Water Tables, Pumps, Pressure and Wells - Oh...And A Fridge And Car Update!

Pumpkins!!!

Hi Everyone 😊

Happy Sunday! I hope you're all doing well. It's dry as a bone here in Queen's County New Brunswick...we haven't had rain in a week and there is no precipitation in the forecast for another week. It's so different from my last place! In that area, there was constant humidity and rain several times a week. Complete opposite. 

Before we bought our home here, we rented a cottage that had a shallow well. That mountain village had lots of rainy days and MANY months of snow, so water supply was never an issue. We have a shallow well here too and we are finding that it IS an issue, mainly because of the current drought and the capability of our old water pump. Lately we have been running out of water and our pump has been struggling to draw water up.

Lesson time for those who are interested! 🎓  (And please correct me if I don't get all of this right!!)

There are three types of well water systems that most rural homeowners use. Shallow wells (also known as dug or water table wells), drilled wells and artesian wells. 

Shallow wells, like ours, are dug to the level of the water table, about 30 - 100 feet down. The water table is the top section of the saturated earth that contains underground water. 

Drilled wells are typically dug over 1000 feet below ground level to the zone of saturation. Artesian wells just confuse me so I won't get into those!

Most people will install a shallow well because it's cheaper. Ideally I would LOVE to have a drilled well because it's a more reliable water source.

To drill a "drilled" well, you need BIG machinery and it costs anywhere from 5-10k (CAD). This price doesn't guarantee you'll find water though. If the auger doesn't hit a spot with water, you are basically sitting on pins and needles as they drill lower and lower because most companies charge you per foot drilled. 

We have an old pump, likely about 15 years old. We knew it needed replacing in a year or so but we are trying to hold on to it as long as we can! It only has the capacity to draw about 40 pounds of water per square inch 😕. If I fill up my 2.5 gallon watering can twice, the pump turns on. Every time we use between 4-6 gallons of water, the pump needs to draw more water up from our shallow well. If we take long hot showers or do lots of dishes, the pump works harder to try to fill the 40-gallon hot water tank.

The water pump is attached to a pressure tank, this helps draw the water up to the pipes in the house. If the pressure tank's gauge starts to shake and shimmy, that means it's struggling and we need to turn the pump off. Why? Because the well is dry (figuratively) and if we leave the pump on, it will burn out. 

If the well is dry, it's because we pulled all of the water from the water table and there isn't any left. There will be more of course! But at this point, we've used too much water and the ground water needs to restore itself into our well. Another reason the well could be dry is based on the weather and seasons. We are in a drought right now so it's normal that the water table is low. The problem with that is the water table continues to fall year after year if there are a lot of summertime droughts...this means in the future we may need to dig a deeper well.

It's complicated, but we are learning. Here's an example: I can fill my watering can about 14 times before the pump starts to struggle. That means we can use about 60 gallons of water before the well dries up and needs to refill itself. Of course, that's right now because of the drought. So far we figure it takes a good few hours for the water table to come back up.

Alex and I are determined to conserve water. We are also trying to learn how to schedule our water needs better so that we don't get to the point of drying up our well. I stagger the watering of the garden now over several days. We only do one load of wash a day and it's in the morning. All leaky faucets will be fixed asap because that affects the water supply as well. We keep an eye on that pressure gauge to make sure it's not struggling. If we see that, we turn the pump off - the last thing we need is a burned out pump!! 

We are going to install gutters and we're on a waiting list for some food-grade plastic barrels that we will turn into rain barrels. The company sells them to people for $5 a piece. There is a waiting list for these barrels, and there are 3 people ahead of us; but the nice lady at the company said we should hear from her in about a month. I asked for 4 barrels so that we can harvest rain water.

