Nice, I went to their web

Nice, I went to their web site and left them a question, nice that your layout was used in the add, sounds like you have arrived.

Rob in Texas

Rob

Nice of you to say, Rob.  I don't know about "arriving" though.  After working outside the last several days installing a fountain and hauling in several hundred pounds of river rock for our back yard, I'm feeling more like I'm ready to "depart". 

You keep that up, Joe

Some darned talented people

In Texas we call those things

In Texas we call those things mosquito ranches, it seems any moisture that hits the ground and remains is enough to hatch another blood thirsty hoard in a few days. I think I will be doing a yard spray with insecticide on the 6th. Never eliminates them but does cut down on them a bit.

Over heard at the local feed store "This should do a good job of controlling your fire ants". " I don't want to control them!, I want to kill them, every one of them!"

Rob in Texas

Paul and Rob

Ha!  Feels that way for sure!

Those ISE and Designgrid guys really know their stuff.  Besides their day jobs and the groundbreaking things they're doing at ISE, Michael and Nathan have been responsible for the IAISrailfans site since it's inception, kindly donating their time, work, and hardware for the benefit of the rest of us.  As for Designgrid, Scott made the process of shooting the photo about as easy as it gets, and I think he's got a great feel for what just looks "right" in the layout of the finished ad.  The whole crew couldn't have been easier to work with.

I was really hoping the water movement in the fountain was enough to ward off any mosquitos!  If I'm wrong, I'm not sure I want to know. 

The fountain is fine, it's

The fountain is fine, it's the damp ground around the thing that does it.

Rob in Texas

Rob, wouldn't a concrete

Joe might not need it up in

Joe might not need it up in his neck of the woods. If a rain happens and the grass stays wet for a few days they seem to come boiling out of the grass when walking on it, I 've never seen anything like it anywhere else. Now if only the mosquitos would feed on fire ants or the other way around we would have something. As it is we have two of the most irritating critters in the country, right behind politicians, and news media in abundance in Texas.

Just means there is more reason to stay in and work on the model railroad, something I think I will head down to the club to do right now, see y'all later. By the way maybe I should have used the plural of y'all since this is such a high grade literary publication, all y'all.

Rob in Texas

Fountain overflow

I had kind of a sick feeling when I read this.  Our fountain didn't come with installation instructions, so I just went with what I found on-line.  None of the sites I found mentioned water overflowing the lip of the fountain, and the thought of having to manage it just never occurred to me before now.  The fountain is only about the size of a large birdbath, and sits in the middle of a 6-7' circle of weed cloth topped with river rock, along with a half-dozen boxwoods.  Directly underneath the fountain base itself is about a 3" layer of paver sand beneath a 2" concrete slab, both just slightly larger than the base.

It's already in place now, but if I notice any erosion under the lip of the fountain bowl, I was thinking I could install an overflow drain by drilling a hole in the back of the bowl near the lip, inserting and sealing a garden hose in the hole, and then running the hose down the back of the fountain (out of view from the house, neighbors, and most of the yard) and into the ground, exiting and emptying into a drain about 15' away.  

What say ye, fountain experts?  Any advice you'd care to offer through the Contact form would be greatly appreciated.  And does it count as hijacking if I started the thread to begin with? 

Joe, you should be fine with

Joe, you should be fine with what you have. The moisture I was referring to is the splashing moisture that mists away in the breeze and creates a damp area around the fountain. Anything that hits the paver sand should percolate into the soil in your area unlike our soil in East Texas which is referred to as black land. It is a very deep clay and does not drain well, and is acidic and has a high shrink swell rate. If you have done things well you should not have an overflow issue at all. A small amount of bleach into the water from time to time should also prevent the growth of algae and bacteria and keep all your little hoses working fine.

We introduce that into our air conditioner condensate pans to keep them running freely something I never had to do when I lived North of the Mason Dixon Line.

Rob in Texas