We just got a whole bunch of dirt (under the tarp), mulch, rock, and railroad ties delivered. Boy, are we going to have some fun getting this stuff moved from the driveway onto our yard!
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
No, this is not some weird form of driveway art
We just got a whole bunch of dirt (under the tarp), mulch, rock, and railroad ties delivered. Boy, are we going to have some fun getting this stuff moved from the driveway onto our yard!
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Quick Update
Pleasure reading has come to a screeching halt. Just started my next class in my Mechanical Engineering degree. It is called "Analysis of Mechanical and Aerospace Systems". I feel like I'm woefully unprepared for the course since our text is Modern Control Theory by William Brogan. I've heard a lot of good things about this book, but thus far it seems to be working with the assumption that the student has taken a Controls course. Right now I'm giving myself a crash course in Classical Control Theory and I'm hoping that I'll have enough knowledge to get me through...
Sailing was absolutely awesome. Even though it was a small lake, it was definitely big enough to get me hooked. We did most of our sailing on Sunfish, but I also got a chance to go on a Fireball (definitely too much boat for me) and I spent an afternoon sailing a Butterfly. I had a ton of fun (especially the 2nd weekend when we had fairly steady winds) and I can't wait to get back out again!
Running is still going strong. I'm up to 16.5 miles/week and I will be doing a 2 mile test race next Saturday. My current goal is to finish at a pace under 10 minutes a mile. We will see how that goes.
Sailing was absolutely awesome. Even though it was a small lake, it was definitely big enough to get me hooked. We did most of our sailing on Sunfish, but I also got a chance to go on a Fireball (definitely too much boat for me) and I spent an afternoon sailing a Butterfly. I had a ton of fun (especially the 2nd weekend when we had fairly steady winds) and I can't wait to get back out again!
Running is still going strong. I'm up to 16.5 miles/week and I will be doing a 2 mile test race next Saturday. My current goal is to finish at a pace under 10 minutes a mile. We will see how that goes.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Still With The Water Issues
As a follow up to the previous post...
The funny part is that I've waited until now to decide that I want to learn to sail. No, living next to Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes most of my life wasn't good enough. Moving to Philly didn't suffice either. Nope, I've got to wait until we move to the Rockies where the things they call "lakes" are what most Easterners would call "ponds". About the only place you can sail is in the man-made reservoirs that serve as the region's potable water supply. I'll be taking my first class this weekend in Standley Lake. The image at the left shows a nice comparison of Standley Lake against Conesus Lake in New York. If Conesus is considered a small lake...it looks like Standley is tiny.
Oh well, the "Wildlife Refuge" part of Standley is actually pretty cool. Apparently, they have some bald eagles nesting on the lake and a whole section is blocked off so that humans don't disturb their habitat. Maybe we will see them flying around while out on the water. Now that would be cool!
We've Got Water Issues
Growing up in Rochester, NY sure did not get me ready for the weather here in the mountains. I always pictured the Rockies to be just like the Appalachian mountains...only much bigger. You know...lush forests, crystal clear mountain lakes, and snow topped peaks. Boy was I wrong. Where Rochester has about 300 days of rain/snow a year, Colorado Springs has about 300 sunny days a year. I've heard the area described as a high plains desert...which I'm guessing is pretty true.
It is extremely dry over here. If you dig into the soil (if you want to call it that), you find that it is actually only sand. In the summer, we get almost daily afternoon thunderstorms which usually dump a whole bunch of rain (and sometimes hail) in about 20 minutes. Then the clouds blow away and it's clear skies for the rest of the evening. The drenching will do very little for actually watering the lawns (and all the water just drains through the sand immediately); as a result, almost every house in the Springs automatically comes with a sprinkler system. You have to let the water run for about an hour every day in order to keep your grass green. I just about had a heartattack last year when I opened my first utility bill which reached $300...$250 of which was the water portion alone.
At that point I decided that having a green front lawn really didn't matter. Our house is located in a portion of the street that doesn't lend itself to playing out front. The solution, out with the lawn and in with the rocks and mulch. We will have a small island next to one of the trees where we will plant native plants. The rest will be rocks. I've rerouted our sprinklers so that they only cover the tiny little island. For the most part, we will keep the back yard the same. At least we will be cutting out half of the watering needs for our lawn.
We've been working on this project most of the summer. We've just finished tilling the lawn into the ground. Now all we have to do is lay down the lawn fabric and bring in the rocks. I'll post some before and after pictures once the project is finished.
It is extremely dry over here. If you dig into the soil (if you want to call it that), you find that it is actually only sand. In the summer, we get almost daily afternoon thunderstorms which usually dump a whole bunch of rain (and sometimes hail) in about 20 minutes. Then the clouds blow away and it's clear skies for the rest of the evening. The drenching will do very little for actually watering the lawns (and all the water just drains through the sand immediately); as a result, almost every house in the Springs automatically comes with a sprinkler system. You have to let the water run for about an hour every day in order to keep your grass green. I just about had a heartattack last year when I opened my first utility bill which reached $300...$250 of which was the water portion alone.
At that point I decided that having a green front lawn really didn't matter. Our house is located in a portion of the street that doesn't lend itself to playing out front. The solution, out with the lawn and in with the rocks and mulch. We will have a small island next to one of the trees where we will plant native plants. The rest will be rocks. I've rerouted our sprinklers so that they only cover the tiny little island. For the most part, we will keep the back yard the same. At least we will be cutting out half of the watering needs for our lawn.
We've been working on this project most of the summer. We've just finished tilling the lawn into the ground. Now all we have to do is lay down the lawn fabric and bring in the rocks. I'll post some before and after pictures once the project is finished.
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