More troubles... who needs water, anyway?

What a depressing and expensive week this has been.  I thought the “damn chainsaw” derailed things. Now the train has completely jumped the track and is hangin’ over the cliff with Pauline dangling from the cattle catcher!

Tonight, it’s raining again. Possible tornadoes not too far from here. I’ve not been able to take any pictures of what I’ve done. Once the weather stops dripping on us, I’m going to evaluate, further, my choice for the goat yard. I’ll have to check how soggy the ground gets, how the water drains. If there’s too much standing water from this soaking. There might be a better place.

But let’s back up and review the week that was.

Monday of last week started off normally. I went to work and later that day Faith and the kids were to go to town for shopping.  Sometime in the early afternoon, I get a phone call from my darling wife. There is no water at the house. Exactly what happened was, at the time, a mystery. I had water early in the morning, getting ready for work. Faith mentioned she started the dishwasher and had put a load of laundry in. Both seemed to be running fine when she left. Point of fact. We had no water.

Now, if you’re reading this, you probably live out in the country and you know about well water. It’s nice to know we don’t have to pay a city or county for water. At the same time, it’s a pain, because when things go wrong, you are responsible for fixing it or hiring someone to fix it.

So now, the process of elimination begins. Are all the faucets turned off? Yes. Is there any sign of water coming from under the house to indicate a pipe has blown? No <whew>. Is the breaker blown? No <possible problem>. After searching and searching, we can’t find the cause. Meanwhile, I had shut off the breaker to the well pump. If the pump had run dry, I don’t want the thing running 300’ below ground trying to suck air and burn up the motor.

Faith contacts a well company; Tuesday morning he comes out to inspect it. Unfortunately, he can’t get his truck to the well. The direct path from the driveway to the well has out back porch and a shed in the way. The other way has some “yard waste” of branches, and toys, etc., and it’s been raining, so he’s not wanting to go that way. He says he’s pretty sure the pump is blown, but can’t say for sure until he looks at it. He can’t say how much it’ll cost until he looks at it. ARGH! Meanwhile, I contact one of the local YMCA’s to see if we can get some sort of hardship access to their showers. The first phone number got me talking to a very supportive woman. However, she was in another city. The phone number I attached to the local YMCA went to a different one, not so local. The woman was able to give me the correct phone number, however. So, I called that number and after telling my tale of woe, yet again, I was put to someone’s voicemail because she was out for the day. Great.

So, we’re without water for a second day. Luckily, my workplace has a fitness room with shower facilities, so I can clean up there. Faith and the kids received multiple invitations from friends allowing her and the kids use of their water. Drinking water is coming from the local big-box store, and we were able to use the toilets by hauling up water from the creek… not fun, but necessary.

Wednesday and Faith had a friend agree to come out and help her with clearing a path to the well. After discovering the back porch is (thankfully) very securely installed in the ground, the clean up as much of the “yard waste” as they can before calling the well guy, again. Luck was with us that day, it had stopped raining around mid-morning. The guy came back out and was able to replace the well pump… to the tune of $$$$. OH MY!  I talked to a co-worker, who pays for water, to ascertain her average water bill.  It’ll take over two years before this pump pays for itself using her monthly bill as an average, not counting the electricity it takes to run the pump every month, the water purchased while it was out, etc. ARGH, again!

Any savings I had for goats, fencing, chainsaw repair, just went back into the general fund. Goat fund = $0. Is this something I am going to be able to accomplish?  I want goats. But the doubts creep up again. Can I really afford the care? Am I going to be able to look after them? Is it worth all this trouble and aggravation or do I end the blog now and go back to status quo?

That night at dinner, after all this frustration, no water for three days, massive expense and eating on Styrofoam plates for the better part of a week, my daughter asks at dinner, “So, how long until we get the goats?” It wasn’t unhappily asked; it wasn’t with a forlorn look or lack of conviction. She was simply looking for an update as part of normal dinner conversation. <sigh> Yep, we’re getting goats. This year, I told her, and we talked about it for a good five minutes or more.

I tried the chainsaw again Saturday after having it inside, instead of the shed. Nothing. Wouldn’t even begin to start. I pulled that cord and adjusted the choke. I checked the oil and gas and still nothing happened. I think it’s dead.

The YMCA has yet to call me back.