Wet Sundial

As you walk by the mosaic sundial site this weekend, you might see this:


What is this ? Does it look like I am attempting a Cristo-style installation of wrapping the sundial? No, actually, it is wrapped up with a weighted-down tarp to keep the sundial dry.





There has been an inch or more of water on the sundial every morning. We have not been having lots of precipitation: it seems that the sundial is in the rain shadow of the powerful sprinklers that are used to water the bluegrass. The lawn that had been damaged by the construction of the Outdoor Classroom has been re-seeded, and the baby grass seedlings need to be watered twice a day. Unfortunately, the Sundial also gets watered heavily twice a day.


Why does that matter? Well, we are affixing tiles to the cement base with a thin-set morter that needs to dry for at least 24 hours before it gets wet again.







The tarps that were lightly covering the sundial were not weighted down enough, and the jet of water from the sprinkler found a way under the tarps and soaked the tiles. The tiles are now popping off randomly, and I am concerned that the tiles we set on will not be secure.












In a week or two I hoped to grout and seal the entire sundial. Obviously this is impossible if it gets soaked daily.

So, until we can change something about the direction or frequency of the sprinklers, the mosaic sundial will NOT be available for viewing--except when we daily unwrap it (a process which takes at least a half an hour of hard work).