October 7th

It was 68° with a nice breeze.  Fall is approaching and it's really a great time to run.  I thought I would run through from Skelp Level Road to the pedestrian bridge on the Brandywine River Trail; ~3.5 miles.  I warmed up and stretched, put on my music and set a nice, easy pace (about 16 minutes a mile).  After the first mile my back was aching pretty sharply and I wasn't sure how much further I would go so I slowed to a fast walk and went on to the bridge; on such a beautiful afternoon it's hard to give up.  I stopped there, standing on top of the river and stared into the water.  Then I did some stretches and worried about cooling down too much.  I turned and headed back to the car at a fast walk.  After a bit I realized I'd get to the parking lot faster if I was running, so I took up my slow paced run and set myself a steady in and out breathing rhythm: in to a count of four through my mouth and out to a count of six through my nose.  That took my mind off my back. 

One young woman passed me doing a brisk run/walk.  I passed a couple of folks both coming and going who were pushing strollers and having a nice chat.  A large group of high school guys (cross-country team perhaps) passed me in both directions.  They really make running look easy.  Mostly, I had the trail to myself and I could just look at my surroundings and ponder all things.

I keep thinking I should bring Minnie dog along on my runs but she gets so distracted.  She loves to sniff everything and has to relieve herself a number of times on any given outing - all stop!  Probably best to keep the dog walking separate from the Pat running.

11,633 steps today.
Pat



September 28, 2015 Running

I reset my C25K app today to week 2, day 1 and ran it twice (90 second runs with 2 minute walks 12x).  I ran the Brandywine Trail from the covered bridge to the Trestle Bridge and back to the car (approximately 3 miles).  I chose this section because it puts a longish hill climb right in the middle of my workout.  It was hot and humid and started raining just as I finished up.  There was a disgusting amount of sweat; I find it interesting that I sweat more once I’ve stopped my run than while I’m actually running.  The question is am I sweating more or just able to notice it… either way it’s icky.

I ran past a young woman that had the nicest posture.  I thought if she could keep her shoulders back, tummy tucked and spritely pace and still smile that least I could do was keep stumbling along gasping for air and nod back.

No one calls it jogging anymore.  What happened to jogging?

I try very hard on run days to talk myself out of running; this is called negative self-talk.  First, I try to see if I feel rotten anywhere from my hair follicles to my toenails.  Then I think I’d really rather take a nap and read my book sitting out on the patio - basically wouldn’t everyone?  Finally, as I pull on my running clothes I tell myself maybe I’ll just walk the route or better yet find a bench and watch other folks work out.  In the end, I turn on my favorite playlist and start my workout.  The warm-up and stretches feel great and when I’m nearly done the running feels OK or at least like I’m not going to die.

Pat

Bog Filter - Day 3

At the bottom of the filter goes the pipe distribution network. I opted for 1" PVC and I cut slots every 3/4" or so down the length of the horizontal runs. The vertical runs at the ends are capped and available for cleanouts.

The distribution system goes into the bottom of the pond. Pat had fun experimenting with new photo editing software. Thanks Pat!

The pond gets filled with 3/8" pea gravel. This provides the surface area for a bacterial film to develop, allowing biological growth to reduce the nitrogen. Further nutrient reduction takes place when plants are placed into the gravel. The water level in the bog is just even with the top of the gravel.

This is what a half-ton of pea gravel looks like. It is pretty dusty when delivered so it must be rinsed before placing into the filter, otherwise you just introduce all that rock dust into the pond system.

So I figure that I shoveled a ton of gravel that morning - first into a bucket to swish around with water, then into the filter.

Now the bog filter is full to a 12" depth with gravel. We put a piece of plexiglas onto the low point to create a small sheet-flow waterflow into the pond. Now we'll see if it works...

Bog Filter - Day 2

No wait – here's the biggest heat wave of the season. I had been planning a long bicycle trip (three days) to ride to Williamsport, PA to see Chili. It was going to be great – all the way up the Susquehanna River Valley. I decided that would not be a good idea with heat expected in the upper 90's to low 100's. So what did I do instead? I started digging another big hole.

A bog filter needs to be 10 – 30% of the volume of the pond to be filtered. It also needs to be set at a higher elevation than the pond so that water can flow from the filter to the pond. That's great if your pond is set into a hillside, but since ours is in a very level spot I had to build up the perimeter to get a raised elevation. Hence the cinder blocks. A bog filter needs to be 12” deep, so I set the 8” high cinder blocks at least 2” into the ground, leveled everything up then dug down another 8” through very hard, rocky soil.

You really need to make sure no sharp rocks will cut the liner, so all the soil that I removed from the hole was passed through a 1/4” sieve. That added a lot of work, but the sifted soil was pretty smooth and allowed me to pack it into a curved shape for the basin. I added some old sheetrock under the soil just to keep big rocks from poking through. Then the liner went in. I set it to flow over the edge into the pond, with a ledge 2” lower than the rest of the sides.

