Sustainable Community Solutions

I vowed to my wife, Anne, that never again would I do anything as crazy as the Great Bridge Square Rain Barrel Extravaganza of 2006. I have more or less kept that vow, but that hasn’t ended my love affair with rain barrels made from genuine, fresh-from-the-distillery, Kentucky oak bourbon barrels.

The last of the semi-load of 288 bourbon barrels that were delivered to Bridge Square on Earth Day, 2006 were sold last summer (2007) through an arrangement with the ReUse Center Store in south Minneapolis. Unable to restrain myself, I made arrangements to purchase a batch of barrels directly from a Kentucky distillery this spring, albeit a more modest number this time (70) that I could transport myself in a large rental truck (see blog post below).

The barrels are now in Northfield, and I am again offering beautiful, durable oak rain barrels for sale to local customers (pickup in Northfield only; delivery available in a very limited area). The utilitarian benefits of rain barrels (prevention of stormwater runoff and resulting stream/river pollution; free water for houseplants, shrubs, trees and gardens) are expanded to include home and yard beautification with these barrels. Plastic rain barrels are an excellent, less-expensive alternative, but if you want the real deal, there’s no substitute for one of these long-lasting oak beauties.

Information on this year’s rain barrel offerings (pricing included) is available here. I hope you’ll consider joining the hundreds of others in the area who have taken the rain barrel plunge in the past few years! Try it–you’ll like it!