#rainbarrel

[jensownzoo]

Is there anything better than an evening thunderstorm? When you're all tucked in bed with book and cats and it's just warm enough for the window to be cracked open to hear the rain come down?

[panoramanow]

Earth Day Valparaiso Indiana With Bob Wichlinski at Porter County Expo C...

[tomorrowsgardennc]

garden update // december 3rd

it is too cold outside to do anything today, but i haven't done one of these in awhile so i'll just catch you guys up on what i've slowly been doing.

the greenhouse got a table upgrade. my dad made 2 tables that match the size of my heating mats i got from johnnys. much taller too, so i can stand to work instead of sit. much nicer on my back. you can see how low the shelves are in the back, that's what i used previously.

i also invested in to some trays with no holes, so i can try bottom watering. downside is the rainbarrel is not heated, so i have to fill the water and let it warm up next to the heaters before watering the soil. i got domes too, for nights like lately when it's too damn cold, and for hopefully getting basil growing sooner than this previous year.

right now i have kale, chamomile, and hot and sweet peppers in the trays. peppers take forever even in ideal conditions so hopefully they will be pottable next month when its time to start tomatoes. i moved some of the raised bed tables in here, too, to see if i can grow anything in here over winter. goal will be to grow basil and green onion, but i need soil and after all these investments, not sure if it'll happen anytime soon.

i also decided that i will spend the extra money this coming growing season and get the seed starting mix that i know is the most successful. it's expensive at $12 a bag at the local hardware store... but to get it shipped directly to me is by the pallet. so, $12 for 6 trays it is. but i legit see a massive difference with not only germination but early growth and i just cannot ignore how much this compost mix helps the quality. if you're growing in the southeast i would highly recommend trying to find this brand. not sponsored.

been also slowly but surely putting together new metal raised beds. expensive as fuck, but considering how much it helps my back it's just another high expense i cannot ignore. these won't be full until spring, fingers crossed, but that's ok. everything except the kale that i want to grow this winter is where it needs to be so now like i'm too far behind as of this moment.

i even bought some kohlrabi from a farmer friend so that my kohlrabi knows what to aim for. kohlrabi is basically broccoli stems, but with more volume. prepare, cook and eat just the same. but people around here seem to like it even tho it's just glorified brocoli stems so i'm growing an heirloom variety for the seeds to offer next fall.

i really hate the cold, not just because cold but because shorter days and not ideal temps make everything grow slowly. and i'm impatient 🫠

[hasufin]

5 lessons from ancient civilizations for keeping homes cool in hot, dry climates https://theconversation.com/5-lessons-from-ancient-civilizations-for-keeping-homes-cool-in-hot-dry-climates-237741

I think we should integrate some of these into new construction; more passive cooling and ability to adapt to climate, rather than just throwing an HVAC at it.

(Oh, and before anyone brings up the "tHE gGGGgggguuBbMINt wWwWwWoooon't let you capture rainwatahhh!!!!111!!!" No, that's not true. The case that gets so much talk was this dude who took an entire watershed to fill a large pond. It wasn't fucking rainbarrels.)

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

Real pleased with the progress in the yard so far, and fine-tuning the next steps as I go

Projects I noticed while working on the reseeding today:

Need to build and hang some bee boxes and then scrub down the deck with a citronella seal to hopefully convince the carpenter bees to relocate - also need to redo the deck frankly but that's a long-term thing and I'd really like to have access to a woodlot first and plane our own boards rather than buying them. Even in bulk from a lumbermill that's more money than I'd like to spend for proper hardwoods like oak and cherry

Need to buy a sythe/machete for the tall invasives by the creek - once the ground is cleared, going to turn our old olive oil tins into lizard houses, and reseed with strawberry corn, sunflowers, cardoons, witch hazel, and ground cherries

Need to call the city and find out who is legally allowed to bring down the willow across the creek that got uprooted during Helene and has been threatening to fall onto our fence ever since. Happy to do it myself if I'm allowed, but would rather the other land owner handle it, unfortunately it's not a person, it's a company so I have no idea how to talk to them about this except through the city.

