We started the week off by planting ten sets of tomato plants. These we started from seed which we saved from years past. The previous weekend we planted 11 or 12 sets at the Atlanta house along with some pepper plants. The leftovers we brought to RW to see if the deer and rabbits would let us have us some :-)
Also, we temporarily planted about 20 tree seedlings of five different varieties that we got from National Arbor Day Foundation. These will be scattered about the property as they are ready for transplant. Among them are Redbud, Dogwood, and Hawthorn.
My main goal this trip was to get the footer dug and poured for the water storage tank. This footer is specifically for a block wall that I will erect around the tank for protection from punctures (tree limbs, stray bullets, etc.) and temperature extremes. I had chosen this site several months ago and already had done some rough grading with the tractor and box blade. However, as I began to survey it for the footers, I started to have second thoughts about whether it would be high enough to provide adequate pressure.
I got up before the sun one morning and used my tiny laser level and camera tripod to once again attempt to measure the elevation. This time I came up with 32 feet above the cabin floor (38 last time). When I calculated the pressure I came up with about 15 psi. Then I began to worry. I knew that the pressure in our Atlanta house was more like 65 psi. So, was 15 going to be enough? Unfortunately, I did not have my engineering reference books nor an Internet connection to find the answer so I decided to give it the old experimental approach.
I had already set up a couple of the rain barrels to provide water for my concrete mixing. I went to town and purchased a bunch of garden hose. When I filled the barrels, the flow at the bath house which is about 28 feet below the tank was 3 gallons a minute - considerably more than necessary for a good shower.
Now its time to get to work. I finished leveling the footer trench. Then I set up a simple bending rig to shape the rebar into approximately circular segments. I cut a bunch of 12 inch lengths of rebar to drive into the bottom of the footer to provide both a hanger from which to suspend the rebar and a depth gauge for the thickness of the concrete.
With the rebar in place and the depth pins set, it was Mix - Pour - Trowel over and over until the footer was filled to the proper depth (4 inches in this case). Initially, I hauled 18 bags of Quickrete up to the site in the trailer along with the generator and mixer. Additional bags of concrete mix were brought up from the shop as needed. I was prepared to work well past dark so I also brought up another extension cord and a floodlight. Fortunately for me, that was unnecessary.
The loose rocks in the bottom of the trench were added as an insurance policy to guarantee I had enough concrete mix. As it turned out, I was able to return 10 bags. This little job required 26 - 50# bags of Quikrete concrete mix and 80 feet of 3/8 rebar.
Nature
Its difficult to not see interesting things in nature. I try to take the time to photograph some of the beautiful things I see as I go about my chores and ramblings. Hover over each of the pics below for a short title.