Next came water – always a nervous moment to see whether I can actually read a level or not – but it filled just fine and I worked most of the wrinkles out (a flat sheet of plastic can't make a hemisphere shape without folds). After that, it was time for a swim with a cold beer.

The Bog Filter – Day 1

It all started with a bird bath. In an island. Full of mosquitoes.

We inherited a bird bath from the previous owners of our house. It was located in the front yard in a patch of land we call "the island" because it is surrounded by a ring of asphalt driveway. Over the years the bird bath saw lots of use – from crows cleaning their roadkill prizes to winter juncos taking an icy dip. Every winter we kept it clear with a heater and throughout the summer we cleaned it constantly; it was always filling with algae and in just a few short days, mosquito larvae. Hence the progression of events you will read about here.

One summer we had a great idea; if only we could keep the water moving then mosquitoes wouldn't like it and there would be no more larvae (nice in theory anyway). We bought a small fountain pump and sprinkled the feeder with decorative rocks. It looked nice but it usually plugged with algae or gunk in just a few days, and then the larvae would return. Arrrrggh! Still, we pressed onward.

The next great idea, one that we actually stewed on for a few years, was the thought of a big fountain in the island – a la Longwood Gardens! If the little birdbath kept getting mucked up, why not scale up the mess? That would involve digging a big hole and for quite a while I wondered if I could get someone in with a backhoe to do the job. Not wanting to pay anything for the work, or at least very little, that aspect of the job went nowhere fast.Soon another bright idea came along. Since I play the tuba, why not find an old tuba and make that the centerpiece of the fountain, complete with water from the bell? Sure – no problem. I took a few turns at the ebay musical instruments listings, but all the old tubas there, some almost crushed beyond recognition, went for way too much. Once again, this idea seemed DOA. But not to worry! Pat had mentioned my “need” to her colleague Eleanor at work, and one weekend we got a phone call; “I'm at a flea market, and here's a tuba. The guy wants $100 for it. Do you want it?” she asked. We asked Eleanor to bargain the guy down and hung up, not knowing what had happened. That Monday at work, Pat was presented with a Getzen contra-bass bugle, a type of tuba used in early marching bands. Now we HAD to build the fountain.
So a great hole was begun. Initially, it was only going to be as big as an old baby pool, about 5' diameter and 8” deep. Once that goal was reached, well, I just kept digging. Eventually the baby pool went into the bottom of a 7' diameter by 18” deep pit. A plastic liner was added, then water, then the tuba, then lights. Now everything was in place – the water was clear and everything looked great. But soon the mosquitoes found the pool and everything started wriggling with larvae.
So next came 29¢ goldfish – a whole bunch of them. They had a ravenous appetite for mosquito larvae and that problem quickly cleared up. BUT – and here's the catch and the first real reason for the bog filter – the fish food caused an increase in nutrients and we suddenly had an algal bloom. Next step was algicide but all that did was create a sludge of dead algae and the growth quickly returned. Then we saw a water garden cleansed by a bog filter and we were sold. By then it was fall though; it would have to wait.

So now this bog filter story begins...but first, a few “before” pictures. Here's the tuba fountain with our house in the background:

And here's Maya enjoying the yard, and one of the current pond inhabitants.

So here are the parts for the bog: cinder blocks, liner, a pump and tubing for the under-gravel filter. The gravel will come after everything is ready to go.

For a pleasant Sunday we decided to take Maya for a walk on a newly-paved rail to trail just minutes from our house. It is part of the old West Chester - Downingtown trolly line that ran along the eastern side of the East Branch Brandywine Creek. We had walked this route several times before it was developed into a rail-trail; it was part of a loop we often walk in another recently opened park/trail system along Downingtown Pike and Skelp Level Road.

There were few people on the trail but we did run into some folks we know through our friends Gerry & Shelly Geiss. We had a pleasant chat - mostly about the Chester County Camera Club after Pat noticed the big, new Canon camera that they were carrying. Maya was quite well behaved! I snapped this photo of Gibson's Bridge from the trail.

After that we stopped by Jim & Ruth MacFadyen's house to visit Ruth (who is recovering from knee surgery) and Gia, their daughter Kate's dog. We've been helping out a bit on and off with Gia, who doesn't like getting her nails trimmed. Pat is pretty good at it with the sandpaper attachment on our small, battery-operated Dremel tool. I am tasked with the "holding" job. Gia gets a belly rub to take her mind off the trimming. Oh - and Gia is a 60-70 lb. pit bull terrier who is all muscle and tounge. She is a big sweetheart.

Next, we went to pick up a new chair for our bedroom. It sits right in front of our big windows and will be a great place to read - eyes open or closed - it won't matter!

April Fools!

So...March is supposed to go out like a lamb, but what about April? Back to dreary old winter? This is the view that we found when we opened the bedroom curtains this morning. Hopefully, it will soon be sunny and warm!