Ah, simple pleasures. Whenever Crawford manages to poop outside, we are elated.
"Crawford had a peepee and a poopoo outside this morning, daddy!"
"She's a good girl, mommy!" (Somewhere along the way, when it comes to the pets, we began to converse like Nancy and Ronnie Reagan.) Crawford can't really feel when the poopies are coming out, but walking around in the grass for awhile at certain times of the day helps to ensure "love dumps" as we call them in the grass, not on the rug. It helps, but there really are no guarantees. Still, she's a good girl and we love her and it's only poop. Shit. Everyone poops.
With our acid rain here in windward Hawaii, we have learned that it is unwise to drink our catchment water. The acid comes from Pele, as she spews forth noxious chemicals from her volcanic bowels. Those chemical then rain down and flow into our tank. The water must also be treated with very small amounts of chlorine to kill any bacteria or algae. I'm sure we're getting many fewer parts per million of chlorine in our drinking water than most folks drinking municipal tap water. Still, if feels weird to pour Clorox into your personal water supply. The acidity, whether from Pele or from urban industrial sources, not only makes the water an unhealthy beverage, but is also bad for your skin and hair and teeth. We bought a swimming pool pH tester kit yesterday and sure enough, our water is acidic. So, we must raise the pH level of our water, reducing that acidity. Doing this is as easy as added a cinder block to the tank. Apparently cement cinder blocks are made of calcium carbonate. It's sort of like a giant Tums. So there you go. I'm told that an old, dead and bleached piece of coral will do the trick, too. It is the coral reefs that keep the ocean at a constant pH of 8.2, which is slightly alkaline. That's what enables the oceans to sustain life. Kill off and/or remove all the coral and the ocean will become acidic and die. Another option is to add sodium bicarbonate. But adding enough of that to raise the pH level on a 10,000 gallon tank could be expensive. It would require more than several boxes of Arm and Hammer. Standard gardener's lime would work, too. That too is mostly calcium and pretty cheap. We may add a little of that initially, just to give us a kick start until the cinder block starts to disintegrate. Adding calcium to the water should also help us rinse off the soap a little easier. Pure rainwater, sans minerals, doesn't do such a hot job with that. I always feels like I've still got a slight film on my skin after stepping out of the shower. It seems like that soap residue could re-suds at the slightest provocation, like stepping back into the shower or into the rain. Just call me Ms. Bubble.
The things we learn living in the rainforest are invaluable. By the time I'm dead, I'm going to know so much, it's downright scary.
Ola a a'o.
Vive sed cognita.
(My spell checker doesn't like Hawaiian or Latin.)
Live and learn.
A hui hou. Aloha!
"Crawford had a peepee and a poopoo outside this morning, daddy!"
"She's a good girl, mommy!" (Somewhere along the way, when it comes to the pets, we began to converse like Nancy and Ronnie Reagan.) Crawford can't really feel when the poopies are coming out, but walking around in the grass for awhile at certain times of the day helps to ensure "love dumps" as we call them in the grass, not on the rug. It helps, but there really are no guarantees. Still, she's a good girl and we love her and it's only poop. Shit. Everyone poops.
With our acid rain here in windward Hawaii, we have learned that it is unwise to drink our catchment water. The acid comes from Pele, as she spews forth noxious chemicals from her volcanic bowels. Those chemical then rain down and flow into our tank. The water must also be treated with very small amounts of chlorine to kill any bacteria or algae. I'm sure we're getting many fewer parts per million of chlorine in our drinking water than most folks drinking municipal tap water. Still, if feels weird to pour Clorox into your personal water supply. The acidity, whether from Pele or from urban industrial sources, not only makes the water an unhealthy beverage, but is also bad for your skin and hair and teeth. We bought a swimming pool pH tester kit yesterday and sure enough, our water is acidic. So, we must raise the pH level of our water, reducing that acidity. Doing this is as easy as added a cinder block to the tank. Apparently cement cinder blocks are made of calcium carbonate. It's sort of like a giant Tums. So there you go. I'm told that an old, dead and bleached piece of coral will do the trick, too. It is the coral reefs that keep the ocean at a constant pH of 8.2, which is slightly alkaline. That's what enables the oceans to sustain life. Kill off and/or remove all the coral and the ocean will become acidic and die. Another option is to add sodium bicarbonate. But adding enough of that to raise the pH level on a 10,000 gallon tank could be expensive. It would require more than several boxes of Arm and Hammer. Standard gardener's lime would work, too. That too is mostly calcium and pretty cheap. We may add a little of that initially, just to give us a kick start until the cinder block starts to disintegrate. Adding calcium to the water should also help us rinse off the soap a little easier. Pure rainwater, sans minerals, doesn't do such a hot job with that. I always feels like I've still got a slight film on my skin after stepping out of the shower. It seems like that soap residue could re-suds at the slightest provocation, like stepping back into the shower or into the rain. Just call me Ms. Bubble.
The things we learn living in the rainforest are invaluable. By the time I'm dead, I'm going to know so much, it's downright scary.
Ola a a'o.
Vive sed cognita.
(My spell checker doesn't like Hawaiian or Latin.)
Live and learn.
A hui hou. Aloha!
Comments