Anyone like to share where they live?

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 04:02

I have a piece of western pine board that has annual growth rings about 15 to the inch for a couple of inches and then a section about 3/4 of an inch wide that has more than a hundred growth lines. This tells me that there was once a drought that lasted for more than a hundred years.

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 18:39

Cabonaia wrote:We don't have two raindrops to rub together out here. It is shaping up to be the worst drought year since weather started being recorded in CA.

Things will become very interesting out here later this summer. I haven't watered the front lawn in two months and will just let it die. My plan for watering the vegetable garden will be to place five gallon buckets in the shower to catch the water while it's heating up, I started that a week ago and have a forty gallon can half full already. The gravel beds where the salmon spawn in the American river are already above the surface level. It's the middle of rainy season and we haven't had a drop in six weeks, no rain in the extended forecast. The San Joaquin and Sacramento valley farmers won't have water to grow anything, the prices of everything will sky rocket. The folks in southern California will finally be realizing they live in a desert when there just isn't water to ship down to them, property values will take a real hit thru out the state. Yep, gonna get ugly here. RAY

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 18:45

Early maps of California labeled large expanses as desert.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 18:48

Ray you could modify the drains in your plumbing especially the kitchen to send the grey water into the garden. Black water still has to go into the sewer.

el Ducko · Post by **el Ducko** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 22:41

ssorllih wrote:Ray you could modify the drains in your plumbing especially the kitchen to send the grey water into the garden. Black water still has to go into the sewer.

Be careful, though, to route the gray water well away from your foundation. We once cracked our slab, doing that too close to the house. The uneven amount of moisture caused one portion to heave, whereas the rest of the foundation didn't. (Slabs float on ground + ground water.) Couple that with an "L"-shaped slab, and there's trouble waiting to happen.

However, done right, it's a real garden-saver and a great idea.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sun Jan 26, 2014 00:06

I live in the land of 4 foot deep foundation footers. Frost levels and all that. Water lines here must be buried not less than 36 inches.

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Sun Jan 26, 2014 02:32

ssorllih wrote:Ray you could modify the drains in your plumbing especially the kitchen to send the grey water into the garden. Black water still has to go into the sewer.

With my back and hips I only get under the sink for something like replacing the garbage disposal, and I think just saving the shower water will do the trick for us. We leave for a eight day trip to Ixtapa in two weeks, when we get back my first order of business will be to build another 4' x 20' planter box for veggies. The wife and I are going to have a little competition this year! Last year she was too busy to be involved in the garden planting, I did it all, turned out to be about the best ever. I'll plant swiss chard and tomatos and have all I need from a garden for the year. My beloved spouse, on the other hand, will plant a bunch of different stuff that doesn't come up to grocery store shelf size; zucchini, eggplant, bell pepper, squash, etc. Game on! RAY

sambal badjak · Post by **sambal badjak** » Sun Jan 26, 2014 13:19

Bit of a late response to the pics I posted:

Ursula, they are real elephants. We got load around here, sometimes coming through my garden as well. And Ray, yeah they could have done with a bit more privacy, but the other eli's were whatching as well, so I thought: what the heck.....
Chuck, I tried putting a saddle on them, but couldn't find the right size

And yes, I am actually in one of the pictures, the top one on the right, grey hair and blue shirt.

My dog's name is Guinness and him and his dad (Hagar the Horrible) like chasing elephants and hippo's...

And then we have some animals that I don't really like very much

Shuswap · Post by **Shuswap** » Sun Jan 26, 2014 15:22

ssorllih wrote:I have a piece of western pine board that has annual growth rings about 15 to the inch for a couple of inches and then a section about 3/4 of an inch wide that has more than a hundred growth lines. This tells me that there was once a drought that lasted for more than a hundred years.

Being an avid woodworker I like the photo of the board - a great example of how a tree records history.

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Sun Jan 26, 2014 18:34

Boy howdy Sambal, those are some very large critters! Seems like the kind of place a man would want a Smith & Wesson model 29 strapped to his hip just about every time he walked out the front door. My papa dropped dead of a massive coronary in Johannesburg (sp) 34 years ago after going on safari to see cheetahs hunt. I figured that was bad ju-ju for the men in my family tree, had to scratch that continent off my bucket list. RAY

Post by **Butterbean** » Sun Jan 26, 2014 19:54

I don't like the looks of that water lizard. We have alligators but I think they are docile compared to those crocodiles. I have a big one named Allie that sometimes comes up in a whale waller in the swamp and I feed her deer carcasses and stuff. She's never shown any aggression to me even though she is nearly 12 feet in length. I'm still wary of her but I'd be scared to death if there were crocodiles in the swamp.

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Sun Jan 26, 2014 23:26

Crocs and gators would be like the difference between lions and tigers, or polar bears and grizzly bears, we're just food to all of them. Gee, I'd imagine a twelve foot gator could be turned into some handsome boots and luggage. Of course if there were any kids around every gator would be a dead gator, period. Whether hunting or camping I'm never outside where predators might be without being armed. I subscribe to the Seven P's theory; proper planning prevents pathetically piss poor performance. RAY