The tanks are in, and just in time

Well this weekend the tanks were moved and reconnected, apparently just in time as Sunday evening saw the return of the of rain, with more forecast this week.

Friday morning 8 am Deon arrived with the excavator, taking a little over 2 hours to clear the area and move the tanks in position. Well we did end up pulling them back away from the shed with the car (as they were a little too close). And Matt rolled the empty one out again and climbed inside in an attempt to pop the top back out- as the excavator had pushed it in. (Some thing that’s been annoying him ever since).

Excavation begins

Matt digs for existing pipe work

We also asked that he scrape back the area carefully as the stormwater and house connections run underneath. All of which we would need to reconnect the tanks following his departure. These he did not find, even though he had cleared the area along side the shed to the depth the tanks were then submerged.



Final tank moves into position





Finding the pipes



So once the excavator and driver had left Matt began digging back along the pipes by hand. It was really surprising how deep they went! I’m afraid Matt did most of the work alone on Friday. My contributions of supervising, documenting and generally getting in the way, mostly just irritated him. My lack of assistance was not an aversion of manual labour, but that I have spent much of the weekend suffering from a cough and cold. I did manage to pass him bits and pieces in the afternoon, as he ran up and down the ladder realigning and gluing the PVC down piping in place. Reconnecting the pipe work that leads to the pump (and therefore the house). This went on until dark (which in the tropics was probably 7pm), but meant working under work lights, which didn’t make the job easier.

I did perk up a bit Saturday, and I helped test the reconnected pipe work (now that the PVC cement had, had time to cure). This involved running hose pipe to the gutters and flooding them until water run through to the tanks… This didn’t exactly go to plan. We discovered that the pipes at the front of the house filled the one tank and the back fill the other. This may seem in consequential, but the downpipes at the front are lower than those at the back. Therefore the outlet supplying the tank also needs to be lower, as water finds its own level. And if the tank outlet is too high (which at the moment it still appears to be- by centimeters) the water will drip/ flow over the downpipe and not into the tank.



It also seemed strange when nothing was flowing from the back of the house- especially as the downpipes were much higher. Matt then uncovered s leak in the downpipe at the corner of the house, a few meters off the patio. A patch that has often been damp during the wet season, but as it’s a bit of a dip, we had not really paid it much attention since we moved in. But a meter or more down was a cracked elbow joint! So the water had not been reaching the tank. So another trip to the DIY store and more PVC cement.



Ffion & Madog inspecting



Saturday afternoon was all hands on deck to shovel the remaining soil back around the tanks. Matt did admit toward the end of the day, that I was beginning to fade quickly (and didn’t want to be accused of making me work when I was sick. But finishing the job took us half and hour, although he had offered to finish the last few barrows alone- I did feel rather guilty for abandoning him the day before. And I’m sure my Nan used to swear by sweating out a cold (or something like that). Though once we were done I had a shower and went straight to bed for about 2 hours.

Sunday we reconfigured the connections to the water pump. Incorporating taps, that should allow for the tanks to be operated without the need to disconnect or connect pipe work. In other words, if Matt’s not here I could do this easily without struggling or having leaks. As some of the connections and seals are quick tricky. I also don’t think taking them on and off all the time is really any good for their lifespan.

So the tanks are in, all reconnected and we had begun running the bore into the tanks to test them… but then came the real test.

It does look as if we’ll need to drop the outlet level of the one tank a few more centimeters, as the water is sitting in the outlet and then backing up at the downpipe. But it’s pretty close.

Otherwise this weekend I sold my first dozen “fertilised eggs” to a colleague of a lady I have sold chicks to in the past (and who we bought Madog from). As they have a few broody hens. They said they would let us know how they go, as we haven’t hatched chicks out from under a chicken.
I have often wondered how people sell fertilised eggs. As how can they guarantee thy are fertilised. I know we have a working rooster (we have some hatching in the incubator right now). And the eggs were fresh, they were collected that morning and the ay before. So I hope they have some success with them.
As I just said we have a few hatching at the moment. 2 arrived Saturday, 3 more Sunday and I woke to 9 this morning, with at least half a dozen more “pipped”.

It's raining, it's pouring

Well it has been pouring here! Especially considering it’s the dry season? We had 63mm of rain over night alone.  I am unsure what we had over the last few days in total, as Matt had been emptying the rain gauge. And we were a little distracted last night

With the recent rainfall, and the fact that the tanks are “empty” (especially since none of that rain being collected since we disconnected them the other week) the second tank popped up. So we spent yesterday evening lifting it out, in preparation for moving.

