We Should Go Somewhere

The other day Brombeere said, "We should go somewhere." So I suggested an attraction that's been on my list of things to go see for quite some time.  A little inland lighthouse.  So we piled in the car and, trusting the GPS, took off across the state on roads we'd never been on before.

When we got there it turned out it was a whole little park that a company had put together, miles from any body of water, which is the normal place for a lighthouse.  

There were several nice little things there, in addition to the lighthouse.  There were the usual playground equipment and picnic area but also several other things not normal to parks as well.

The park was on a river, but that normally doesn't necessitate a lighthouse.

We got there and discovered the lighthouse was not functional size, it was actually build as a memorial to some people we had never heard of before.  It also didn't put out any light.  It just looked light a little lighthouse.  But an interesting attraction nonetheless.

It was tall, but not as tall as lighthouses normally are.  It was a nice, cute size.

In addition to the lighthouse, there was a bridge over the river, too.  Just below the bridge was a water fall, Little Falls.  Interesting, although it looked more like a short stretch of rapids to me.

There was also a small "zoo", some pens that held several animals, including a peacock, a couple of pheasants, and a bunny.  Across the river was a fenced in area that held deer but they were hiding the day we were there so we didn't see them.

A little father down the river was another bridge.  A swinging bridge.  And it sure did swing.  Every step you took on it set it to bouncing and swaying enough that we decided to cross one at a time and hold onto the rails the whole way.  I actually didn't go all the way across.  Brombeere did because she wanted to see if she could see the deer.

It was a fun trip and a nice little park.  And it enabled me to cross another place off my list.  It was fun.

Again a Little Progress

Our garage is a mess.  I've written about that before.  A couple of times.  Every time we make a significant dent in the mess, life happens and it turns into a mess again.  One of the things that is a significant contributor to the mess is all the stuff we have accumulated to take care of the yard and garden.  We have thought for a long time that getting a little shed for the yard and then moving all that stuff for the yard and garden out into the shed would go a long way to clearing up space in the garage.  Now, recently, we've finally been able to do just that.

We knew where in the yard we wanted to put the shed, we'd measured the trees behind the fence and made sure the space was free from limbs, rocks, and other things that might interfere, and were ready to go.  We'd actually been talking to a friend who had volunteered to build it for us a couple of years ago but he is the kind of guy who likes to keep real busy so convincing him we were serious and getting him to schedule it in took a while.  A couple of times I had brought the subject up with him, intending to let him out of doing it and getting someone else.  But each time he said, no, we'll get it done.  And finally he committed to a time and the time arrived.  

I began ordering parts.  He had said to have them delivered to his place because he had space to hold them until everything was there and he was ready to actually begin. I had ordered a shed kit of precut materials so that it just needed to be assembled. And the day finally arrived, he brought everything over that I had ordered and they got started.  

We positioned the shed at the fence and took a section of fence out so we could open the shed into the yard.  The first day they brought stuff over and did the ground work that would be under the shed.  The next day they got started on assembling the shed.  

Over the next few days they worked putting it together, sometimes into the night.  Fortunately we had some good lights so they were able to work as late as they wanted.  

Gradually, the shed began to take shape and came together.  It was looking pretty good.

The kit didn't include roofing materials, there were several options.  We went with metal roofing he had left over from a project he had done at his place.  I bought it from him and it went on for a very nice fit.

And finally, working between rain storms during this rainy month we had, it was all done.  He cleaned up the left overs and hauled it all off and our shed was ready to move into.

The day he declared it done it rained.  And it rained for the next couple of days.  Because of the work and the rain, I hadn't been able to mow the lawn for almost two weeks.  So as soon as the rain stopped I mowed the lawn. When I was done I parked the mowers in the new shed.  The move in had begun!

The plan was to move all the yard care and gardening stuff into the shed. But even with just the two lawnmowers gone there is a lot more room in the garage.    

And a nice trail to the back door, wider than it's been for a while.

