This randomly started growing by my back door. It started to bloom out the other day. I was waiting to get a better picture when it was fully bloomed, but it was looking a little rough yesterday and today. So I thought I’d better get a picture while I still could. If it turns around, I’ll get a better picture later when it is fully bloomed.
I know in my part of town, for what the water department charges for water, they must think there is gold in it. So you want to conserve water whenever possible. According to the EPA, “Ten percent of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day.” In one year, thousands of gallons of water could be wasted through one leaky toilet or faucet.
A simple do-it-yourself fix for a leaky toilet is installing a new fill valve and/or tank flapper. This is a very simple job to attack.
I purchased the fluidmaster brand fill valve and tank flapper replacement parts. The box says it can be done in fifteen minutes. I was lucky to have a newer flexible supply line, which makes removing and hooking up the water line very quick and simple, so I did it in half the time. Be prepared for the worse when attempting any plumbing project. I would go ahead and plan on purchasing a new flexible supply line to speed up the installation. The only tool I used to install this was my favorite pair of pliers (adjustable pliers, water pump pliers,…).
If I had to install a new supply line I would also would have needed a crescent wrench and/or a monkey wrench. (don’t forget your Teflon tape to put on the threads of the shut off valve).
Shut off water. Flush toilet. Disconnect supply line. Remove and replace flapper and hook chain to tank level arm. Disconnect the refill tube. Loosen the nut on the bottom of the toilet for the fill valve. Have a bucket under the fill valve to catch the final bit of water. I like to have the new fill valve ready to install (don’t forget the rubber washer), so only a little water dumps out (because the water never hits the bucket). Swap out fill valve. Install the new refill tube. Install the supply line. Pray that you did it right. Turn on water. Flush and check how it fills up and adjust if needed.
Good Luck!
Because of the warm, dry fall; there are many grasshoppers this year. If you have a garden, you might have noticed these herbivores. I have had tons of them, but they haven’t really bothered anything of value. They did clean out a big area of mint that I had, which I had mixed feelings about that, because the mint was out of control. There are pesticides you can use to detour them, but I went the green route and let my chickens and guinea hens after them.
Go get them girls!
Nothing taste better than a concord grape. I had planted a few plants last year and this year I got a few clusters grapes. Not enough to do anything with it. But every time I walk out to the garden, I grab a few to snack on.
We did this landscape late summer. In the back are the tall Spartan junipers. The tree is a river birch. There are many different styles of maiden grasses, lilies, and perennial flowers throughout. The rock is 2″ Missouri river rock.
