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June 28, 2010
Tragic Septic
 Agh! I thought the moles and gophers were bad. Now we have 5 foot deep, 6 foot long holes in our newly levelled and seeded lawn. This is not the way I intended to give a preview of our new landscaping! In the foreground is where a break in the pipe had developed into a complete blockage that Richard located (surprisingly accurately, thank goodness) with the help of a septic company with a camera this afternoon. Just visible at the back in the wider last image is the series of trenches that he and Jonathan dug yesterday, looking for the 'T' where this long pipe from the tanks beneath our dining room window meets the field itself, right at the back fence. Tomorrow Richard will repair the pipe close to the house, and mark the spot for the next hole, which luckily we can deal with later. If all goes well with the repair, we might get away as planned for the long weekend. And then come back to lawn patching and re-levelling and re-seeding.... |
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Richard has been down in a stinky black hole for the last several hours so he's in a peachy mood now as he finally sits down to dinner. I just can't believe this has happened. The break appears to be old, not caused by the excavations in December or the trucking in of dirt to level things this spring. So it's even more terrible luck that it finally clogged just now, when everything was dug up just a few months ago. If by some miracle we manage to pull off the repair, fill the holes, get the piles of turf back in some semblance of lawn, and sow seed in the next two days, we'll be back in business for all the other special projects we'd planned before August long weekend. But more likely, we'll leave late for our Marrowstone getaway, and waste more time on this shit when we get back. At least I got in a trip to the candy store yesterday (a.k.a. my favourite nursery). The expensive new lawn may look like moles the size of elephants have been running amuck, but at least my flower beds will be gorgeous. Hopefully our UNniversary campers will be too distracted by the new rock work to notice the patchy lawn! We're hanging in there. I'll update again soon. |
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Posted by anita at June 28, 2010 9:36 PM
Comments
Jeez, what a pain in the ass! Sorry to hear this has happened...
Posted by: Wandering Coyote | 08:16 29 June 2010
Thanks, WC. It could have been worse, but we're just stunned at our bad luck.
However, we've just delayed, rather than cancelled, our holiday. Hooray! Richard is just home from work and is going to spend the rest of the evening finishing the repairs on this cracked pipe, and filling the two trenches back up again. The third spot doesn't need to be dug up until AFTER August long weekend. It's going to take tomorrow night and part of Thursday to get it all put back in such a way that we can seed it and head south, leaving our neighbours to water once again, but I think we can manage it.
I also have a whole bunch of new plants to get into my flower beds tonight. They won't be very impressive this August, with only a month more to grow, but they'll fill in by next summer. All drought-tolerant, low-maintenance plants in gorgeous textures and colours. They'll look even better when the damn lawn grows in properly around the beds!
I'm so glad we're going to Marrowstone after all. I'll post our progress tomorrow night, if I have time!
Posted by: anita | 17:30 29 June 2010
Oh, I am so glad to hear that you don't have to cancel your trip!
Posted by: Wandering Coyote | 21:31 30 June 2010
Yes, I'm thrilled, and hopefully we'll be there early enough tonight that we can do our annual Canada Day Pop Quiz for them. (Even if we have to drag them out of their tents.) Haven't got organized to get prizes yet, but we'll think of something.
Richard is outside repairing the septic tank itself, the last - and ugliest - job that can't wait 'til we get back. Hopefully I'll have time to mow the grass (take the tops off the weeds, that is) before I water everything. We've got little mounds of rescued turf torn up from all the trenches that we've pieced together and tamped back in place. Looks terrible but there are surprisingly few bare patches. I'll post pics when we get home. Along with the Moab trip, the leadup to the new lawn, and my new garden walls and beds.
What a busy month June was! I can't believe it's July. Happy Canada Day, everyone!!
Posted by: anita | 07:57 01 July 2010