The compost heap grows day by day as I am continuing to clear the
beds for whatever spring planting we want to do.  Since the
destruction of the compost bin, I have elected just to make a
heap with all kitchen scraps along with weeds and grass pulled
from the garden beds.  The kitchen scraps which might be
particularly enticing I toss off in a remote area a good distance
from the house.  I think we have reached an agreement with the
local quadrapeds that they are welcome to whatever they want from
the compost pile provided they leave the trash can alone
although, admittedly I have to take some measures to enforce that
agreement. *chortle*

Marigolds have been planted in containers.  The container roses are
blooming profusely possibly due to the heavy winter rains as well
as the banana peels we had been adding to the soil.  Stepping out
on the deck in the early morning hours, one can catch the
fragrance of the roses.  Tomatoes have been planted, however it
has not been very warm so most of the plants are not doing much
right now.  We're hoping for warmer weather soon. 

Lots of projects on my plate right now, which at times seems
overwhelming, but setting priorities is important.  Water
security is an on going issue, so obviously that line item gets
pushed to the front. It appears I am going to have to take the
bull by the horns, so to say, and tackle this one myself.
Luckily, I have found some helpful online tools as well as some
apps that will be of some help.  Now that we are long past peak
oil and are easing into post oil, it is important to give some
thought to these things.  As the years and decades march on, 
our brief tryst with fossil fuels and industrial society that
came in it's train is going to sputter out.  We are already
seeing the stirrings of that reality.  The following analysis of
why Saudi Arabia is selling a minority stake in Aramco is case in
point:

http://tinyurl.com/n79jmb4

I am sure the decline in production will take time to manifest in
full measure.  I may not even see the full effects in my own
lifetime, but over the long term, it will have profound effects,
but I digress as usual.

Getting back to the water situation, as I had probably mentioned
earlier, probably the most cost efficient solution will be to
install a solar slow pump that simply pumps when the sun is
available.  Since a storage tank is already in place, we can
manage for quite some time if there is no sun for an extended
period during the rainy season.  The next trick is to get the
water from the tank up to the house.  Admittedly, I am addicted to
conveniences such as indoor running water.