[gardeners] The Wheel of Fortune

penny x stamm (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 5 Aug 2001 22:59:06 -0400 

The latest battle between us lovebirds concerns the three big holes
in the back yard, 3 ft deep. It's too long a story, but about 5 years
ago,
we called in a back hoe and dug a channel from the driveway to the
stone wall. Our neghbor was giving me real grief about all the water
which would find its way thru the stones in the wall, and end up in his
cellar. So in the end, we stuffed the underground pipes with small
rocks and hydraulic cement. Great -- no more water thru the wall!
It came into our basement, instead. . .   up the hill~!  

I got tired of that, and so Jim dug the three deep holes to locate the
pipe, so we could open it up. Can't do it. Impossible. And I kept 
insisting that there was so much water in those holes that it must
indicate that our 2nd dry well was not functioning. Jim said oh no,
cannot be, cannot be. So he agreed to an experiment yesterday:  
he stopped up the driveway drain with a rubber sheet, and then 
opened two hoses full force into the driveway.  We allowed quite a 
bit of water to accumulate, and while I stood down at the holes, 
Jim released the deluge. After awhile, I could easily see water 
seeping into the holes, and that should not have happened -- but
Jim said that he could not see anything at all ....   Today when he
checked the holes, the water level was ALL the way down!  So
he volunteered to stick a running hose into the driveway drain,
and see what would happen. . .   For 3 or 4 minutes, nothing.
And then, WHEW!!!!! In came the water with a rush...!  

Now the sticky wicket is:  the 5-y-o dry well is on the right side
of the yard, but the water is rushing into the holes near the back 
wall from the left side.....  either we have catacombs under our
80 x 170 rear lawn, or I'm a monkey's uncle. 

Oh, dear -- I hate to comtemplate.

Penny, NY


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