(sorry. i must admit to being still a bit gobsmacked about that)
Having decided recklessly to go for the extra large capacity slimline super duper water butt I really wanted, the price talked me down in the end.
However I managed to resist the attractions of all the decorative, fanciful, rustic, woodlandish (and other...) butts available (click here for pics) and went for simple, functional, quite cheap but still large version - but with a bit on the side.
Now some of you might think that people living in the UK have no need to store rainwater. Just as we have no need for summer clothing, sunglasses, flip flops or barbeques.
At the moment that feels about bloody right.
I've gone to bed for 2 nights in a row now wearing socks (- purely for comfort and warmth, nothing to do any strange fetishes.) Bloody June the bloody 28th, and its as chilly as October.
However, I live in hope.
High temperatures and even drought conditions have been known in this country in recent years. Londoners have started eating al fresco and leaving their bedroom windows open at night. We've even been known to go out without either jacket or umbrella.
No, really.
I have had great need of a water butt over the last couple of years while mine has been bust and resisting my attempts at repair.
So, here is my new water-saving irrigation arrangement:
One butt is plumbed into the down pipe catching rain from the roof, and the two are linked together so that both will fill, giving over 300L capacity.
So, finished job. Enough to make the heart of any gardener smile.
Completed with the (extensive and expert) help of my father, who's here quite a bit at the moment.
He's struggling at the moment, my poor dad, to live - to function - to wake up in the mornings - to get through the day - without his best friend, lover and companion of 54 years.
I'm having a hard time much of the time myself but can't begin to imagine what it might be like for him.
Despite my new installation, I'm still not hoping for more rain - really, if anyone up there is listening? No more rain just now, thankyou very much.
But if and when it does rain, I will at least feel smug about my big butt.
30 comments:
I'd love to have a water butt, but (hahaha) I don't know if they are sold here in Canada. I'll have to investigate. At the moment we are told not to have any standing water around the house or garden to discourage the breeding cycle of mosquitoes, and the little devils carry West Nile Disease, which is horrible.
BTW the pics in your last post are lovely, quite serene.
My maturity level has hit rock bottom because every time you wrote butt I giggled. Oy!
Hey, here in america we do have water butts, however we don't call them that, we refer to them as rain barrels. They are placed under a gutter or down spout next to the house. They are a great way to get extra water for the garden without the cost.
ex-shammickite- google rain barrels, you'll get some decent website that sell them, and they have a screened top on it so you don't have the mosquito problem.
Ahhh pet, I logged in just to say that it's going to reach 29 degrees here today hehehe! no really I am thinking of you but you know that and that i have a biggish butt too!!
So looking forward to your arrival, we're gonna drink the town dry you and me xx
Great water saving idea - if we ever run out!! I'm sick, sick, sick of all this bloody rain!!!!!
I know it's hard for you Lettie, and your poor Dad must be heartbroken. I feared for my own Dad after Mum died so I know what you're going through. x
Love your big butt! :D
Bloody weather! Managed to hang out 1 shirt & 1 pr of Mr Sensible's underpants in the garden before it started to rain (again) & I had to run and hide. The cats are leaving little muddy pawprints everywhere.
Bloody weather! :p
Al fresco? Al freezo, I'd say!
You went for a big butt,with a bit on the side....what sort of garden centre do you use ?.
ah, self acceptance....
Your water butts are beautiful. I for one appreciated the explanation ... yes we do theoretically have rain barrels in the U.S. but really, how many Americans do you know who actually use them?
I'm glad you're wearing socks for comfort only ... laughed out loud when you explained it was not a fetish.
Also I hope summer arrives sooner rather than later in the U.K. Too much rain can be so depressing.
The weather's not much better over here in Paris. Wet and grey but I continue to wear shorts and a T-shirt because I'm English and won't be beaten by the pesky climate.