The fridge??? Okay in short, the fan was broken and because it was one of those modern fridges run by a computer chip, that had to be replaced too. The fix was going to be way too pricey. We'd bought that fridge plus a washer and dryer from that second hand store. The washer stopped working as well. We never tested the dryer because we don't have an outlet, but we decided to rent a Uhaul trailer and return all three appliances. I was so sad because I LOVED that fridge!!! We were lucky that we got a full refund. We ended up buying some low-end new appliances, and even though it's not as big as the used one we returned, I'm still getting my stainless steel fridge! 😊 But, the appliances will only be delivered in mid-to-late July. It's weekly shopping, more canning and hand washing until then! We are pioneering right now so to speak!!

Our leak is pink.

The car??? When we returned the Uhaul trailer, the mechanic there noticed some grease on the trailer. He checked our car out and told us that he thought our transmission fluid was leaking. Oh joy. I've been checking the fluid level and it's borderline right now...I have to find a mechanic to check that out. But the good news is I have an appointment in early July to get my New Brunswick driver's license and plates! 😊😊 Getting rid of my Quebec license and plates is my last tie to that province!!

Fun stuff: In February I'd ordered a few trail cameras for our 7-year anniversary in March. They were on back-order but they were supposed to arrive at our new home just around the time we were to arrive. A few days before we moved in May, I was told that they were still on back-order. With all of the stress of the move I COMPLETELY forgot I'd ordered them and they arrived a few days ago! It was a wonderful surprise! We're going to have fun with these!! Last night when we brought the dogs out before bed, they all went nuts...barking, growling, pulling - there was something in the woods! It's a shame we didn't have the cameras up last night, but they are up now. I hope we get some good footage!

Charlie - resting by the window. She had an allergic reaction from what we think is a spider bite - her face swelled up three times its normal size. This has happened several times before. Poor gal was on Benadryl for 24 hours.

Big post today huh? Friends, I'm so busy. It's crazy. Tomorrow we have a chimney inspector coming. He's going to sweep the chimney, inspect our wood stove and help find out where it's leaking. We have rust on the top of the stove and inside so we need to fix that leak before the winter. I also have to figure out a menu plan and go shopping.

Sandwiches - a typical dinner these days!

Oh and during the last rainfall, we realized there are a few leaks in the roof too. One of these days Alex and I will get up there and try to figure out where it's leaking. We can't afford to fix the roof this year, but we CAN figure out a patch job. I was watching lots of videos on how to find leaks and caulk them. Worst case scenario we'll install a good quality tarp over the area where it's leaking and figure out how to fix it next year.

💞 We LOVE our home and property, despite its flaws and problems!! I need to find time to paint and draw this week!!! Please join me on Thursday for our art date, the theme is Heat Wave. 😊

🌅 A VERY HAPPY SOLSTICE TO YOU!!🌅

Thursday Art Date: A Magical World

Hello Friends! 😊
 

Welcome to Thursday's Art Date, today our theme is A Magical World. I've mentioned often that one of my favourite movies of all time is Disney's Fantasia. I asked Bugs if he would pose as Mickey Mouse for this drawing, and he was more than willing. He got a little carried away with the magic though! 😀

Here is the full 9-minute scene of The Sorcerer's Apprentice from Fantasia, the music starts around 20 seconds in, enjoy! (Here is the link in case the video doesn't work.)

Watercolour Mermaid

There is something magical about our world under water...you just never know what could be down there! 😊 I've found a little time during the week to paint again and I'm loving it! I followed a tutorial that I found online for this painting.

I was thinking about how my Mermaid's face might look underwater and decided to paint her as I imagined she'd look if we stumbled upon her in the depths of the ocean. I guess she looks a little creepy!! I have long since given up the "Disney-fied" version of fairy tales and mythical creatures!!

I will "regale" you on Sunday with the latest drama we are facing at home! 😵 Let's keep this post focused on art!!!

PS: I'm forcing myself to use the new Blogger...so if anyone finds glitches please let me know!!!

Thanks for popping in! That's all for now folks! Please check out the link widget below to see more A Magical World artwork! 

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Here is Marlene trying to get some shade during a very hot summer day in 2019.

