The weather!

What did you have in mind other than water butts, Corona?

Old cesspits or septic tanks that are no longer in use after switching to mains drainage are often used as water storage receptacles with a pump inside to get the water out and into a hose. A lot of people in my old commune did this when we were put on the mains. This way it does not attract mosquitoes or other pests and does not lose integrity through evaporation.

Precisely what I had in mind but I also like Shiba’s suggestion.

My old neighbours did this and it worked a treat. They didn’t have to spend big bucks on a pump either , just an ordinary one from the DIY shed for ponds etc and the top had a cover for maintenance and for leaving off when it rained so it could fill for free. Obviously when the grandchildren were about, the top was padlocked down. Because it was used for watering their polytunnel and other garden projects, even cleaning out the septic tank first was not necessary as after a few years any residue had dried out and it wasn’t for drinking use

But is being used over vegetables which are eaten. :roll_eyes:

Hahaha, what did the farmers do just a few years ago, pump out people’s fosse and then spray on the fields, I remember the green/brown hue when I told my brother to wind up the car window :rofl:

Some still do!

Dried human waste is not toxic and old residue that has dried out is not dangerous, of course you can get the fosse emptied and then washed out if you prefer. I once spread a lorry load of dried sewage on a lawn and the surplus went into veg patch. No problem, the grass was beautiful and the veggies large and luscious. We use cow and horse dung on gardens, no different

Also you are usually immune to your own bacteria as it passed through you without upsetting you (normally)

bugs would be dead after a few years though?

I’m sure all will experience this before long. I was sitting back with feet up, hands behind head listening to the radio, but switched it off to listen to the rain falling outside an open window - and then the earthy smell of Petrichor came wafting in. Whoops, now thunder in the distance!

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I’ve learnt a new word. :slight_smile:

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The old man and I, or should that be Jules and the old man, decided after checking the ridge that the overcast skies would not give way to either sun or rain in the next half hour so set out on a go anywhere walk (that means his choice) at half 4.

Cloudy it was but with no breeze, still warm, but as we plodded up the far side of the field a few light and tiny drops of rain fell. Welcome as it was I bet the whole field got no more than half a pint and Jules forewent the far forest and even the near adjoining one for the return and headed straight for the field exit.

I surveyed the bird hide as we re-entered and sat for a while planning my next moves. They, the doors and the roof, are both heavily involved with screws and so I have decided to wait 'till Tuesday when my new cordless screwdriver arrives, Much easier on hand and wrist.

I suppose I could start on the painting tomorrow and hope that fate doesn’t decree the long awaited rain for Tuesday. If it does, I will work in the rain.

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It was a new word for me too, posted higher up this page.

Can’t find the info now, but I think we humans can smell Petrichor better than sharks can smell blood. Part of our inheritance for surviving, from the dim distant past.

So, if we swim covered in petrichor does that mean we are immune from shark attacks? :thinking:

If petrichor were grease, smeared all over an Australian swimmer, he’d get eaten by sharks nonetheless. But I can’t prove it.

Apparently, we can smell petrichor at 5 parts per trillion, whereas sharks can smell blood at only one part per million. Sharks need their blood detection for hunting, whereas we humans, it is posited, needed to smell rainfall, petrichor, to find water, eons ago.

Or was that Geosim? The actual compound created when raindrops hit soil and release something? I know there was a thread about this as it intrigued me and I added it to my list of lovely words. So petrichor is made up of this and other plant oils and stuff.

I can’t remember where I read about it, but pop the question into a browser and AI will scour the internet. It was Geosim as you say, made up of this and other plants oils and stuff.

Here it is

And our noses can smell 5 parts in a trillion of that formula.