Well, I got ambitious and decided to replace a few of the more non-functioning of my sprinkler heads the other day. I identified a few, and began to dig the first one up. The western side of my house doesn't drain very well, and as a result the dirt stays rather moist after a rain. Over the years, the roots have permeated (Jeff, usage?) the ground and made it almost like peat (not Pete). This made it very difficult to dig through. So, I pulled out the ole pick-axe. My system is about 20 years old, and is constructed rather bizarrely. They use what I would call a "curly-que" of elbow joints to couple the head to the pipe, presumably to reduce the torque on the main PVC pipe delivering the water. This particular head had a much more elaborate structure coupling it to the pipe in such a way that the "curly-que" reached much higher toward the surface. Not realizing this, I hacked it with the pick-axe, and now have a neat little fountain.

So, today I went to the brand new Lowe's down the street (across 35 from the soon to be opened Ultimate Electronics, Toys 'R Us, Ross, Chili's, Johnny Carino's, etc...Take that B-Dub!) and picked up some PVC weld. This stuff is pretty cool. You fill the crack, than "activate" it with heat. You're supposed to use a blow torch, but I don't have one, so I used a lighter...It took a while.

While I was heating it, the ground caught on fire (remember the peat-like roots). This was really a bizarre sight. It finally went out when it got to the place where the roots went under the dirt, because most dirt isn't flammable...thank goodness. Anyway, I let it cure for a while and then fired up the sprinkler. I hadn't sealed it all.

So now I have to wait until it dries out before I can do anything else.

Well, that one's somewhat anti-climactic, but I'll submit it anyway...for the sake of community!