A few days ago, I noticed my plants drooping in the heat. We have not had a serious rain for many weeks. I decided to water the plants.
For years I have searched for the best hose, one that does not kink, does not break, is not heavy to carry, and is long enough for the whole yard. I have not yet found it. I’ve spent lots of money, probably too much, in the search. Early this season, I bought online a hose that looked like the answer. It is coiled, like the old time telephone cord, or the slinky toy. (For you who are younger than 30, look up these words in the dictionary.) I chose the bright purple one. The idea is that it wouldn’t kink because it was already coiled. The problem though, is that it gets tangled within itself, and requires untangling. It was supposed to revert quickly to its compact form, but what happens is that it is very difficult to stretch out. And it isn’t as long as I need it to be. Next, on the recommendation of a friend who has bought the newest thing, I went to an online site and succumbed to a “buy one, get one FREE!” plan. (I’m about ready to call it a “scam” instead of a “plan”) This hose has the remarkable quality of stretching out when charged with water, but shrinking when dry. When it was called “25 feet long” I thought it meant it was 25 feet doubling to 50 feet. In fact, it is 8 feet, going to 25. I chose the longest one, which is 50′ and then the site offered an even lower price than originally, to get the shorter one as well, so I did that. The problem is that you have to pay a shipping and handling cost for each one. Then, there is an offer of speeding up the shipping, to which I also succumbed. I paid $49.00 in these costs. So, I am reminded that nothing is FREE, except the grace of God. These newest hoses require their own special nozzle at the spraying end. I find the nozzle inferior to the one I already have, but that one doesn’t fit the end of the new hose. Also, you can’t leave the hose attached to the faucet, you must take it off and make sure it is dry each time you use it. I would send back this purchase, except I don’t want to pay that much shipping again.
Another problem at this house is that we have only one operating faucet outside the house — that is why I need so much hose. We replaced this faucet with a new “modern” one so that we can have some special valve on it. The result is that the hose will not attach securely to the faucet. Every time I turn on the water, much is wasted. I keep buckets under the faucet to collect most of the water, but still, some is sprayed on the driveway. I thought for some time that it was the fault of the hose, so I hoped this new hose would solve the problem, but the same thing happened. A neighbor suggested I get some washers (small round rubber rings) to put inside the hose, rather than think about changing the faucet. Good advice. For $1.49, I got a small package of 10 washers, a good deal, because I now have 7 hoses! This plan does cut down the water loss, but not completely. Besides the philosophical aspect of wasting the most precious thing in life, I have to consider that we pay for our water according to how much is used each month.
On the morning I decided to water the plants, first, I connected one hose to the rain barrel near the front yard, and watered everything in the front. When that barrel was empty, I connected the two oldest vinyl, easily kinked hoses,and attached one end to the faucet with the new washer in place. Then I attached the purple coiled one to these, with my own nozzle at the end. In theory, it is now 180′ of hose. (about 60 meters) I carried this long hose to the back yard, making sure there were no kinks, and that the hose was not breaking any plants in the area. Then I turned on the water, and started my task. A hose, even a garden hose, full of water is heavy. The purple one is awkward, and I have to keep moving it carefully to manage it properly. Having carried the hose all the way to the back of the yard, and back to the front, uncoiling, straightening, and lifting it to the plants, I was nearly finished with my task. As I was standing, watering my beautiful ferns and flowers, I was fussing in my mind about the inconvenience of my hoses, the placement of the faucet, and how hard it was to do the simple task of watering.
Suddenly, I realized there are people in the world who have NO WATER! No water for drinking, for washing, for daily life. These people walk for hours to find a source of water which is not clean, then they carry some home in a bucket. They have no plants for beauty. Although I eat from my vegetable garden, it is not my main source of food. My plants are entirely “extra” when we think of necessity. I was so ashamed of myself in that moment.
I came inside and sent a donation to Water For South Sudan. The website for this organization is www.waterforsouthsudan.org This is not a link, you must type it in for yourself. The founder of Water for South Sudan is Salva Dut. He was a “lost boy” of Sudan and came to the USA as a refugee. He goes to South Sudan and drills wells in villages. He has formed the organization in order to allow more people to participate in this task. We must never take for granted what we have, nor may we ignore the needs of others who have even less. If your life is convenient, give thanks. If you think it is not, think again.