Tulips In The Daisy Patch

A week or so ago, I purchased a small pot of tulips at Trader Joe's. I had no idea what color they would be.

This was something of a surprise. Most of the tulips in the neighborhood are red.

I planted the tulips in our daisy bed, which is in a half-barrel planter that sits atop one of the two access hatches over our septic tanks. Yes, there are septic tanks in suburban Sacramento County.

I could pretend to be a really fanatical recycler ;-) but the truth is I didn't learn the house had a septic tank until the county's first utility bill arrived and I noticed there was no charge for sewer service.

It took awhile first to confirm we were not connected to the sewer and then to locate the septic tank. We thought it was the cause of a really dark green patch of grass in the back yard. You know the saying: The grass is always greener over the septic tank. But it turned out to be in the front yard. The Wife and I considered forcing the previous owners to pay to connect us to the sewer since they had not disclosed that the house was on a septic system. But we decided instead just to have them pay to verify that the septic tank and associated distribution system were in good working order.

About five years after moving in we called someone to pump out the tanks. That's when we discovered we couldn't remember exactly where they were. The access hatches over the two tanks are buried about three feet below the surface. In five years, there was no sign of where we had dug before. So after the septic tank guy found the access ports and pumped the tanks, I purchased and installed extensions that put the access closer to the surface. I then purchased a couple of half-barrel planters and positioned those on top of the access lids.

Which brings us back to the daisies and the tulips.


Day 103 of 365