Need to smash a pumpkin and throw some budding sweet potatoes into the compost and really hill up the hay on top so I can have a pumpkin and sweet potato patch for my leetle ladies tasty treat times

I need to sprout the red plum seeds and prep the temporary pots for when they're ready to transplant outdoors, might consider planting them directly in their own loosened hale bales, esp if I can let the chickens have at the bales over winter first.

Speaking of which, we need more hay. I need to call my hay guy and ask how much another 50 bales of clover hay will cost me

Need to bury the logs under hay and compost to start byilding raised beds and improving the topsoil quality, ideally I'll seed the swales with wetland/riparian plants so that as the swales smother the lingering invasives, the plants can sprout up on top with all that yummy organic matter

Need to buy/make root veggie sacks to bury in the compost and new topsoil so I can grow even while I'm still making new topsoil

I need to make sure to include wildflowerd in the spring compost and reseed, because we're starting to get some volunteering which means the soil is recovered enough to play good host and I want to speed that up

Gotta make some starter plots around the chicken run and the dog run to regularly re-establish groundcover in them given how much the chickens and dogs tear up the grass

Need to build a chicken tractor to use in future years to control overgrowth and compost growing beds after harvest

Need to build a water table for lettuces and greens, ideally linked up to the rainbarrel water storage system

Need to keep expanding the chicken run now they're all enjoying it so Elvira is less of an asshole, and reinforce under the coop so no one gets stuck under the foundation

Reinforcing the creek bank (witch hazel and red plum tree and creeping thyme) behind the dog run so we don't lose integrity of the fence.

Paint the house some goddamn colors holy FUCK

Keep making braids for cat and chicken toys

Maybe enclose the upper deck for a four season cat porch

Set up some 7-10 gallon pots on the deck for growing ginger and lemongrass and other culinary/medicinal plants we need to keep out of the topsoil

Make a plant ID booklet for use during harvesting

Make a recipe book to guide cut and come again use

Set out a shaded table at the top of the drive with places to set out eggs, produce, preserves, etc that we're not going to be able to use up for give away - should make sure to put a sign up to officially let folks know they can take what they like.

Start passionflower vines by the creek and back fence

Fill the front yard with flax

Plant a broomsedge, scouring rush, water cress, plaintain, American Trout Lily, alumroot, phlox, chickweed, creeping blueberries,culinary sumac, and primrose propogation bed by the creek to crowd out the last invasive ground covers (apparently the native ground covers have done a GREAT job smothering most of the invasives in the yard, and there are only a few invasive vines and crabgrass left actually. Everything else is native wetland grasses and galax. Just....so much galax lmao

I might look into canebrrak bamboo as well, that would be extremely useful for fiber production holy shit

I definitely want a stand of Indigo for dyes and inks

I still want my pawpaws and wild olive and wild black rum cherry trees so they'll probably go in the front where the crabapples are now. I could probably make a lil lumber out of the bigger crabapple and a nice cat toy out of the smaller one.

It would be great to get a Broom Hickory or a chinquapin, too, but I'm prioritizing the pecans

A sugar berry would be lovely, they're kind of nothing on their own, but if you use them in preserves of other fruits, they come out AMAZING

Coreopsis my beloved <3

I need to flesh out my medicinal garden too, and I'm thinking about waterleaf. It would be AMAZING for my skin condition, particularly for my feet, but I'm not sure I can harvest and use it fast enough given its growth habit the leaves and shoots are ostensibly edible, so maybe if we a consistent about cutting them back for the greens that will keep the rhizomes focused on growing rather than spreading.