June 25th: Next Thursday's theme is Heat Wave. Click on the link for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨

Thursday Art Date With Rain. Click on the link for a description of the art date as well as a list of upcoming themes. 

Don't forget to add the URL link to your post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations! The link gadget expires Sunday at noon (EST).

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Things Are Growing!

Baby Oscar sleeping in the freezer.

Hello Friends!!  😊😊

How are you all doing? I hope everyone is safe and sound out there. We are all happy and healthy here - though we STILL don't have a fridge...yeah...it's been 5 weeks now. If you read a previous post, you would have seen that we bought a beautifully HUGE fridge in mid-May. We spent a week or so taking it apart and cleaning it because frankly, it reeked! We boiled it down to maybe a mix of bbq sauce, ketchup and curry lol...not a good combo! 😕  When we finally plugged it in, the fridge compartment actually froze to -22C (-7F). The second-hand store where we bought the fridge said they knew of the problem, but changed the sensor. They didn't know what the problem could be so they offered a full refund...but we want to try to fix it. So the repair man is coming tomorrow. I hope he can fix it!!

Luckily we have our little bar fridge (aka the Cheese Cave)...so we have some refrigeration. We're still enjoying evenings playing board games, this one is called Rummikub, have you ever played it?

We had our monthly fondue night last night. I made an apple cider/Cheddar fondue. Yum!

The garden is growing already!!

That mix of organic garden soil and compost is really good stuff.

I have no idea if this is broccoli or cauliflower growing...I labeled my little popsicle sticks but of course the rain washed the ink off, we'll just have to wait and see!! 😋

Here is a quick video of Jack running around the yard. I made the video before I put the raised beds in. He loves to grab his leash and run with it!

Thanks for dropping by! See on you Thursday for our art date, the theme is A Magical World!

Thursday Art Date: Summer Plans

Hello Friends! 😊😊😊

Welcome to Thursday's Art Date, today our theme is Summer Plans. Tweety Bird is doing what I WISH I was doing right now - visiting the Hopewell Rocks!!! I've been waiting ten years to revisit this area that I love so much. I will have to wait a little longer!

The Rocks in Hopewell Cape NB, off the Fundy Bay, is home to the highest tides in the world. It's awesome...you can walk the beach in the morning, then kayak the same area that afternoon. I did that in 2010 during a trip East. When I lived in this area as a teenager, I often visited The Rocks. I don't know why, but I'm very drawn to the Fundy Bay...I feel at home here. I can't wait to visit again.

Watercolour Popsicles

Another summer plan is to eat LOTS of icy treats!! 

Watercolour Spruce

Getting back to my art is a big plan for the summer. I managed to get a few watercolour paintings done in the last week and I have to admit...I felt rusty!

Getting the garden planted was something I spent a lot of time on in the last week as well. With the amount of garden soil I ordered (3 cubic yards), I managed to make 10 raised beds in total! I mentioned in my last post that I planted tomatoes, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, herbs, lettuces and strawberries. On Tuesday I finished up this year's garden with 2 types of pumpkins, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, radish, spinach, more herbs and green onions.

I discovered we have wild strawberries growing along our driveway.

And this is a fun sight! My first ever asparagus! I know I can't touch the crop for a year or two so I'll be patient this year and let them grow.

Alex and I have been enjoying our evenings watching old movies, sitting in the Sun Room listening to the frogs and birds...and playing board games by candlelight! How do you spend your summer evenings?

Thanks for popping in! That's all for now folks! Please check out the link widget below to see more Summer Plans artwork! 

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There is magic all around you! Look up into the sky, what do you see? I saw a panther roaring that hot summer afternoon!

June 18th: Next Thursday's theme is A Magical World. Click on the link for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨

Thursday Art Date With Rain. Click on the link for a description of the art date as well as a list of upcoming themes. 

Don't forget to add the URL link to your post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations! The link gadget expires Sunday at noon (EST).

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Big Pile O' Dirt!

