First, a short description of our water supply. There is a well here, about 120 feet deep, with a well pump sitting at about 100 feet. The natural waterline is at about 80 feet. The well has been tested to deliver about 3 gallons per minute during the wet months. This is not very much. This is why there is a 2000 gallon storage tank. We can't expect to take showers and water the birds at the same time at just 3 gallons per minute. So the well pump keeps the 2000 gallon tank full while an independent "pressure tank" and its associated "pressure pump" delivers 20-40 psi at the tap and hose. This can deliver a lot more water at high pressure than can the well pump alone, with a 2000 gallon buffer should we overdraw for a short while.
A month ago the pressure pump stopped working. This means I couldn't take a shower, wash dishes, flush the toilet, etc. All was not lost however; I could drain the storage tank, albeit at low pressure, and haul the water indoors. Not such a bad situation. It could get worse. The birds get water through gravity feed, they don't need showers like we do. They sure don't poop like we do, no issues there. My friend Erika had the opportunity to learn how to flush the old fashioned way. It could get worse, really.
I replaced the pressure tank with a bladder-style tank, and upgraded to a 3/4 HP pump. It took three weeks to accomplish this task, lots of reasons why, but the bottom line is water on tap sure is nice and convenient. You don't appreciate that sort of thing until you don't have it.
Last week I ran out of water. You know you run out of water when you are mid-shower, and air starts coming out the shower head. Good thing I had finished rinsing.
It seems too much a coincidence, and I haven't worked it all out yet, but at about the same time I got the pressure pump working, the well pump stopped working. With all that laundry that piled up, and joy at having water on tap, I used the 2000 gallon tank in one week. There is no warning that this happens, other than the aforementioned dry shower effect.
This would normally be an emergency, but I can probably grovel at my neighbors' doorsteps and ask if they could please spare a couple hundred gallons of water for me and my birds. But that would be un-mountain-man-like. It would be like asking for wood mid-winter because you were too stupid to stock up beforehand. I would never stoop that low... not until I exhausted all other avenues at least.
I thought I had learned enough knowing I could flush toilets, do dishes, take "showers" with 2 gallons of water, etc. I had 2000 gallons afterall. Wood-burning stoves to heat the water. Electric stoves to heat water in a pinch. But all the sudden, I had no water. The birds need water to live, I needed water to flush and wash. This is an emergency to them whether they know it or not.
Fortunately there was some rain coming. I placed my kiddie pools and other vessels into the path of roof runoff and collected what looked like a couple days worth of water. Not potable water, for me at least, but good enough for the birds.
You would not believe how dependent you are on water until you don't have it. You know what they say about earthquake preparedness? Believe it. Water is crucial. I went through 2000 gallons in a week. What would a family do with no water? That is an emergency! I suggest you all go out and stock up on at least 5 gallons per person per day. Water-dependent animals like waterfowl (they don't have "water" in the name for no reason) need more.
Today I have about 100 gallons in kiddie pools. I found a blown fuse at the well pump control box. Maybe that will be the problem? I'll know tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm drinking bottled water, "showering" with 2 gallons heated on the stove, and collecting rainwater like it's gold.
In bird news, it was a mixed week. Every Sunday I go to the Mountain View Farmer's Market and collect the scraps of lettuce, spinich, etc. that fall on the ground that people will not eat, but birds relish. Normally I get a 40-gallon garbage can, sometimes two. It's free, I save on feed costs, what the birds don't want I give to the red wigglers (which are going like gangbusters -- anybody want worms to take care of inedible food?) This last Sunday I collected about three or four time the normal amount of scraps. And they weren't even scraps: I collected perfectly good scallions, bok choy, dandelion greens, cabbage, turnips, beets, celery, and so on, and so forth. It was Christmas for the birds. Turns out that Second Harvest normally collects the excess food, but was not working that week. So I got all that extra food. It seems a waste to take it for the birds, but it would have gone to the garbage bag otherwise.
Here's a pic of the cornucopia in my truck, and a bunch of happy birds enjoying the harvest:
Ending on a sad note, Paris of Paris and Nicole (Nick actually) fame died. She seemed to have been doing so well, growing back all her feathers. I was hoping she and Sally the other Muscovy would raise a clutch of birds this year.
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