01.01.70
Saturday October 7, 2006 at 04:00 pm
Once again I’ve been humbled by things out of my control. Think of something really gross. Something you hope to never have to deal with. Something you would save for the special someone in your life….What is it? A Septic Tank.
To be specific OUR SEPTIC SYSTEM. 
There are several troubling things in this picture. The first is ‘manhole ports’. When I think of port I think of cruise, this is not any type of cruise I would want to go on.
Secondly is ’scum’. I have know a few scum in my life, usually male scum….and as a result of finding out the true meaning of ‘full’ I’ve seen scum in the past 24 hours (smelled it too!)
Sludge…I cannot think of anything I would associate with the word sludge that wouldn’t be unpleasant….it was.
In a perfect world, which apparently is not located in my yarn, a septic system is one of those things you have but don’t think about. Apparently I’ve learned that they usually last for about 30 years. Our house is 32 years old.
To be a septic pumper person you must have a good grasp on reality or a good sense of humor or look at the glass (or septic tank) as half empty, not half full. Unfortunately our tank was neither half full or empty….it was full to the top and overflowing. But the good news the pumper-guy said is the tank is in good shape, how did he know, he stuck his head down inside through that manhole cover. The bad news is after the tank was empty, the leach field drained back into the tank for 4 hours. I’ve not checked this morning but my guess is it is still dripping. Thinking on the positive side, I hope all this back drain will give the leach field time to dry out before the downpour rains start and saturate the ground.
Long story short, I now have two more holes in the back yard to go with the many others dug by our dog who hears mysterious noises underground and feels it is her duty to dig and investigate. Therefore, when I walk outside I can trip and sprain my ankle almost everywhere I walk. I also have a very green side yard. If I were paying attention I would have realize that without rain for the past 3 months there is no way my yard would look so green and my neighbor’s hedge should not have grown 4 feet this summer.
Yes, our leach field has failed and we are looking at a few bucks to repair/dig the lines.
I sure hope it will last until next summer.
In the mean time I’m monitoring who is going when and how long they are spending in the shower. Just call my the potty patrol. What a lovely thought.