 Unfortunately with the rain we had a little more bad news, the duck nested in the corner where the rainwater flows. Her nest has been waterlogged twice, so I am not holding out any hope for her clutch hatching. Although the ones in the incubator (that we thought may have been cooked) appears to still be developing- so we have hope there.

On a slightly more positive note, the chicken eggs we have in our incubator started hatching last night. This morning there were 3 started. So will keep you posted… could be an interesting weekend.

A reminder to move the tanks

After 2 days of getting all those jobs done around the house that had been neglected recently, we were feeling pretty pleased with ourselves. Reminded of the benefits and rewards this lifestyle offers. Only for it to remind us of the challenges it poses its inhabitants.

5.30 on a Sunday evening, I’ve just transferred my veggies and am watering them in. The animals are all cleaned out, with fresh bedding and have just been fed and watered. With the freshly prepared coq-au-vin is simmering in the slow cooker, about an hour to go. I’m beginning to think about the working week ahead- setting aside uniforms and getting ready to jump in a well deserved shower, but there’s nothing. Look out the window to see my sprinkler fading…no water?

Neither of us expected to have used  the 2, 11,000l tanks (fed off and connected to the house). We still have a 48,000l tank attached the shed, which is brimming. It was probably this that fooled us. At least it was still dusk with some daylight left, these things usually happen in the dark!

As these tanks are now empty (well their still probably water in them), this brings us to another major project we need to undertake- move the 2 smaller tanks. This is something we had planned to do this dry season, as soon as the tanks ran out. So Matt permanently disconnected the down pipe connections. Rendering them useless until they are moved and new connections are bought and attached. Guess this adds some sort of urgency to the project. As we do not want to be without 44,000l of tank capacity come the wet season and my family are visiting for a month over Christmas. Given these tanks alone have provided our water supply for this calendar year (so 6 months), we need them back online.

The tanks need moving as they are actually on and not inside the property boundary. An oversite (and naivety) on our part when buying the place and ignorance on the part of our neighbour. It was only discovered late last year when the neighbour  went to erect fencing between the paddocks (something that had not been done by the previous owners).

So initially we disconnected, moved and redirected the stormwater connections to the largest of the 3 tanks, that was/is connected to the shed. As this one was half used, having run the other 2 low and then filled them with bore water. This was then followed closely by the wet season, so it was discussed that we would move them once they ran out this year.

Moving the last 2 will not be as straight forward as the first. As the downpipe supply from the house to the tanks are all underground and the tanks themselves, unlike the bigger one are semi-submerged.  But it has to be done, and now we’ve made a start- so watch this space.

Ok so we're 1/3 into 2012

So we're over a third the way through the year and yet again I have failed to keep this blog upto date. And what a busy year it has been so far.


The wet season has come (and should I dare breath it) gone. The tanks are full but my veggie patch and the piggies grazing are long lost.
I attempted my first concrete pour (not on my own, but with Matt), but successful laid the foundations for the pigs new bed/shed. High and dry shelter for them to escape the rain... though they have thoroughly enjoyed the mud!


We have also purchased a lovely little Saddleback- Berkshire cross to rear, as ours are only just at breaeding age (with no current signs of action), so pork supplies of our own seem along way off. She has settled in well, and am trying to maintain a distance and unemotional connection to her (though she's making it difficult).

We've officially be in 3 months!

Well on Friday was our 3 month anniversary in the house... and what a journey it has been so far!

Unfortunately that does mean that this coming Friday it has been 3 months since we lost our gorgeous Griff. We actually planted a dwarf lemon tree to mark his resting place last weekend, not that well will ever forget where he rests.

Anyway this weekend was pretty busy, with a few further milestones. Friday saw the moving of the first, and largest of the 3 water tanks. This was necessary as one of the many challenges we have faced todate include finding out that the fencing was all in the wrong place. Meaning our tanks were on the neighbours property!- Lesson learned when purchasing rural blocks (well for that any block), make the contract subject to survey.

But it is, what it is and our neighbour has been very good about the whole thing. So we will get it sorted, just in small steps. So step 1- move the largest, above ground tank- done!

Next step is to pump all the water out of the 2 semi-submerged tanks, then begin exploring the underground piping and work out how to move them and where... but we'll get there one step at a time