Of storms, rain & roads

Finally, a stretch of lovely, mild weather - well, with the exception of the brutal storm on Monday.

The storm knocked our power out for just an hour, but the Internet was down for two days. And then came Tuesday, and fields of purple coneflowers and monarda suddenly blooming! I guess they needed the rain.

The rainbarrels needed the water too -- ours were nearly empty, but the 3/4 inch storm managed to fill them back up with run-off from the roof!

In case you hadn't noticed, this isn't just summer - it is also road construction season. Construction and reconstruction, and then adding insult to injury, so many traffic lights out, further slowing any movement through Crystal Lake and points East!

Yes, I know, that sounds like a good reason to just stay home!

If you are like me, and drive on Route 14 between Woodstock & Harvard every week, you too have been witness to a perplexing series of road projects:

- first, crews were out replacing many of the centerline reflectors. They would remove one, fill the hole with asphalt, cut a new hole, and install the new reflector about 10 inches from the old one.

- then, they decided to do some pretty extensive patching. This was actually quite a fascinating process to watch -- and while waiting, or moving very slowly past the work crews for several weeks, I had lots of time to watch. First, the pieces of road to be removed were marked with spray paint, then someone came along with a piece of equipment designed to cut the road -- a big circular saw set to cut a line about 2 inches deep. Next, someone came along to blow the dust away from the cuts, presumably so the next workers could see the cuts. Then came a jackhammer machine to break up the road, followed by the big backhoe to dig the broken road out and put it in a dump truck. Finally, the holes were filled with asphalt, and compressed with a steamroller of some sort. They must have done over a hundred of these patches during the month of June.

- So, imagine my surprise when, July 5th, I noticed that ALL of the centerline reflectors (old and new) had been removed. And next thing I knew, they started grinding off the top two inches of the road all the way from Hughes/Hartland Road just west of Woodstock, to Dean Street. Now, in July, I have had the priviledge of watching a giant road-eating machine grind off the very same patches that were installed just a few weeks ago. I'm not kidding.

I have to believe that there was a more cost-effective way to manage this whole thing. Like maybe just do the current work, and skip the first two projects? I'm all for people having jobs, but do they all have to be employed to do (and undo) things on the same stretch of road?

Maybe I should spend some more time at home in the garden instead of out cursing the construction traffic. I certainly have plenty of rain water to use now!

Support TLC in April!

Just a reminder that there are only a few days left in the month of April, which means just a few more days to support TLC & the environment!

If you haven't ordered your oak yet, you have until Friday! Red, bur & swamp white varieties ranging from two foot ($20) to five foot ($75). And 30% of the sale price supports TLC's 3rd Generation Oak Fund to help ensure that oaks will be an important part of the McHenry County landscape FOREVER!

Summer's coming, and that rainbarrel full of clean, free water will be so good for the garden, but you have to order yours by Friday to get the great price of $65 for a 55-60 gallon rainbarrel! Tumbling composters are also available for just $130.

Pick up for the trees, rainbarrels & composters is May 14-15 at Hennen Conservation Area, 4622 Dean Street, Woodstock.

And, you have until Friday to eat at Duke's Ale House, who will donate 5% to TLC if you bring a coupon with you (or ask your server for one at the Restaurant).

Rainbarrels (and Composters) R Us!

Thursday May 14th was the day for unloading rainbarrels & composters from trucks (over 200), and now Friday the 15th & Saturday the 16th are rainbarrel pick up!

So, we are pretty much all rainbarrels right now! 55-60 gallon barrels don't weigh a lot, but they are large, and stacked three high in the back of the building, they probably take up 500 square feet!

I asked one of the drivers where they get the barrels, and he said that all sorts of things are shipped in them from all over the world: pickles, banana peppers, olives, chocolate-covered cherries (??!!), etc. The barrels are made of really sturdy, food-grade plastic, but are not reused for shipping, so are a potentially huge waste stream. But, with a few simple additions, they make a great rainbarrel or composter.

The rainbarrels are fitted with a lid that has a screen covering one or more holes. This allows water to flow from a downspout into the barrel, but keeps mosquitoes from laying their eggs in the water. There is a spigot near the bottom, and a couple of small openings higher up where one can use a hose to connect multiple barrels together -- that way, when one barrel fills up, water starts to fill the next barrel.

The barrels used for composters have a solid lid, and a wooden stand with a bar through the middle of the barrel. This allows one to spin the barrel and mix the compost. The barrels also have a vent tube that allows air to get into the center of the barrel. (Air is one of the keys to making good compost.)

I bought one of the composters this year, and will be sure to let you know how it works. I can aleady vouch for the rainbarrels - I've had two for two years, and they are wonderful!

We plan to sell these every year - it is a fun way to raise awareness of the need for people to conserve water, and to recycle their food and yard waste.