Rain Barrel

We bought a rain barrel a while back and we finally got it set in place. I disliked the color. So, I spray painted it with Krylon Fusion (Satin Burgandy). It took three coats of paint to get it a nice color and coverage.

Dan cut the gutter (spout) to the height it needed to be and set it on a couple of cinder blocks. He filled the blocks with the dirt/sand he dug up. We will be surrounding it with stones or something similar so that it will not look so ugly.

It rained three days later. By the way, I had placed the rock in the plant area to weigh it down as I feared the gusts of wind we often get would blow it away.

It was full two hours later! I was shocked at how quickly it filled up.

The temperatures went down to below freezing overnight and the water froze.

Since then, I have discovered that the birds treat it like a bird bath. My Mockingbird would land on the rim to get a drink and the smaller birds such as the finches would land on the rock to get a drink.

Overall, I am quite pleased with the thing and attracting birds is a plus. (The feeders are nearby).

We have since purchased another rain barrel. I am planning to spray paint it in the satin Terra Cotta color soon. We have not quite decided on where to place it. We currently have three options: 1) In front of the house where we are going to eventually turn an useless area that is a pain-in-you know what to mow into garden area (it will be part of the garden), 2) behind the "hangar" (detached garage) where there is another gutter or 3) beside this first rain barrel and connect them together.