Rain gauge & water pump

Rain Gauge

We had rain for a couple of days in a row. It was too bad for the kids going out to trick-or-treat. 

I'm glad I didn't drain the water barrel. The fresh water is good in the goldfish pond. We've a few frogs in it. I want them to be able to hibernate.

 I enjoy keeping track of rainfall. Stratus is the gauge I have used for years. It is 'built to US Weather Service standards.' Some of the professionals have them. The first one I bought is from 2015.

2015

 

I taped it for a few years. The tape just falls off. The funnel keeps falling out of line. Which doesn't matter too much, as it captures it at the bottom. But in the dark, in a rain storm, it is irritating!

I've dropped it, on very cold days, and cracked my original kit. I've cracked the larger cylinder, too.

I put it on my wish list one year. It was available from Lee Valley Tools. No more. Looking for a new one, the prices shocked me. (Have you heard about tariffs?!) Yes, the consumer pays them.

This is about what we paid awhile back, this one isn't available. I clicked on the link, and it gave me a 404 message. They are out of stock, I suppose.

Once I began searching for it, it would pop up in my google ads, of course. But I'm not shopping at Walmart or Wayfair anymore. Not with tariffs, and billionaires profiting off the items.

Wayfair

Even on American sites it is out of stock.
With the exchange rate, it would be $65.85 CAD, plus shipping.

Amazon

Also Amazon. A knock-off, methinks.
That, I do not trust.

I ended up doing a better job of my repair. Several layers of clear packing tape. Whatever that doohickey is named around the rim reinforced it. 

Bird bath

Another problem with Amazon. I am trying to avoid it, going to the publisher or manufacturer's websites directly. Canada doesn't make these products, though. There was a simple pump that lasted 10+ years. The pumps helps stop mosquitoes laying eggs in the water. They like still water.

I first bought it in 2020, and then in 2023. It lasted two years. Not bad for something that lives in water 24/7. We have terribly hard water.

I ordered a replacement pump/light from Amazon. 

This is what they sent. No fancy LED lights. I have complained, twice. Once to the seller, once to Amazon. They don't seem to care. 

They can't get it right. Some weirdo seller. That's up to me. I should have checked it out. I am culpable.