Bayberry would be extremely useful for making plant waxes and butters, but I'm in the same position as the waterleaf, esp since they're even less readily edible lol

I think that's everything so far, which is good because it's already a year's worth of work lmao

[geodethecrow]

kaleidoscopic worries in a rainbarrel

They tell me “try to

See the forest for the trees”

But that’s the problem

I see the trees too clearly

It’s not the size of the forest

That overwhelms me

It’s how many trees there are

Those innumerable branches

Reaching out to snag my hair

The pine sap flowing to

Entrap my limbs in amber

Thick canopy stealing the light

Shifting shadows messing with my eyes

I see it all and that’s what’s wrong

There’s too many ways

The world could end right now

So I'll retreat to the woods

Get lost in the underbrush of my mind

And when I find a pleasant thought

I'll try to hang on to its branches

And stay above the tide of green

Though my hands often slip

And I fall

The bushes swallow me whole

Down into the shadows

Thoughts spiraling like fern fiddleheads

Deep into the infinite what-ifs

Of life and death and decomposition

Spoiling the solitude I seek

I’d love to hang a hammock here

But that branch above is leafless

And leafless branches are often dead

Dead branches, more likely to fall

That branch up there might fall

And hit me

So no, I shouldn’t hang a hammock here

It’d be too dangerous, maybe even deadly

My mind is stuck on all the thorns

Snared in a thicket of thoughts

Unable to escape

I can't see the forest or the trees

There's only darkness in my view

My eyes flooded with tears of night

I tear at my body like an animal

To free myself from this trap

Before it's too late and I die

Then the storm truly hits

Tornadic winds tossing me around

Ripping my sanity out of my grasp

Before my wide and watery eyes

The rain pours down and pounds

Me like a bass drum

I wouldn't be surprised if I'm hollow

See if I resonate when you touch me

But like a tree that falls alone

If no one hears me

Do I even make a sound?

I don't really understand

How only wind

Can scrape a city bare

Rake its claws into the earth and pull

Uprooting all that meets its path

But still it makes some kind of twisted, twisting sense

That something as incorporeal as cloud

Can when angered do such damage

When the winds finally calm

Enough for me to draw a

Single shuddering breath

The area around me's scoured clean

A trail of destruction left where

Everything I touched is dead

And I cry

Wracking sobs of grief at what I caused

Such loss of life I cannot bear

Then I disappear

I melt like morning fog

Battered down by the sunrays

Harsh light pierces my eyes

And I’m

gone

[hexjulia]

instead of buying rainbarrels (expensive) i got these huge food storage barrels for 5 euro (very cheap, essentially the same object but perhaps with slightly less bpa because food safe actually). All i knew before actually seeing them in person was that there'd been food in there and they seemed vaguely red.

Anyway i'm cleaning them now and as it turns out they're greek olive storage barrels and the colour is really more of a terracotta orange. Aside from reusing being better for the environment I like that they have a history. When i was cleaning them just now for a while they still smelled intensely like olives-- olives from Chalkidiki apparentluly. These olives to be specific: http://elagros.gr/en/elagros-2/

[cherryflavoredbutch]

i think a lot of the conflict between me and my dad arises because I am a chronic overthinker who needs to do a month of research before buying a jacket and my dad is a chronic underthinker who is trying to build an animal-cruelty shaped aquarium to be used as an outdoor rainbarrel with zero prior experience or knowledge of what acrylic is

[crowthegeode]

kaleidoscopic worries in a rainbarrel

They tell me “try to

See the forest for the trees”

