A brief history lesson on the well for this farm. 15 or so years ago, not long after Neta and I were married, we came down for a family visit. The first night I became very ill, from both ends to put it mildly. The next trip it happened again. I wasn't eating or drinking anything different than anyone else in the family. Why was I the only one getting sick?
After we left Neta's dad decided to have the water tested. If this was CSI, this would be a bloody fingerprint with the killer's DNA and a flashing neon sign saying "THE WATER DID IT!!!" The test came back showing the well water contained fecal coliform...because the well and the septic were separated by less than 50 feet. Did you know that you can build up an immunity to fecal coliform? I didn't. Neta's family was immune and my tender little tummy wasn't. Safe to say the well was soon moved across the yard.
Fast forward to the present. We had a couple of minor freezes the second year we lived here and had to thaw a couple of pipe joints with a hair dryer. Along with that, in the summer time our "cold" water is pretty warm coming from the tap because the tank is baking in the sun. We needed a pump house.
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| The basic frame with a slanted roof |
Construction was scheduled for early 2019, but as you know we decided to get chickens/guineas and build a coop with the lumber we bought. Priorities! Finally this past November, a week before Thanksgiving, construction began.
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| All of the studs are in place on the sides. The ends won't have any studs. |
The main framing didn't take long, just a couple of days over two weekend's time. Once the framing was in place, it was only a couple of hours to put the siding on.
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| Both sides and the back end are covered. |
I added basic rafters to the roof and crossed them with additional lumber to support the overhang of the roof. We needed roof material and as we always say around here, "the farm will provide". It did. We grabbed some metal roofing that was siding on our picnic shelter down by the big pond, cut it to size and screwed it in place.
It's pretty simple construction because if we ever have to have work done on the well, we need quick and easy access, both from the ends and the roof. The roof is screwed down just enough to hold it in a high wind, but can easily be removed. The ends are built to slide in/out from either side.
We're pretty happy to have this project marked off of our 2019 list. It will get painted and trim will be added once warmer weather comes back. We'll also install a hose bib to the outside so we can run the hose to plants/shrubs/trees that are further afield in the Goat Garden.
On to the next project...whatever that ends up being.
CHRISTMAS BONUS...
This morning I went out to the chicken coop to put some "decoy eggs" in the nesting boxes. This was to give the chickens a signal of where they should be nesting when the time comes. I placed two eggs in each of the two nesting boxes. As I turned around to leave...lo and behold...a Christmas miracle! There was a clutch of 9 light blue eggs in the opposite corner of the coop. I ran into the house and brought Neta out to show her. I should have taken a picture of them while still in the coop, but didn't. You'll have to settle for the "after" picture.
Our Easter Egger chickens have started...
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| A little early for Easter. It's our Christmas eggs! |
Merry Christmas to all of our readers!!!
