used up all my grass seed in this test area. So I ordered a ton more from Amazon, but it won't be here until Monday.
So... well, I can put down grass seed mat on the shed site, I guess, but the rest of it's gotta wait until next week.
Grass seed mat tomorrow, and then I guess I'll mow on Thursday or Friday.
The forecast is now calling for rain both Saturday and Sunday so... imagine if I was still full time...
What I did tonight out there may not have even gotten done until the following weekend... at which point I'd have finally realized I didn't have enough grass seed, and so would've had to wait another week!
Instead, I should have the whole thing together by Tuesday!
Let's go over the hose math one more time, given what we've learned...
Zone 1, the bubbler, turns on at 10PM, and goes for 5 minutes.
Zone 2A: 10:10PM, for 20 minutes.
Zone 2B: 10:25, for 20 minutes.
Zone 2C: 10:50, for 20 minutes.
Everything's done by 11:10PM... which means Zone 2 will also be done by 11:10AM.
I don't leave until 12:50... so that gives me an hour and forty minutes before work to break down the irrigation system on a mow day... which is plenty of time!
Okay, it's 8:40PM, and I still have about five hours before bed!
°¦}
