IT'S TIME TO MOVE THE SPRINKLERS

An acre and a quarter covers about 54,450 square feet. Our lot, a level 1.25 acre, is mostly lawn, even out back in the orchard area. The grassed portion which surrounds the house, except for over 100' of doublewide driveway, totals 26,000 sq.ft. and the rest adds approximately 24,000 sq.ft. of surface to mow. When summer comes, and it has, a few days are in the seventies, a few more are in the nineties, a handful across the summer reach triple digits, and the bulk of the rest are endless 80s. It has become time to water the lawn.

The names of some especially popular and successful products have become generic. I don't mind at all, 'cause those were usually the names I learned growing up. Kodak, Xerox, Kleenex, Coke, and even Saran Wrap. One of my favorites - because it is so descriptive - is Rainbird. Efficient, practical, and durable, the Rainbird is a well designed and trustworthy irrigator. Sure, the name itself is actually a brand, but the more mundane moniker for this device, the "impact sprinkler", is cumbersome and lacks pizzaz. I have a number of rainbirds, and currently the favorite three are hard at work - watering the lawn.

Fortunately, we have a well bored deep in perfect sand and gravel which produces wonderful, abundant water that originates in the Mt. Saint Helen's area to the north. A three quarters horsepower submersible pump provides plenty of pressure. Two faucets near the house are fitted with 200' of hose, a third has only 100' of hose but all three terminate in Rainbirds. Every week I water each portion of lawn for a couple of hours. With the three rainbirds it takes about six sets to water all the yard around the house. Orchard sets (3 usually) add six more hours to complete the entire job. I can do it a single day, but to avoid watering hot, sunbaked grass, I usually split it up into two half-days, one evening and the next morning.

The whole process requires a lot of dragging hoses and relocating the Rainbirds to get maximum coverage and even a little overlap. Over twenty-one years, however, it has become routine, and I know just exactly where to place each one to get the best effect. So, every two hours each week when the water is running, "It's Time To Move The Sprinklers." On a hot day like today I usually get a little wet myself, and that's a penalty I don't mind at all. The watering season is only three months long, and sometimes less, and when the rains return in the fall, they are extra welcome on this little acreage. You betcha!