Time for Irrigation

With an above average April for rain, I finally turned the irrigation on last week.  In 2012, it was done at the end of March.

 

 

Before we can start turning on sprinklers, there are a few things to be done first.  The intake pipe was attached several weeks ago.  Several gauges and tubes were then reattached in the pump house.  The intake pipe must be primed.  This involves using a small sump pump to fill the intake line.  We then turn on the jockey pump and slowly fill the miles of pipe.  Jose runs around with quick coupler keys and lets air out of the lines as they fill with water.  When the pipes are full and pressurized, I can start checking each heads.  This process takes several hours.

 

This year went great.  No broken heads or pipes.  This means we had a successful blow out.  If we don't get all the water out, broken pipes will result.  We had a few heads stick on.  Jose usually flushes out valves and they are ready to go.

New flower bed at # 8 tee.

 

Our old red and blue flags were replace with donations by a couple of members.  We also got new flag sticks for the front nine.  With a limited budget, these donations have helped immensely.