New Rain Barrels!

Do you ever notice how you tend to sleep in when the sun isn't shining in the morning? Well... thats my reasoning for sleeping in this morning. When I woke up at a modest 10am, I walked the dog, and regretted not grabbing my jacket, brrrr! Yesterday and the day before I was battling the heat, and today its like the tundra outside! I haven't seen a break in cloud all day, and it feels like a mist is in the air - You know, when its not raining, but you still get wet...

Anywho, I was actually hoping for more of a downpour, since yesterday Mikey and I invested in some new rain barrels! Now, we have been shopping around for a while, checking out all the home and garden centers, looking for a barrel that wasn't too flashy, that was safe, simple to use, and reasonably priced. Well... if you too have been looking around, you probably have noticed that the typical price range is anywhere from $80-$150 for a good sized, screen and spigot included barrel.

Recently, I posted a video on my Facebook page on how to build your own rain barrel, for most likely a fraction of the cost. Well, we also checked out all of our local building and garden centers for food quality barrels or drums that we could turn into our own rain barrels. Well... no one had any. Actually, while I was calling UFA to see if they had just barrels or drums, the lady that answered informed me that they have rain barrels - already made with everything included, for $55. .. ... $55??!! Sounded a bit too good to be true, but Mikey and I decided to check them out anyway.

To say the least, they are AWESOME! They are large and made with thick black plastic, they are recyclable, and seem to be of very high quality. They include a lid with a screen built in, and a shut off valve with hose connection at the bottom. They don't have any fancy, cheap, or tacky design like fake woodgrain, and they hold about 45 gallons. I like the fact that they are black, so that the water can warm up a bit inside too. Here are some pictures:

This barrel is in the back yard, on the south west corner of the house. It's kind of in between the house and a tree, so when you're hanging out at the fire pit, you cant even see it! I know that it looks like the contraption we have under it looks kind of unstable, but it isn't! We tested it!

In the front yard, this barrel is at the North East corner of the house, along the side walkway. Ive noticed that this downspout usually gets a fair amount of water - mostly because it takes care of the entire front of the house! When you look at it from the front yard, it kind of hides behind the little bush that is growing there in front of it - in a year or two, I'm sure we wont even see it!