We Got Rain . . .

We had a nice long soaking rain last night.  We had a little more than an inch and half of rain,  
That is almost unheard of this time of year in this locality.

We were drying up.  We had been spot watering using a single hose and sprinkler from the well.  That way it was not a strain on the system.  That perked up the Weeping Willow tree out front and the Wax Myrtles.  They were showing signs of the doubt.  The willow has lost about half its leaves.

We had to have the irrigation well tune up.  It just quit a couple of days ago when it was really hot and dry.  That did not bode well.  The well people came out and checked it out.  It seems the pressure switch which turns on and off the pump was shot.  They also replaced the starter circuits too.  The capacitor for the starting circuit is on top and not on the well pump itself.  The pump is submersed and is a couple of hundred feet down.  At any rate that really perked up the system.

The way it works is when the pressure in the system drops to 45 PSI, the well pump kicks on and when the pressure reaches 65 PSI, it cuts off.  Well the switch was not kicking on right and finally just stopped.  The starter circuit enhanced the response of the well pump too.   So they put a new pressure gauge on, adjusted the new valve and now it runs like a top.  Now I know to lubricate the switch every once in a while to keep it from getting stiff and to keep that rapid response up.

So the yard is greening up.  The oak trees are smiling so to speak,  They were showing signs of distress.  Even missing one day of watering was tough on them.  Now they are all good to go for a while.

Lot's of people do not realize we live on the edge of the desert here.  The local cities rely on man made lakes for their water supply.  So if it does not rain regularly things get tense and then very hard nosed.  So far this year we have escaped that since we had a wet spring.  That was about to run out but this recent couple of rains have done much to recharge the resevoirs and green up the vegitation.

Relief for a while, then the cycle takes over again.