Excellent butt, I've invest in some more while you're at it, with the bloody rain being what it is.
ah, well there you are Shammie - you too could have a butt like mine! (a very thin layer of paraffin on the top of the water also stops the mosquito problem - though the top usually prevents it)
oh Gary. tch! ;op
hey thanks for the info Bridgemor! i did find it hard to believe....
hi tat. i'm not jealous.
not much.
yeah, so much for flaming june, eh lamalu?
betty - will we see pics of the little pawprints?
yeah, right Cream. ;o/
its members only, martin.
indeed joyce. :oD
i am a little concerned Reya that maybe we had summer back in April and thats it till next year ....
good for you Dumdad. tally ho!
will it ever stop pg?
You are really getting wild down there in the sarf, I bet you even wear a wooly vest to go with your socks, i think though you have lost it by leaving your window open, you tinker.
Nice pair of butts you have...i bet they are half full already.
Cheers Mark
Your Dad has you, though, and that's most important. Glad to be informed as to the nature of a water butt. Stay safe there, with all the news . . .
i'm still gobsmacked about gobsmacked...what a term! is it dyslexia or secularisation?!
Bit of the boy scout or girl guides in you, always be prepared. The way things are going babe, 2009 I thing we will need to save water the way the dam weathers going. My garden soil has a lot of clay in it, and I have a water level of about 6" and still more to come this weekend. Where are those sandbags....
If we can move away from your lovely butts for a moment and get to the June 20 edition of the London Review of Books, you will see a brief coverage of the Gormley exhibit you shared with us. Ah, your photos are considerably more dramatic, and your descriptions make the London Review sound more like a concession speech after an election. We were fortunate to be asked along...on your walk and your blog.
I like big butts and I cannot lie....
I will need your butt expertise soon Lettie! How did you connect one butt-ock to the other? With a thong?
I haven't been able to comment on your last two posts because that thing that keeps popping up tellingme about insecure content or something wouldnt go away...it seems to be fixed now.
xxx
i'll email you.
That looks like such a great idea - storing up rainwater. Reya is right - while they may sell rain barrels in the states, very few people seem to use them. Most of us just water with the tap and let all the rain go down the gutter, which is really stupid when you think about it.
lovely big butt, stop the rain, we have it too so dont be fooled by Tats show off 29degrees, it is 14 here and raining!
and someone told me that in america, they also don't have on/off switches on there power points?!
speaking of big butts, a google search that landed on my blog yesterday was 'geoff capes naughty pics'
erm.....
You crack me up! Just what I needed;-)
I'm not a "butt" guy, but yours is certainly nice to look at. You can actually see it filling up and I really like the color! HA
yes Mark, wild and woolly down here.
thanks TT - and yeah... thanks...
James - if you've just learned this word from me then i feel honoured and privileged to have been of such great service. Not sure i entirely get your comment tho...
it is kind of scary Queenie, isn't it?
thank you so much Shelly for your kind words. now, back to my butts...
LOL RW, with a thong. what are you like?!!
does seem weird Steve - d'you think its true even in the most drought-prone states?
oh no MRS, don't say that! I'll be in Perp next week, i'm hoping it'll be hot hot hot
oh naughty pod, what HAVE you been up to?
i'm glad bella if this made you smile. xx
animated profile pic m.m. - clever!!!
Sending love to your Dad.
Penny.
Well as you know I do have my own rather large butt, and it can be said it does have two sides!
I am pleased that,at last, you have your new water butt, I am impressed with it, not seen a double barrel before.
Love to you and your Dad, Letty I think of you daily. xx
i'm not naughty!
(i bet it was a habit)
ah ha ha haaa!
Oh my goodness, water butts are the last thing on my mind at the moment with all this RAIN!
thanks Penny - and to you and all your family.
Dizzy - when will i see you??? :o(
you say ha ha haaa - I say naughty naughty pod.
hello carolyn - yes, you have a point -as seen in the post i've just put up! nice to meet you.
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