It doesnt get any better than this

We are on our annual family vacation at the beach house here in California. This is not your typical beach house-we are not on the sand- but on a small cliff-overlooking the amazing ocean- our days are spent out on the deck- counting seagulls, watching Sea Otters playing and feeding their young, Seals playing, and if we're lucky spotting a pod of Dolphins touring up the coast. The living room of this house is wall to wall windows- so even on those foggy, chilly days-we can sit on the worn, soft, supple leather couches and watch the "show" from inside. It is amazing!!! It is a place where we can unwind, spend time with loved ones, and re-center ourselves and our life with our Creator. Here are some pictures from the deck. The kids each have their own pair of "nocculars" to watch the sea life- enjoy....

Rain-catching for my balcony and ingenious passive watering system

I showed my balcony garden passive watering design to a Melbourne greywater expert. Showing smart people average designs is a good thing to do, because he made it better. Then he made it... The whole thing.

Balcony water catching design suggestions by a Melbourne Greywater designer
Passive balcony water-catching design
Click on image to enlarge image, and see what I did wrong. Its worth it.
The Designers ideas give the fish a peaceful life in downpours. They make things sleek, and take out my overprecautiuons: any heavy pollutants will mostly accumulate in the outlet tap's pipe for me to clean out each year. I like how his re-positioning of the in-pipe, and moving way up of the overflow, allows the in-pipe to become water storage space, giving me many extra liters of capacity. That means I can take a 4 week Christmas holiday, instead of three and a half, and still come home to happy plants.


Cecilia's July balcony 'Before'




its in, and collecting water. The wetpot watering system and pond are still to come.
Its Practical, but you couldn't say its pretty.
Never fear, I have an idea. Something like this: