This morning there was no running water. Luckily, a nice man came right away to assess the problem. It turned out to be a pretty big one, as far as these things go. The well pump was broken. Finding the pump was the first issue. For a while he thought it may have been under the patio or even worse, under the driveway pavement. Good thing it wasn’t. He said the problem with old farmhouses is that there’s a lot of buried metal and his pump locater gets thrown off. Once he had a good idea where the pump might be, he started digging with a shovel but things got complicated and the man had to get a backhoe. He ran over an electricity line but it only went to the garage and nobody got hurt. Codes have changed since the pump was last replaced in 1979. Things will have to be set up differently. If all goes well, I should have water next week some time. Now, it’s late in the day and the nice man is still out there digging with the backhoe. This pump is down deep, I guess. It could have been worse. I’m glad it didn’t break a couple months ago when the snow was 3 feet high. We would have had to wait til the frost table went down and that would have caused a cascade of home owner disasters.. frozen pipes, heating and plumbing problems… Best to count blessings at this point.
handmade. homegrown. beautiful life 
Praying for a quick resolve to your problem or at least as painless as possible.
LikeLike
Thanks, Judy. I think I got really lucky with the company we called. Its a small , local business. He was here all day and coming back tomorrow–a Sunday! I feel relieved to have someone here that i have confidence in and feel comfortable with.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Sorry to hear; hope you have an alternative source of water. We used to have water restrictions when I was growing up in Hong Kong. Water supply was reduced to once every four days, but the squatters in the slums had to share one tap and line up for water that they could carry.
LikeLike
it’s amazing all the things that are so taken for granted. There’s a river across the street from me that I can fill jugs up with for flushing the toilet and water my seeds with. I’ll just fill big jars from my friend’s house and stick them in the fridge for drinking and cooking and washing. Thanks, Mary! Glad to get the Hong Kong perspective too! this is nothing, really:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
On no
LikeLiked by 1 person
ugh. $$$
LikeLiked by 2 people
Whoa. Sorry to hear about that, but really cool to hear about the old farmhouse and metal and all of that! Around here, no one can dig unless the electric people come & mark all electrical lines. Glad to hear no one was hurt. I suppose you’ll just make an adventure out of it all 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks! I find all kinds of things buried in the ground just by digging gardens. I saved a lot of them. Maybe that would be a good post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely. We’d love to see what you’ve found!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ugh, indeed. But as you say, it will only be a few days without water – fingers crossed that it isn’t too difficult (or expensive) to fix
LikeLiked by 1 person
3 to 4 thousand dollars so far… Could have been a lot more if it was under the driveway. Hoping there’s no more surprises!
LikeLike
I’d like to see what you found, too. I always save everything I find and keep it as a memory of that house. I once found a “spooner” under the front porch of my farmhouse in Wisconsin. How did that get there? Yes, the Hong Kong story helps one keep their perspective, and what you said about taking things for granted, still, it isn’t fun!
The money bit is a stone, cold drag.
LikeLike
Wow! That’s a doozy of a surprise. You sound like you are handling it beautifully. That is a big part of what allows for living a beautiful life. Kudos to you. Good luck with everything. Let’s hear it for local small businesses and the exemplary service they are able and willing to provide!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks, John! I was really anxious when the water dribbled away to nothing. Inconvenience I can deal with and money is an issue that always seems to work out, pretty used to that, lol. I appreciate this business and the way that this man has handled everything very much. Perfectly said..”lets hear it for local small businesses and the exemplary service they are able and willing to provide!” so admirable, very heartening.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I feel your pain. The pipes to our old farm house pipes froze for nearly two months this winter. Luckily we had a frost free spigot at the pump house so we could haul water. Good luck!
LikeLike
Thanks, Dan! Geez, hauling water for 2 months through this freezing, snowy winter sounds horrible. Pretty sure I would not have been a good sport for very long if I had to do that.
LikeLike
I hope it gets fixed soon
LikeLike
Thank you
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, dear, I do hope it’s fixed as quickly as possible. We really do miss those things we take for granted when they go away!
LikeLike
So glad the pump didn’t go in the winter. Oh, my word! Our pump is down cellar, so when it goes, replacing it will not be that difficult. However, I know that not all wells can handle such a pump. Anyway, may the pump repair go quickly and well!
LikeLiked by 2 people
That is a good thing, especially with your long winters. Thank you. Things have a way of working out 🙂
LikeLike
Yes – our well pump is in the cellar as well – good thing, too. I has broken 2 or 3 times in the 20 years we have lived here. We have so much iron in the water that it goops things up. Glad we don’t have to go digging every time.
LikeLike