We've had a sneaking suspicion that underneath where the annex used to be, there was an old well. Seems the building had originally been the wash house and so it only made sense that a well would be at hand.
We've noticed over time that we've got some water drainage issues in the back field, coming from the area around the old annex and Hubster' wonderful brain wanted to see if figuring out what was up with that well would help us figure out what was up with the water.
Et alors! Talk about silt. Talk about muck. Talk about earth so dark and smelly that I'm convinced he and I have now contracted bubonic plague from touching it. (But since we both survived the sewer experience a few years back, I'm hoping 150 year bacteria won't be as deadly as 2 day old toddler poop.)
He and I scraped and scooped this stuff until, low and behold! We found water.
Oh, happiness and joy!
And it was in this wonderful euphoric state that Hubster remembered that we had another little metal ring thing poking out of the front garden. Screw the four blades of grass that had just come out to meet the sun, could it be....
Yes, it is. Another well! And this one still had water in it. Which was all very, very exciting. Except that the old pump didn't want to work.
Hubster and Musher Boy, who had showed up to walk the dogs and ended up getting so enthralled by all this incredibly exciting water stuff, yanked the pump off the wall and managed to get it apart and clean out about a century's worth of dead snails and dirt in there.
Of course, the problem is now, we aren't really sure how it's all supposed to go back together.
Where are the freakin' Ikea instructions for something like this?
Especially to figure out what the heck that little do-hickey you see there on the grass is. Nothing like watching modern brains being completely clueless as to old technology.
In the end, we now have two very nice wells. And if all goes well, (snort, snort, nudge nudge) we may even get to use them. Heck, we may even have solved a major draining problem without having to call in a mini-digger. Well, (snort, snort) I am rather short so I guess you could say we already did that.
All in all, all's well that end's well. Except my puns. Wouldn't you agree?
4 comments:
How cool! Maybe now you'll have water for your 4 blades of grass.
If you put the rubber o-ring back inside the metal gasket, it will create a suction to pull the water up when you pump the handle. ;p xoxoxoxox
Love it. Katy is the woman even from a far.
Have you considered going into competition with Volvic?
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