We still haven't moved everything that is going to the shed, we're not sure at this point if the snowblower is going or not. We'll see how much room the other stuff takes and what room is left.  I'll be the first to admit there is still a mess in the garage.  As in the past, much of what's left belongs to a couple of our kids and we're hoping that it eventually finds its way to their places and out of our garage. Schwartzbeere still has two little motorcycles, lots of new and old parts, a big tool box, a few pieces of miscellaneous furniture, and kids bikes.  Himbeere also has a bunch of old parts and two big tool boxes out there.  I fantasize about replacing our SUV with a pickup truck.  That would enable us to get rid of the trailer.  We might even be able to get a car in. Yeah, there's still a ways to go before Brombeere would consider the garage clean again.  But for now, it's again more on the clean side than the messy side.  I count that as a win!

An Agricultural Hazard

One thing I like to do is ride on state recreational trails.  These are sometimes called "rails-to-trails" paths; they are old, abandoned railroad beds that have been converted into recreational trails and are usually maintained by local enthusiast, usually a snowmobile club, since they are used by walkers, hikers, joggers, bikers, and folks on ATVs and snowmobiles.  It sometimes strikes me as odd to be riding along on my bike and pass a speed limit sign that says "55 mph".  Yeah, that's not me on my bike. Anyway, often these trails have old train tunnels on them, really cool. Tunnels are fun whenever you find them, which is pretty common on state recreational trails. But I digress. Because they are converted train tacks these trails typically are long and run through the countryside, between towns. That means through agricultural land: farmland. And farmland means it needs water.

Where I live it rains a lot but sometimes farmland still needs more water than what naturally falls from the sky.  That means the farmers have to irrigate.  Now days, big fields are watered with pivot irrigation systems.  

The "pivot" part comes from the fact that one end is stationary, usually connected to a well from which the system pumps water.  Then it is pumped out the length of the pipe, which is several feet in the air (so it will always be above whatever might be growing in the field), and out onto the crop. So the whole system is on wheels and rotates round the field, watering a big circle.

If you're flying somewhere and look down and see a patchwork of green circles, those are fields being watered by pivot irrigation systems.

Along the length of the pipes are sprinkler heads that spray water out onto the crop.

At the end opposite of the stationary end is a big rain-bird type sprinkler head that sprays water way out beyond the end of the pipe.  A way to extend the area that is being watered.  Then, as the sprinkler works through its cycle, it rotates around the field, watering whatever is planted.

Most of the time, when I have been riding these state trails, the sprinkler system, if it's on and working at all, is in some distant part of the field, well away from the trail. Sometimes it's not.  That's when you have to be careful. That rain-bird on the end sometimes will spray out onto the trial and you have to time your passing so it doesn't get you wet. Yeah, a rain-bird sprinkler covers a circle out on the end of the pipe so even if the length of pipe is near the trial the rain-bird will be doing a circle and only once in the circle will spray onto the trial.  That's when you have to hurry by.  You may have to stop and wait a minute as the rain-bird does its circle and moves off the trail but that doesn't usually take very long.

Then there was the day the sprinkler system was just through the trees from the trail and the rain-bird at the end was pumping out tons of water, directly onto the trial.

Because the rain-bird was just off the trail, almost half the circle it made was hitting the trail.  I had to stop and wait.  For almost half the circle.  That took a little longer.

It was pumping so much water it was like a heavy rain.  And because it was just through the trees and hidden by the trees, it was hard to tell exactly where the rain-bird itself was or where on the trail it was reaching, how long a stretch of the trail it was covering.  It was actually reaching clear across the trail, well into the field on the other side. That made it hard to know where to stop so I could stay dry while I waited.  And, yes, I miscalculated and stopped to wait too close.  Pretty soon water was pouring through the trees and getting me thoroughly soaked. Before I could get backed up I was totally soaked and wet. Not entirely a pleasant experience.  But before I realized I had miscalculated it was too late.  It got me.  Yeah, that happened.  But, otherwise it was a very fine ride along a beautiful trial on a wonderful day.