...And Water Saves The Day!

We have a lawn, and like most everything, the lawn has problems. We're going to fix the problems, and by problems I mean weeds, so to our neighbors, it will look better, I promise.

But first, we have to resurrect the lawn.

We live in an area where we have a separate water line just for yards and gardens. It's wonderful, but when the water line to your property breaks and you go without the ability to water your lawn for four weeks, if it doesn't rain, things can get a bit dicey. Our grass is literally crunchy. Yesterday, the water guys fixed the line and we had water.

The other day, as I drove my daughter to the theater, I told her about how we watered our yards and gardens when I was her age. I don't know how much interest she had the topic, but back then we diverted water from a nearby canyon and it flowed through the neighborhood, each household having a specific time in which they could divert the water to their property. Gravity and water rights--it's worked for millennia.

Now, the water's on a timer. A program keeps track of when and where you want the water to go. Almost miraculous. Our yard's in tough shape, but we're hoping to, first, get it to start growing again, then we can take care of the weeds. First things first, we got the water and soon, we'll have the green.

It's That Time Again...Sprinkler Time

Along the Wasatch Front there are a series of communities linked by an irrigation system. We're linked in other ways, too, by roads, electric grids, natural gas lines (at least, where we live...), and culinary water. But our irrigation system is not something everyone in our state enjoys, the same way we enjoy and use roads, power and drinking water. No, we're a little different when it comes to how we water our lawns and gardens.

You know you're old when you can say things like, "I remember when..." and then you tell a story about how life "used to be," when you describe an existence that those youngsters couldn't possibly understand. For my mom, it was her remembering when they brought electricity to her house. She also remembered the time when running water and inside bathrooms were added to her home. I can not imagine life without power or indoor plumbing. But she could.

I suppose to the new generation, they could not understand a life without cable TV, cellphones, or the internet. Yet, in my youth, we had none of those things. Another change that I've seen in my years is the evolution of irrigation systems. When we first moved to our neighborhood people watered their lawns and gardens by diverting water from a mountain creek. I believe there were holding ponds where the water was collected and then it would be sent on its way down the hill. People had water rights, or times when they could divert the water even further onto their own property. It was pretty ingenious.

I can't remember when, but at one point we were introduced to "Weber Water." I suppose it was called that because it came from the Weber River up north and east. We're lucky enough to have two water systems that come to our property, one for drinking and one for making our grounds beautiful. It's a fantastic system. In other parts of the state, they use drinking water for their yards.

Tonight we tested our system. We turned it on and made sure all the sprinkler heads were still working correctly. I guess spring has arrived after all.