Our Tanks Arrived this Morning

Our two 1,600 gallon potable water tanks arrived this morning (3,200 gallons total). We intend to begin collecting rain water off our roof for future use as a backup system in the event of TEOTWAWKI ("the end of the world as we know it"). My good friend Jerry Hawkins helped me off load the two tanks from the 18 wheeler's 48' van. Following Jerry's lead and his good old boy common sense allowed both tanks to be off loaded in 10 minutes. They are approximately 6' tall and 7.5' in diameter. The dark green color discourages alge growth although you have to add a little bleach periodically to kill the critters that will grow. We will filter our drinking water through our British Berkfeld ("Big Berky") ceramic filter... the one I bought during y2k (false alarm but otherwise instructive).I need to prepare the pad next to the west wall of the house so the tanks will have a level and smooth place to sit (I'll hide them behind a 6' stockade fence). Next I have to tie the gutters into PVC pipe and connect it to the respective fittings at the top of each tank which will allow the rain water to flow into the tank. Fortunately, I was able to buy the bulk of the stuff I need to tie the gutters into the PVC pipe this afternoon at Home Depot. Next I'll need to hook up a pipe to the bottom of each tank and run it underground into the house where it will be tied into our home's existing plumbing system. I'll pressurize the water with a pump run by a small solar panel/battery setup. It would have been nice to have a creek or a pond on our property but this will suffice if the facets run dry.
Alexis continues to work hard in her square foot gardens. I built her 3 more 4' X 4' boxes last week which still have to be filled with dirt, compost and COARSE vermiculite (the capitalization of COARSE is an inside joke between us about last year's small crop of $57.13/each tomatoes... expensive but tasty). Speaking of tomatoes here is this year's attempt to grow a tomato plant upside down in a contraption that looks like this. It's hard to see in this picture but the tomato plant is growing out a hole in the bottom.