Two things related to dirt

Interesting topic.  But two big stories in my life today that are related to dirt.

The good dirt news:
The test garden in buckets is growing!  Here's some latest pictures.

See the yellow squash growing?  We've got about 5 little ones just beginning to grow!

 

There is about 5 cucumbers growing......this one is the biggest.  He's about 6 inches long so far.

This tomato hasn't really grown much, but he hasn't turned red yet.  I see two new little baby tomatoes just starting to grow.

Here's the basil.  I will be harvesting some today so that it can grow nice and bushy.  We are planning Chicken Fried Rice for dinner.....and I think some fresh basil added to it will make it even more spectacular!

The cherry tomatoes (2 buckets) and the jalapenos are growing really well.  I think I'll probably see some blooms on them soon.  Still also waiting for the watermelon, red peppers, and zucchini to start growing veggies.

Cris will be in charge of watering the garden while we're gone.  Luckily, he has an interest in it and is always checking on it when he comes over to see what is growing.  OMG......I've turned into a garden nerd!

The bad dirt news:
Our house is collapsing into a sinkhole!  No, that's not the news.....and hopefully it never will be.

Actually, the sewer line underneath the sidewalk in our side yard apparently has a leak in it and is sucking the dirt into it and causing a problem with our sidewalk.

We have had to call the county a couple of times in the last two months to try and get someone out here to fix it.  The one slab of sidewalk has fallen at least 6 inches.

They finally came out this week and caution taped off the area and told us they would be bringing a crew out with a machine to lift the slabs, repair the sewer lines, fill in the dirt that is missing which makes the sidewalk all wavy, and then they'll put our sidewalk back to a nice walkway again.

Apparently the sewer lines that they put in when the neighborhood was new in 1982, they did a bad job and they have been collapsing all over the neighborhood.  It's not uncommon to see 3 ft. wide sink holes along the street that they have blocked off.  A few slabs down from here, we had a problem about 5-6 years ago.  They supposedly repaired the sewer line (I don't think so) and then they poured some cement in the crack of the sidewalk so the water wouldn't drain down there.  I believe because they didn't do a good job before, the problem is now worse and there is more repair involved.

We'll see how long it takes them to come out and finish this job.

Ok, I'm out of here.......got some things to do before we go on VACATION!