Welcome to Antler Valley Farm

The Well

Once we decided that we were going to get started on the property we wanted to keep the ball rolling.  We thought that putting in the well was the next logical step for us.  So….

We were given the name of a guy in Marion who came highly recommended.  He called us on a Saturday morning in early March and asked to meet us out at the farm.  Of course we would!!  We dropped everything and rushed out there and waited…. patiently, of course.  Well, we tried to be as patient as we could anyway!

He arrived a few hours later and discussed possible sites for the well and prices.  He put us on the schedule and said he would call in about 2 weeks.  Well, just as the weather affects everything else, it affects the work of well drillers too.  So, 2 weeks turned into 3.  Then, 3 weeks turned into 4.  At the beginning of April he called to say he was one job away from us.  We were next on the list!  Whoo-hoo.  Apparently other people have plans that don’t work either because he called to tell us that he was having to drill for water in multiple places on that job.  It was taking longer than he expected.  Okay.  We tried to wait patiently.  It helped that we weren’t paying that bill!!

He called in the middle of April and said he was finishing that job and he would be at our place in 2 days.  YES!!  Jim rearranged his schedule so we could watch the well be drilled.  We had never seen a well drilled before so we really wanted to watch!

Plans changed.  Again.  A recurring theme for us…

The well guy called the next evening and explained that a previous client had called and had an emergency.  His client owned over 20 greenhouses and was out of water.  His well was empty and his greenhouses were his source of income.  The well guy wanted to ask if he could go there first and then come to our place.  Of course, we had to agree.  We aren’t heartless monsters.  Just impatient ones.

That job took only 3 days and then he called on a Thursday afternoon and said he was headed to our property.  Jim was pulling in the driveway when he called so it was perfect timing!!  Jim changed vehicles and headed out there.  I got supper ready, packed it in the picnic basket, fed the animals, loaded up the kids and we headed that way too.

By the time I got there, they had already moved the well site from where we had decided it would go.  The ground there was too soft from the underground power lines that had been put in only a few weeks earlier.  I was more than a little anxious about that.  Already it seemed to be the start of another Carter Crazy story so I tried to mentally prepare myself.

We were really hoping that since we seemed to have water and underground springs everywhere that the well would be a miracle.  You know, maybe they would hit water at like 30 feet or so.  That could happen, right?!?!?  I mean, wouldn’t that be an awesome Carter Crazy story?!?!?!?

Jim used some divining rods -Let me tell you that watching someone use divining rods is fascinating!  Using the diving rods, Jim had found another well spot so they moved the truck and began drilling.  OK, just for the record, watching a well being drilled is really quite fascinating.  Probably should be put on the list of things to witness in your life.  It’s really cool!  Maybe not so much for the kids, but Jim and I were rivoted!!!  After the first 15 minutes or so the kids mostly flew their kites and looked for bugs.  Oh well, we tried to introduce them to a new experience.  You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink, right?

 

We tried to stay out of their way as much as we could while they were setting up.  They had so many fascinating trucks and tools that it was really hard though! 

 

 Camden LOVED watching them jack this truck up in the air to level it.  I think he is still disappointed that none of our trucks or equipment has this ability!

 

 Another view of their work trucks that show how tall their drill really is.

 

I had to include this picture of us watching them drill for water.  It was fascinating and a little confusing at first because we had no idea what they were doing!  One of the guys came over every so often and explained the process.  Can you blame him?  Look at those faces!  I can’t decicde whose face is funnier!! 

Maleah was in a play at the time and had practice that night.  I reluctantly left Jim to document the progress, loaded up the kids and left.  I prayed all the way to town that Jim would call and say they had already hit water.  That call never came that night.  They stopped drilling that night at 120 feet and I was so anxious for them to reastart that I don’t think I slept all night.  The next morning Jim got up and headed out to the farm while I forced myself and the kids to do schoolwork before we headed out there.  It was almost lunch time before we made it out there and they had hit water just before we got out there.  I missed it!

I pulled up to see water running down the hill and I almost forgot to put the car in park before I jumped out.  Then I had to jump back in and get the kids out!  Well, actually, I had to reassure them that I was happy screaming and that it was OK for them to get out.  Poor Camden was so confused he wasn’t quite sure he really wanted me to unbuckle his car seat!  As soon as he saw Jim he lunged for him.  Poor little guy still doesn’t understand his Crazy Mama!

 

I pulled up to see water running down the hill and I might have gotten a little carried away with my excitement…

Once I calmed down and could understand English again, Jim explained the events I missed.  The well drillers had hit a huge patch of granite around 180 feet and it just kept going.  The well guy said that can be good or bad.  Not exactly a specific answer but he didn’t explain any further.  He was apparently reading a very exciting book at the time.

 

 Jim took this picture just before they hit water. 

Around 250 feet they started hitting small pockets of water but it wasn’t enough apparently so they kept going.  It’s probably a good thing I wasn’t there then.  I’m sure I would’ve been asking a blue million questions and they might have put me down the well at that point.

 

WATER!!!! 

Then, at 300 feet the water exploded out of the ground.  Water everywhere!!!  The well guy was actually sitting on the back of the truck reading a book and got splattered with the water when it came up so fast.  They drilled down to 330 feet and were still in the pocket of water.  It was enough!  More than enough actually!  They measured the water pressure to be over 60 gallons a minute.  That’s ALOT of water!  They had to measure it 3 times because it filled the bucket too fast to measure.  By the time they capped the well off the water had risen to 100 feet from the surface.  Jim and I were so Happy!  That was one of the first checks we had written that was smaller than we expected!!  Whoo-hooo!!!  To the first of many unexpected blessings on the farm!!

 

We have a well!  Well, we have water.  Now, we just need the rest of the stuff to get the water out of the ground.  You know, the actual well pump, pipes, etc.  On the bright side, we already have the electricity out there to run the well!    

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