14 Apr The Making of a Well & Memories
Water is an essence of life, and little do we realize how much we are dependent on its availability…that is, until we decide to live off grid, and are not always near a body of water…
Suddenly, we are ‘filling’ our kitchen sink only one third; wetting a face cloth, not letting the tap run; using a cup to rinse while brushing teeth; wetting our bodies, turning off the water, soaping up, then rinsing…and still, our 65 gallon tank doesn’t last more than two days! I mean, we do not limit our drinking water, and yes, we do use water in food preparation, but goodness! We never before realized how much water we use daily!
All that to say that we saw a definite need for a well. And so, we decided to add this undertaking to our list of homesteading jobs. (Right from the beginning, our goal was to live in our bus conversion/ RV, so that we could be on the move, but also to simply enjoy being mortgage and utility-bill free, and hopefully find a piece of land that we could homestead whenever we weren’t travelling.)
Step one:
Fern is a Diviner! He just loosely held two bent metal rods, and let the flow of water (or electricity gives the same effect) pull the rods in the right direction. Contrary to medieval beliefs, this is not witchcraft 😉
Step two:
Fern is a shopper 😉
Here is the list of supplies we have, so far:
3/4" metal pipes with standard thread, at 72" each - we purchased 5
3/4" couplings for joining pipes
3" PVC piping, at 10' each - we purchased 3
1" PVC piping, at 10' each - we purchased 3
One way check valve
Muscle power and determination are priceless, and totally necessary!
(Keep in mind, that we haven’t decided on our pump yet, and may change the piping to 4″, as well as switch the 1″ piping for hose… We are learning as we go…)
Step three:
Fern is a work horse! I helped too 🙂
And then, our work was stopped, just like that, when our daughter informed us that she was heading into the birthing clinic to have her first baby, and our sixth grandchild! We gladly dropped everything to head to Quebec to meet our awaited second granddaughter! After all, isn’t that what our lifestyle promotes? And so, these makers n movers, are making a well, but also, making memories, because 30 years ago, we decided that making our family was important!
Relationships are an essence of life! We depend on each other, like water, for enjoyment and survival! I would like to think that we have put as much effort into the lives of those we love, as we put into our homesteading life. I know my husband put his back into working for our family, and put his passion into loving our daughters! I have had fun working alongside Fern in the making of our well, so far, and I know that I have had fun and loved working on our family for the past 30 years… We aren’t finished with either endeavor… Water and people – the making of a well, and memories.
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