Day 10: Knot to be

The waterworks of today's work began with the complete failure of taking today off, as I was scheduled to do so. I just got a day off, I didn't really want another so soon! Instead, I woke up at the normal time, ate breakfast with everyone then rolled out my pool and prototyped my experiment. I think the wooden poles across the pool and wedged in the cracks works really well. I just need to perfect exactly which knots to use to attach the containers to the pole. So out comes my rock climbing knowledge...

My Knots to be used:

For the first knot, I'm going to use a bowline knot (this website is amazing - it shows step by step animations which you can then rotate or flip if your particular situation is not what the first animation shows - so helpful!). It's a really versatile knot that will take a good hold on one end. It allows me to wrap the string around something, in this case the pole, anchoring the string so I can wrap it around the container. It doesn't loosen or jam which will be beneficial since the string will be submerged in water.

So much easier with a climbing rope.
Using skinny string is a bit more difficult.

Second knot is actually a hitch: A half hitch. This just lets me wrap around the pole between containers and have some tightening capacity. I might not use this is I need to space out the containers a bit more. In which case I will instead use...

The thing with the half hitch is that there really has to be a load on
both sides to get it to stay,  but that's why I choose it!

The third knot: Two half hitch. A hitch really isn't a knot. A knot gets tightened and stays tightened, it's fixed. A hitch can be adjusted, or it can move after it is tied. At least that's what Dave taught me when I learned the essential rock climbing knots and hitches. A Two half hitch is just what it sounds, wrap the rope around the object your attaching to, then make a half hitch (like an overhand knot, the one everyone can make!) and then make another half hitch to finish it off. This is still adjustable, but it locks the end in so if the load is from the middle of the rope, it just tightens the hitch!

The double half hitch reminds me of the clove hitch, doesn't it?
I'm glad I'm getting some knot practice, so I can get right back into
outdoor climbing when I get back south (if I still have the arm strength
- definitely going to have to build up those climbing callouses again!)

While I was doing this outside, a white-crowned sparrow kept skipping up to me. Maybe 3 feet away, it would tilt it's head, give me a look, peck the ground a few times, then look back up at me. "Food?" Since white-crowned sparrows don't winter here, I suspect that it's a migrant from somewhere that has a large human population where it can beg food by being it's adorable self. I love the head though, that white stood out so well against the drab day we had here today (before the rain in the afternoon!) like it was bringing the bright and sunny south up to Churchill on the top of it's head. That little guy really did brighten my day!