Pressure Switch Problems

Three times in the past year or so we have had no water from the well.  One time there was a dead cricket to flip out of the pressure switch.  Another time it was a dead mouse.  Today it is a dead switch, with no suicidal creatures in evidence.  Hiromi is on his way to buy a new switch.

I am not finding anything on my to do list for today that I have not already done and can get done without water.  So I've read the paper, researched the duration of pre-emergent herbicides, and started blogging.  I also briefly contemplated analogies in the pressure switch saga and decided maybe that wasn't a productive endeavor.

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Rains late last week brought harvest to a screeching halt for the most part till early this week.  A lot has happened in the past few days to finish cutting wheat that people couldn't get to before the rain.

Lowell's hay field produced a decent first cutting, but after that, the cheat grass matured and speckled the field with many touches of brown.  He decided to cut it all off and hope for good regrowth and a green second cutting.

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Something happened to the lush and beautiful Pothos hanging basket we've had at school for several years.  It looks sad and denuded, despite Norma's regular watering since school is out.  I doubt that it was a malicious denuding, but if that's the best way to treat a plant like that, I've missed the memo so far.  I'm really regretting that I didn't bring it home for the summer.  I didn't have a ceiling hook by a window ready for it, and Hiromi has not found time to put one up.  I reasoned that it could just as well continue to add ambiance to the atmosphere there throughout the summer if it were maintained.  "Denuded" is not on my radar as an aid to ambiance.

Harry had put up the ceiling hooks at school in the first years of my teaching there, and I had bought the hanging baskets and plants and planted them--except for the fern that Norma planted in one of them last year.  I think students helped with repotting at least once on school work night. The baskets have the distinct advantage of offering a bottom-watering and wicking-upward option--much easier for students to manage than trying to feel how much water is needed and having to pour in water at the top, not knowing how much is too much till it runs over.  The hanging baskets were pricey, but I bought them on sale at Gardener's Supply Company and still claim ownership of them.  

I used to bring the hanging baskets home during the summer and hang them from the trees in our yard, but the wind and heat were hard on them, and I was delighted the year Jolynn took them home and used them in their new apartment to subtly divide the different areas of their great room, which served as a kitchen, dining room, and living room.  Several times one of Richard Y.'s girls cared for one or more of them over the summer.  During my Sabbatical Norma took over plant care and then watered them over the summer following.  All of the hanging baskets have looked beautiful all school year.  I had made a mental note that some of the lower hanging tips should probably be trimmed off at the start of next school year. lest some student be tempted to use the tips as a handle for twirling the basket.  It's happened.  

The hoya vine went home with Lois, where I presume it is thriving, and the heart-leaf philodendron and the fern at school look as nice as ever.  Here's hoping the Pothos recovers.

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Are you used to having cinnamon and nutmeg flavorings in apricot pie filling?  I'm not, but the canning recipe I saw called for them.  I think I'll omit them.