Rill Status : block acquired
Work progresses on rebuilding the rill. Yesterday, DB and I moved nearly two tons of concrete, 30 pounds at a time. (the blocks for the back of the rill had to be moved out of the trailer. each block weighs 17 pounds. and then there were the 14 pavers at 40 pounds each.)
J yanked out one of the volunteer junipers that was too close to the rill -- it was crowding the old rill, and the new rill will probably wind up being a bit wider, and shifted a bit -- so the rill looks even weirder now. The pump is currently running, despite the leak (I just water the pond every morning when I go out to feed the birds), but the rill is just naked liner on a stepped bed of sand.
We made a detour into appliances in the course of getting the block, and came home with a new washer and dryer. People tell us that we probably won't get 20+ years out of the new ones, but they told us that about the old ones too, and they're still going strong (we got them when we moved to Ypsi in 1993). The washer lid should probably be replaced, but other than that I think they'd run for another 5-10 years. (They might stop working tomorrow, too. One can rarely tell with these things. J's debating whether to pass them on through FiA or Stockbridge Outreach (they're better than no washer/dryer), or just disassemble them for the motors and recycle the metal.)
J yanked out one of the volunteer junipers that was too close to the rill -- it was crowding the old rill, and the new rill will probably wind up being a bit wider, and shifted a bit -- so the rill looks even weirder now. The pump is currently running, despite the leak (I just water the pond every morning when I go out to feed the birds), but the rill is just naked liner on a stepped bed of sand.
We made a detour into appliances in the course of getting the block, and came home with a new washer and dryer. People tell us that we probably won't get 20+ years out of the new ones, but they told us that about the old ones too, and they're still going strong (we got them when we moved to Ypsi in 1993). The washer lid should probably be replaced, but other than that I think they'd run for another 5-10 years. (They might stop working tomorrow, too. One can rarely tell with these things. J's debating whether to pass them on through FiA or Stockbridge Outreach (they're better than no washer/dryer), or just disassemble them for the motors and recycle the metal.)