But that’s the problem

I see the trees too clearly

It’s not the size of the forest

That overwhelms me

It’s how many trees there are

Those innumerable branches

Reaching out to snag my hair

The pine sap flowing to

Entrap my limbs in amber

Thick canopy stealing the light

Shifting shadows messing with my eyes

I see it all and that’s what’s wrong

There’s too many ways

The world could end right now

So I'll retreat to the woods

Get lost in the underbrush of my mind

And when I find a pleasant thought

I'll try to hang on to its branches

And stay above the tide of green

Though my hands often slip

And I fall

The bushes swallow me whole

Down into the shadows

Thoughts spiraling like fern fiddleheads

Deep into the infinite what-ifs

Of life and death and decomposition

Spoiling the solitude I seek

I’d love to hang a hammock here

But that branch above is leafless

And leafless branches are often dead

Dead branches, more likely to fall

That branch up there might fall

And hit me

So no, I shouldn’t hang a hammock here

It’d be too dangerous, maybe even deadly

My mind is stuck on all the thorns

Snared in a thicket of thoughts

Unable to escape

I can't see the forest or the trees

There's only darkness in my view

My eyes flooded with tears of night

I tear at my body like an animal

To free myself from this trap

Before it's too late and I die

Then the storm truly hits

Tornadic winds tossing me around

Ripping my sanity out of my grasp

Before my wide and watery eyes

The rain pours down and pounds

Me like a bass drum

I wouldn't be surprised if I'm hollow

See if I resonate when you touch me

But like a tree that falls alone

If no one hears me

Do I even make a sound?

I don't really understand

How only wind

Can scrape a city bare

Rake its claws into the earth and pull

Uprooting all that meets its path

But still it makes some kind of twisted, twisting sense

That something as incorporeal as cloud

Can when angered do such damage

When the winds finally calm

Enough for me to draw a

Single shuddering breath

The area around me's scoured clean

A trail of destruction left where

Everything I touched is dead

And I cry

Wracking sobs of grief at what I caused

Such loss of life I cannot bear

Then I disappear

I melt like morning fog

Battered down by the sunrays

Harsh light pierces my eyes

And I’m

gone

[naturecoaster]

Pollinator Garden in a Pot Location: Zephyrhills Public Library 5347 8th Street Zephyrhills, FL 33542 Date/Time: Saturday, May 10 · 9:30am – 10:30am EDT Please click this link for more information and to register for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/5-10-2025-pollinator-garden-in-a-pot-tickets-1228066432759?aff=oddtdtcreator Plants and Pets Location: New River Library   34043 State Road 54 Wesley Chapel, FL 33543 Date/Time: Tuesday, May 13 · 2:00pm – 3:00pm EDT Please click this link for more information and to register for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/5-13-2025-plants-and-pets-tickets-1230470362979?aff=oddtdtcreator Floriography Location: Daniel A Cannon Memorial Library 33701 County Road 52 Saint Leo, FL 33525 Date/Time: Monday, May 19 · 2:00pm – 3:00pm EDT Please click this link for more information and to register for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/5-19-2025-floriography-tickets-1230576450289?aff=ebdsoporgprofile Exploring the Vital Role of Florida Mangroves Location: Centennial Park Library 5740 Moog Road Holiday, FL 34690 Date/Time: Monday, May 19 · 2:00pm – 3:00pm EDT Please click this link for more information and to register for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/5-19-2025-exploring-the-vital-role-of-florida-mangroves-tickets-1230265560409?aff=ebdsoporgprofile Pets and Plants Location: New Port Richey Public Library 5939 Main Street New Port Richey, FL 34652 Date/Time: Tuesday, May 20 · 5:30pm – 6:30pm EDT Please click this link for more information and to register for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/5-20-2025-pets-and-plants-tickets-1230558516649?aff=ebdsoporgprofile All About Elderberry Location: Starkey Ranch Library 12118 Lake Blanche Drive Odessa, FL 33556 Date/Time: Wednesday, May 21 · 11:00am – 12:00pm EDT Please click this link for more information and to register for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/5-21-2025-all-about-elderberry-tickets-1230367525389?aff=ebdsoporgprofile PAID EVENT Rain Barrel Workshop Includes a U – Shaped Build – Rain Barrel Location: New River Branch Library 34043 State Road 54 Wesley Chapel, FL 33543 Date/Time: Thursday, May 22 · 2:00pm – 3:30pm EDT Please click this link for more information and to register for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/05-22-2025-paid-event-rain-barrel-workshop-includes-a-u-build-it-rainbarrel-tickets-1261609320439?aff=ebdsoporgprofile Soil to Boil Herbal Tea Blending Class with Native Florida Plants Location: Hugh Embry Library 14215 4th Street Dade City, FL 33523 Date/Time: Saturday, May 31 · 11:00am – 12:00pm EDT Please click this link for more information and to register for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/5-31-2025-soil-to-boil-herbal-tea-blending-class-with-native-florida-plants-tickets-1234767786689?aff=ebdsoporgprofile Pasco 4-H Summer Day Camps 2025 Location: Pasco County 4-H Office 36702 County Road 52 Dade City, FL 33525 Please click this link for more information and to register for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pasco-4-h-summer-day-camps-2025-tickets-1316531664649?aff=ebdsoporgprofile Read the full article

