Summer Project Pays Off
Greetings to everyone.
This summer, Xavier, under the tutelage of Mom, Dad and a knowlegable fellow at the lawn and sprinkler supply store, has spent time building an automatic watering system for his garden.
Xavier got the bug to do more with the sprinklers in May when he and I had to debug why the sprinkler system stopped working. We dug up the valves, tested them and ended up having to replace the system's master valve.
We talked about some things, then decided to start by setting up an "above ground" system to automatically water his pumpkin patch on a daily basis. (his patch, this year, is surrounded by a ring of sunflowers, plantings from the birds eating from a nearby feeder this past winter).
Our initial prototype was a Y connection added to the sillcock to support both the use of a gardening hose and to supply the impact sprinkler.
Once those parts were purchased and in place, we focused on building a clock to control the valve connected to the other side of the Y. We chose (really Dad chose) to build the clock rather than buy one so Xavier could expand his growing understanding of programming.
We had an extra Raspberry Pi lying around (a Pi is a small, cell phone sized computer board). We ordered a relay block for the Pi to control and a weather-tight container to house the Pi.
When Xavier got the Pi wired into the relay block, we could now turn the valve on and off manually. We tested the system, and to Xavier's delight, his patch of pumpkins had water!
Manual on/off tested the system, but we wanted it automatic. We had planned a weekend away camping in early August, so the system had to be in place to take over the hand watering of the garden.
Thus, Xavier started the road to learning Python. With Dad sitting behind him and coaching, Xavier coded the turn on, wait while watering, turn off code. Sounds like a lot, but it was only about 15 lines of code.
The boy was sharp. As he copy and pasted the turn on code to make it the turn off code, he realized he needed to change a variable in the pasted code. That is a common source of bugs in the programming world. I was going to not say anything and then help walk him through debugging the system. He beat me to the punch and skipped the whole need to have a bug in the system. I was button-popping proud!
With the clock up and functional, we decided to build a full manifold for the system. Xavier likes mechanics and building things, so this sounded right up his alley.
Dad cut the PVC and instructed Xavier in how to glue the parts together. Xavier cemented a couple of parts in place. We took the valve off the Y connection at the sillcock and put in on the manifold. After a proper pressure test for leaks we had to tighten some fittings, but the cement work on the pipe joints proved sound.
Since we had four relays available for the Pi to control, we bought another valve and laid in a soaker hose into one of flower beds near the pumpkin patch. We were ready for the camping trip, secure in the knowledge everything would get watered while we were away. But, our secure feeling would soon get blown out of the water.
Rebecca and Xavier were on the front porch eating lunch. Xavier came into the house looking for me. "Dad," he cried. "We hear water!"
Sure enough, the connection from the Y to the manifold blew apart. We repaired it and walked away. A few days later, Xavier and I were out front and again we heard water. Again, the same connection blew apart.
Back to the sprinkler supply store for advise and parts. What we needed were clamps to secure the connections: two small WORM clamps. After two weeks of testing, our confidence in the system's integrity was restored. Now, only a few days before the camping trip, we felt the system would not let us down.
Indeed, it did not. We came home to a well-watered set of gardens, no wasted water and a sane water bill.
An Evening Of Fishing And S'mores
Greetings to all.
Today we drove up to Glenwood Springs to visit friends who were passing through the state.
We met them at their camp site and visited. Xavier was invited, if he wished, to wade in the stream a few dozen feet away. "It's filled with leeches," we were inform, "the smallest leeches I've ever seen."
After a little while of playing on the bank, Xavier decided to put on his sandles and go wading. The water was cold, still so close to the snow melt, so he endured it for about ten minutes. When he came out of the water, he had no leeches attached to him.
After a dinner of flame-broiled hamburgers, Ben, the son of the family we visited who is several years older than Xavier, decided to go fishing.
Xavier heard fishing and wanted to go too. Still, he had to finish his dinner.
As he finished, Ben came back into camp excited. He had caught a fish, but the hook was set and he needed his tackle box and its hook extractor. (Ben wanted to catch and release)
That news got Xavier all the more excited to fish himself, especially after seeing the 10 inch Brown Trout Ben had hooked.
"Do we have my fishing pole, Dad?" he asked.
Of course, we did. It's compactly stored in the back of the car along with his tackle box. We got them both and headed to the bridge where Ben was fishing. In a few minutes we strung a lure and Xavier spent the next hour casting his line.
The sun passed below the mountains and Xavier had to call it a night. Though we saw several trout, none found his lure appealing. Alas, he settled for S'mores.
Look, Mom, Two Wheels!
Greetings to everyone!
As suggested by the visuals, Xavier crossed another childhood milestone tonight.
He finally ditched the training wheels!
Xavier and Rebecca took a walk to a small park after dinner. Xavier wanted to ride his bike, which still had the training wheels attached.
About thirty minutes after they left, Rebecca sent a picture to my phone of Xavier riding away and what looked like just two wheels.
That warranted a call!
Rebecca explained she asked Xavier if he wanted to try riding his bike without training wheels. He resisted.
It took some coaxing, but Xavier agreed.
Last year (2020), Rebecca told Xavier "This is the year you lose the training wheels."
It took a little longer, but today he lost them. Rebecca came home carrying the two training wheels like a hunter bringing home her game.
Xavier rode his bike, two wheels only, the half mile home from the park; an uphill journey much of the way.
Rebecca and I had a Zoom meeting in the evening. After the meeting, I invited Xavier to show me his riding without training wheels. I wanted to see him go, and, after all, pictorial documentation was needed.
What a fantastic day! Tomorrow, Xavier and I plan to go back to the park in the morning, before the day grows too hot. He will be riding his bicycle all the way, no longer a "quadcycle".