Four Day Catch Up

For those of you perched on the edge of your seats waiting to find out what kind of spider we found in the hollyhock bed....Richard identified it but of course I forgot the description. I'll get it posted tomorrow. Honest.

I also forgot the camera Friday and then I didn't think anyone would want to see a picture of my friend Paul digging a hole. However, here is a photo of Don doing his all in the war on weeds.

What I should have gotten a picture of was Don, Steve, Richard, Tyler and me moving the last and largest of the bridal veil spirea down to the amphitheater. No, it was nothing at all like the keystone cops, except of course the part where I was trying to back up the golf cart with the trailer attached and I kept jack-knifing it. Don eventually had to unhook it and push it into place while I backed up the golf cart into position. Oh the embarrassment.

Why does it always seem like the amazing flower that lasts for one day likes to bloom on Mondays when the Gardens are closed?

Look at this little bush just loaded with really cute tiny blossoms.

Here are two really great chalk drawings that are in the Children's Garden.

Geneva, Paula and Bob came out today and got the irrigation in order in the rose garden. I heard some shrieks as some of the drip heads turned into fountains. Remember, water is wet and sometimes cold but it won't hurt you.

I spent some time today trying to figure out why the pump by the amphitheater isn't working. With the help of Kevin, I got the pump working Saturday. Sunday when I went in to program the controller I couldn't get pressure. Today I checked the foot valve and the filter to make sure they weren't plugged. I took the gasket down to Munro Pump (we love Munro pump, they have been very good to the Gardens) Dan, who works in service and repair, said it looked OK. He greased up the gasket for me and told me how to check to see if the foot valve isn't working. That is one thing I really like about Dan. He is a good mechanic and he teaches you how to trouble shoot and how to get to know your machine. In case you are wondering, you prime the pump and get the pump working, then you turn off the pump and if the hose that goes from the river to the pump goes flat then you know the foot valve is malfunctioning. I needed a pipe wrench to get the spigot off to prime the pump and of course I didn't have one, so I'll test it tomorrow. Tune it tomorrow for the exciting conclusion to the thrilling drama "Does the Foot Valve Work?"

Keith from Lunsford was out today checking the backflow preventers. One of them was malfunctioning. The dump valve wouldn't turn off. He is another good service guy because he explained to me what the problem was and even brought in the broken pieces so that I could see for myself. It was that old problem of being between a rock and a gasket. ;) A rock got stuck in the gasket and there went the seal. I'm glad it was such a simple problem. The Herb Society folks will be happy to hear that the backflow preventer is fixed. That means they have water.

And the river keeps rising.