[tomorrowsgardennc]

garden update // june 25th 2024

parsley has been keeping an eye out for rain for me. still no sign of any anytime soon. rainbarrels have run dry, and i'm scared to open my water bill.

my pumpkin plants are going absolutely bonkers. one of my favorite parts of having a raised bed is letting the plants flow out. be free, plants, be freeeeee!! i actually want the pumpkins to take over, i can't wait. i have been pinching back the male flowers, though, so the plant can focus its energy elsewhere. but there were a few flowers i couldn't tell if male or female, so i let them bloom. turns out they were male, but the bees are drunk with pollen. maybe i shouldn't be pinching them back as often...

my carrots are going to seed, which wasn't my intention actually 😅 i grow carrots purely for the carrot tops - absolutely delicious when treated like an herb. i don't even thin my carrots out when they germinate. i'm starting to pull some anyway, with parsley's help of course.

last year i started ground cherry seeds in june, and they grew exactly like tomatillos and i got a bountiful harvest in august. this year i started the seeds (saved from last year) at the same time as the tomatoes, and they're dwarf sized!! not even 2 feet tall. they're starting to produce, though. i mean, if they stay dwarf thalen by all means! but at the same time... i hope they do get taller and i get another bountiful harvest in late summer. my favorite tomato is starting to produce, too - the green doctor cherry tomatoes. i'm going to be entering them into a contest in 2 weeks, so i hope i get a lot more by then!!

i took some cuttings from a pomegranate tree about... uhh... 2 months ago now?? and they're starting to grow new leaves!! no roots, though... i might need to transfer them into soil rather than water for root development. probably be on this week's to do.

my dwarf cucumbers and dwarf cantelope are chugging along. they need lots of water, but hopefully that water bill will be worth it in the end.

[mortiz888-blog]

How to Easily Make a Rain Barrel to Save Water | Basics | Better Homes & Gardens

Rain barrels are a great way to save water and money—and making a DIY rain barrel helps you save even more! For each inch of rain that falls on 500 square feet of roof, you can collect 300 gallons of water. Learn how to easily make one with just a few tools and start saving water today! #Sustainability #Water #RainBarrel #Howto #Basics #BHG Read the article: https://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/tools/make-a-rain-barrel-save-water/ Subscribe to the Better Homes and Gardens Channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=bhg Official Better Homes and Gardens Website: http://www.bhg.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mybhg Twitter: http://twitter.com/bhg Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/bhg/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/betterhomesandgardens How to Easily Make a Rain Barrel to Save Water | Basics | Better Homes & Gardens Read the full article

[lopezmaria]

Literature for English

Why Should I Save Water?

In this short-story encourages children to conserve our natatural resource that is water.

This book was written by Jen Green and Mike Gordon, well this history presents a fun and educational way several ways children and their families can avoid wasting water.

In a way to how conservate water the book is described it's likely to include specific examples of the actions that the children can take to save water, such as turning off the faucet while brushing their teeth, fixing water leaks, using efficient shower heads, and reuse water when it's possible. These examples will help children to understand the importance of using water consciously and sustainably.

