The Prairie Dog Town Grows

The efforts of Ken and Scott last week seem to have worked wonders, but it also brought us to the next step. Identifying that there is still significant clogging in the little seep holes in the laterals. Ken has been digging holes at alternate 6 foot intervals and drilling new seep holes in the pvc to assure that once it is closed up, it will function properly. Woodchip, the coolest kitty in the township, was on hand for inspection.

Septic Prairie Dogs

Hey- that would be a perfect name for a heavy metal band!

No, the prairie dogs on Meadow Lane, were two hard-working, patient men. To forge ahead with the trouble-shooting efforts of our mystery septic drama, Ken took a day off (w/out pay of course) and Scott sacrificed a precious vaca day to investigate and repair the backed up system. Ten accurately placed holes later, the junctions of the sand mound's laterals were exposed. A hand-held snake (in photo) was not enough to remove 20+ years of backed up glop, so we rented a bigger one for a few hours. Our high-pressure power washer helped to dislodge and clean everything out. Testing revealed a working system, so we will cap and seal the system, but leave the prairie dog holes as-is for a while until it can be determined if this actually did the trick. If not, the next step would be to dig out and drill new seep holes. If THAT doesn't work, we are probably looking at a major excavation and replacement. So for now, we'll celebrate the successful baby steps!

Thank you Scott for your time, muscle, expertise and friendship! [not to mention your tolerance of working on a nasty project]

TimBeR!

On Sunday afternoon, we took down all of the trees that were against the tall side (south) of the house. We'll miss them, but they really had to come out. Hopefully next weekend we can finish the job and cut and stack with everyone's helping hands. They are perfect firewood size!