smoking roots

[sergebroom]

No, I haven't turned to the acquisition of wisdom thru the absorption of illegal substances by way of my airways.

When I let out my canine horde out yesterday morning, I noticed a big puddle at one end of the back lawn. It was not supposed to be there, and it certainly wasn't supposed to still be flowing from somewhere in the backyard's upper levels. I thought that the temperature, while not Minnesotan in its lows, had been cold enough to make the top level's hose reel crack. Such was not the case. Halfway up there, I found a hole in the ground out of which the water was bubbling abundantly.

After some difficulties turining the property's water main off, I started digging - not a very easy task when one is dealing with cold mud that likes to stick to one's shovel. But I dug and dug, until the mud was replaced by damp soil, and nowhere was a pipe to be seen. As I had feared, where the water had surfaced had only been the path of least resistance. Drat. A more careful study of the area made me conclude that I had been digging away from the pipe's axis so I started excavating in the hopefully correct direction, both feet in mud, all the while careful that no overly enthusiatic shoveling would result in my further damaging the pipe. Eventually, I found it, white as bone, but without any obvious sign of a break. After I showed Sue how to turn the water back on, in front of the house, I went uphill again and shouted to her to bring it on - and off right away because water was gushing out from the side of the hole right below a huge cactus. Thirty minutes later, after a prompt decapitation of the cactus, I had uprooted the sawed-off stump and tossed its pitiful remains onto the rest of the corpse, smoking from the condensation of water in the cold air. Any guilt I had felt upon the destruction of the cactus was soon disspelled as I finally found the leak, two hours after the beginning of this affair.

It was at the junction of two pipe sections, where the bulk of the cactus's roots had resided. I have this suspicion that, over the years, they had started pushing the pipe away from a straight line and, eventually, in combination with the cold, snapped the joint off.

Soon after, a plumber was on site to quickly fix things, and we had water back on. On the bright side, this whole thing gave me a workout worthy of a session at the gym. On the dark side, that gym session cost us $300.

I wonder what ou water bill will be like.

Comments

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a lot of hard, back-breaking labour. I hope you didn't lose too much water.

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Never broke a sweat. And no sore muscles so I guess the normal kind of workout has paid off.

As for the literal loss of water, well, the ground was quite soft by the time I noticed that something was Not Right. Well, it'll make some plants happy.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

It would have winded me pretty quickly, I have to say.

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear that, Fragano.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm badly out of shape. My fault.

[kouredios.livejournal.com]

You never think about cacti having the kind of tough, aggressive roots that can burst water pipes. At least, I don't...but that could be because we don't have them up here. :)

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't think of that being possible either. Maybe the roots had nothing to do with the joint's snapping, but they were awfully close. I should have read the Miranda Act to the cactus before I destroyed it. On the other hand, I had no choice - the cactus had to be removed because the leak was right there. Oh well.... It's not like there is a shortage of those things in or backyard. Many times we've had to use tweezers to pry their spines out of the paws of our canines.

[tania-c.livejournal.com]

That middle paragraph is very garden-noir. A new genre of nature writing?

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Starring Phillip Marlhoe?

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Or Sam Spade?

[miltonthales.livejournal.com]

Um, I can dig it.

What sort of cactus was it? Are saguaro protected in NM? I seem to recall they are in AZ.

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

It was a cholla. Lots of branches a couple of inches thick, needles short and sharp. The whole cactus occupied a volume of about 7 feet tall by 4 feet wide. Some birds love nesting among the branches because the bigger volatiles, such as hawks, can't reach them.

[miltonthales.livejournal.com]

Dammit. I shouldn't have asked. Now I'm missing southwestern deserts again.

[tania-c.livejournal.com]

Well, Spade is portrayed as a rake, and does like to get in rows. I'm not sure how much the dames would like to be characterized as hoes...

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

But even loam sharks know better than to mess with him. What they inflict upon him, he he returns with compost interest.

[tania-c.livejournal.com]

True. When you're in trouble, Spade is the manure going to want rooting for you.

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Even deadly dames think he's quite the attractor.