The Pumper's Wife

Have you ever been asked to list what you are most thankful for?  Isn’t it funny how some things change over the years and others don’t?  Though I have always been fond of nice weather…lately, I am much more thankful for dry days than ever before.  I love nice weather so I can play outside with the kids or work in the yard, but my perspective about weather has changed since May 2.  The excessive amount of rain we have received this year, now has me craving (and possibly obsessing for…) ANY DAY that is a DRY DAY.  I promise I’m not desiring these days so I can work on my tan or spend time at the pool.  No, I want dry days so my husband isn’t swamped as he helps others  with their over saturated septic needs and can be at home (at a decent hour…) with me and the boys.  Yes, it is still selfish, but not the way you might think. I am a firm believer in staying positive, being thankful, or looking for the silver-lining as much as possible, but there are days when I struggle – as I am s

I can’t seem to think of much to write about this week.  Lately, anything that pops into my brain is items related either to rain or water  or water usage.  For instance…. I wonder if it is going to rain. If it rains, I wonder how much. If it rains a lot, I wonder how many calls we will get and if I will not see my husband again for two days. If it rains a lot, how many people will be able to help and how many will be in situations where we can’t help them? What kind of posts about water usage can I put on Facebook to help readers with their systems? What articles can I find about water usage? Are these water usage articles going to be helpful? I wonder how much water is used when we flush a toilet, wash dishes in the sink, run the dishwasher, run the washing machine, take a shower, take a bath, water the yard, etc.? Water and rain and water usage are literally flooding my brain. When I talk to people on the phone and try to help them with water issues, I dis

You know the old Carpenter’s Song, “Rainy Days and Mondays?”  The lyrics go, “rainy days and Mondays always get me down…”  Well, here in Lincoln, rainy days that happen ANY day of the week are starting to get me down.  I know I try to make light of the rainfall, but the last month and a half have been frustrating for us septic people.  Believe me, I am not complaining about the rain because I can’t go out and work on my tan.  I complain because of all the problems it causes for our customers and our ability to get everyone taken care of. If you live on septic (and even some people who live on lagoons…) this type of weather causes people a LOT of problems.  Here is why: Take a look at the picture below and note where the leachfield/drainfield is located.  In the soil.  Underground.  With groundwater under it. Now, you will also notice that all the water from the house flows to the septic tank AND THAT THE SEPTIC TANK IS FULL OF WATER.  This is how a septic tan

So, there’s this stuff called rain…and we have been receiving quite a bit of it.  Maybe you tire from me talking about it, but considering the fact that our business is pretty weather dependent…and by dependent I mean, dependent on it NOT raining….it has affected us in a crazy way.  On our pumping side, we are going like gang busters!!  Lots of rain means lots of pumping!!  On our dirt-work side, we have gotten very little done as the ground is just too wet.  Ugh…the frustrations I feel!!  I hate “to do” lists that never become “to DONE” lists, ya know? In my completely sarcastic way of thinking, I have conjured up solutions to this whole “too much rain” problem.  Here are my alternative forms of business I think the hubs and I might try our hand at: Rice Farming I have two places in my yard that haven’t seemed to dry up since May 2 nd .  I’m thinking they would make PERFECT rice paddies.  I know NOTHING about rice – except that I like to eat it – but I figure a girl can lea

SEPTIC SYSTEM 101: A REVIEW LESSON (Things to consider when extreme rain hits) Our area has been hit by a massive amount of rain.  Therefore, many septic systems which are NOT IN FAILURE may seem like they are due to the ground being saturated.  Please remember these simple things about your septic system and follow the suggestions listed below during this time. #1.  Your septic tank is always full of water. -           The average person uses 100 gallons of water a day.  If you think about how much water you use running the dishwasher, taking a bath or shower, flushing the toilet, or running your washing machine, etc. it is easy to see how a 1000 gallon or 1500 gallon septic tank can fill up quickly.  Even after your tank is pumped it doesn’t take it long to fill back up with waste water from the house. #2.  Your septic tank SLOWLY drains to your lateral field -           Your lateral field is like a giant “sponge” that SLOWLY takes on water as it drains from your s

So, its official!  School. Is. Out!  Thank the Lord!! Please, let the summer festivities begin!! We are no different than most families in that we like late nights, campfires, fireflies, swimming pools, baseball, sprinklers, and basically anything that constitutes an easy going summer. We began our summer with the ceremonious “burning of the homework” campfire last night.  Nothing says, “I love school” like incinerating a whole year’s work in 15 minutes of raging fire.  I think it just brings closure to the school year…at least that’s what I’m telling myself…for now anyway! Part of our summer involves early morning walks.  This may seem a bit contrary to other concepts of summer mornings, but we tend to be early risers anyway so it works for us.  Also, since no one has to be at school at any particular time we can ease into our morning coffee and breakfast with a good walk.  Around 6:00-6:30 we are up and walking the dirt roads discussing the meaning of life (according