The water symbolism, water can be seen as a symbol of life, purity and renewal. Although I can't say with certainty how water symbolism is used in this particular book, it is common for water to be represented as a valuable resource essential to the survival of living things. The symbolism of water can also convey the idea of caring for and protecting our natural environment.

The author's message is to teach children and their families the importance of not wasting water and how they can contribute to its conservation. The implicit message is that we all have the responsibility to use water responsibly and sustainably to preserve this essential resource for our existence and the balance of the environment.

Some advices could be:

Buy local, seasonal produce: Buying produce grown in your own region helps to reduce water wasting as it reduces the need for transporting produce over long distances.

Use a water-efficient washing machine: Use the correct water level and the shortest cycle possible to save water during your laundry.

Collect rainwater: Collect rainwater by installing a rainbarrel in your garden, and use it to hydrate your plants during dry spells.

[geodethecrow]

kaleidoscopic worries in a rainbarrel

They tell me “try to

See the forest for the trees”

But that’s the problem

I see the trees too clearly

It’s not the size of the forest

That overwhelms me

It’s how many trees there are

Those innumerable branches

Reaching out to snag my hair

The pine sap flowing to

Entrap my limbs in amber

Thick canopy stealing the light

Shifting shadows messing with my eyes

I see it all and that’s what’s wrong

There’s too many ways

The world could end right now

So I'll retreat to the woods

Get lost in the underbrush of my mind

And when I find a pleasant thought

I'll try to hang on to its branches

And stay above the tide of green

Though my hands often slip

And I fall

The bushes swallow me whole

Down into the shadows

Thoughts spiraling like fern fiddleheads

Deep into the infinite what-ifs

Of life and death and decomposition

Spoiling the solitude I seek

I’d love to hang a hammock here

But that branch above is leafless

And leafless branches are often dead

Dead branches, more likely to fall

That branch up there might fall

And hit me

So no, I shouldn’t hang a hammock here

It’d be too dangerous, maybe even deadly

My mind is stuck on all the thorns

Snared in a thicket of thoughts

Unable to escape

I can't see the forest or the trees

There's only darkness in my view

My eyes flooded with tears of night

I tear at my body like an animal

To free myself from this trap

Before it's too late and I die

Then the storm truly hits

Tornadic winds tossing me around

Ripping my sanity out of my grasp

Before my wide and watery eyes

The rain pours down and pounds

Me like a bass drum

I wouldn't be surprised if I'm hollow

See if I resonate when you touch me

But like a tree that falls alone

If no one hears me

Do I even make a sound?

I don't really understand

How only wind

Can scrape a city bare

Rake its claws into the earth and pull

Uprooting all that meets its path

But still it makes some kind of twisted, twisting sense

That something as incorporeal as cloud

Can when angered do such damage

When the winds finally calm

Enough for me to draw a

Single shuddering breath

The area around me's scoured clean

A trail of destruction left where

Everything I touched is dead

And I cry

Wracking sobs of grief at what I caused

Such loss of life I cannot bear

Then I disappear

I melt like morning fog

Battered down by the sunrays

Harsh light pierces my eyes

And I’m

gone

this and all the rest of my poetry can be found on @crowthegeode :>

ok so. i kinda want to do something inspired by @fellshish's fanfiction friday. i am aware that i am a Big Blog™️ and i want to use that power for good so.

reblog this post with something you made! could be art you made, a story you wrote, a song, a poem, anything at all, and i will reblog some of my favourites! :)

(is this also just an excuse to see my followers art? perhaps. sue me.)

[craftontempel]

Finally made the #rainbarrel look better. #tiki #tikilife #waterconservation #gardening https://www.instagram.com/p/CgC5kt5v3--/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[guenthergroup]

When even our downspouts are frozen in action. . . *** #seattlesnow #frozenwater #icicles #downspouts #rainbarrel #seattlewinter #chillyweather (at Beautiful West Seattle) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLS0vecgmT2/?igshid=do1edezocjhv