Hi Friends! 😊

How is your weekend going? Today it's raining and we are taking it easy! Friday was a busy, hard working day for Alex and me. We had our garden soil/compost delivered.

With our rocky/gravelly terrain, we figured our best bet would be raised beds. I found a local farm that sold this mix of soil by the cubic yard. I ordered 3 cubic yards. I thought that would be a good amount for my six planned raised beds.

Alex put together the wheel barrow and we got to work transferring the soil to the beds.

Before adding soil, we lined the bottoms of the beds with cardboard boxes. This is to hopefully prevent weeds from growing in the beds. Those packing boxes sure came in handy!

Not much to see right now! When we got everything finished and planted, we covered the beds with some row covers in anticipation of heavy rain all day yesterday. I got lots planted though! 

1. Asparagus

2. Two types of tomatoes

3. Herbs and lettuces

4. Strawberries

5. Potatoes

6. Broccoli, cauliflower, yellow beans and green beans

This is how I water my garden. We don't have an outside spigot, so it's in and out of the house to fill the watering can.

I'll be interested to see what grows here! Oh, and that dirt pile? I still have about a 1/3 of it left!!! I over-estimated what I needed, which is a good thing because now I can plant more! We just have to find the lumber to make more raised beds and I'll get my pumpkin patch and squash bed growing! I'd like to plant a lot of onions too. 

I planted seeds only this year, no seedlings - I really hope the growing season is long enough here that I'll have a good harvest in the fall.

My sweet Jack. 💕

I managed to get 15 jars of spaghetti sauce pressure-canned as well. That big giant fridge we bought second hand needed a very intense deep cleaning and we haven't gotten it put back together yet; so we're still eating non-refrigerated meals. Hopefully we'll have our fridge up and running this week so I can do a proper shopping trip!

We installed some yellow "bug" lights around the house. I don't know how well they work with an army of mosquitoes at the ready for attack lol...but they sure look cozy! We heard coyotes the other night. They were closer than we expected so we have to make sure we are always with the dogs when they're outside, we need to keep them safe! See you on Thursday for our art date! The theme is "Summer Plans"!!

Thursday Art Date: Your Dream

Hello Friends! 😊 

Welcome to Thursday's Art Date, today our theme is Your Dream. This is more of a nightmare than a dream for Bugs! The tables have turned!!! 😲 How did you create your dream?

I REALLY REALLY wanted to paint something for this week's theme! But I truly didn't have the chance. Yesterday we ran out of water and had to figure that out. You Tube and Bill the Realtor to the rescue! We figured out it was the pressure settings on the pressure tank that hooks up to the water pump which pumps water out of the well. I have to tell you...this is all foreign to me! But we are learning! We have a new pressure gauge on the pressure tank now and we have to set it a little higher to make sure the pump does its job well! In order for the pump to bring water up from the well, the pressure needs to be at around 40 PSI (minimum). Just to give you an example, when we flush the toilet, the tank's pressure dips to 18 PSI...so if we flush the toilet at the same time we wash dishes, we run out of water. There is plenty of water in the well, it's just the pressure settings...whoda thunk it??? But now we know!

Car news: Terry our mechanic called, we are getting a Jeep Patriot engine in our Dodge Journey...so we'll have more power, grunt grunt lol! :)

Garden news: This is our soil. This area's earth is rock, pebble, gravel...I took out my pitchfork and shovel and tried my darndest to get some soil dug, but nothin' doin'. I kind of knew this about the earth around here, so I'd already budgeted a little extra for soil. When we found out about the car, we figured the garden was a no-go for this year, but things have somehow worked out! I've tried very hard to be a good person and I love that Karma is noticing! 😊

I called around and found a few companies who deliver garden soil (top soil/compost mix) in bulk, so I ordered 3 cubic yards to fit into 6 raised beds. Alex made these for me, we have 2 more to make before today's delivery. We decided that this year, we will use whatever materials we have on hand and thankfully we have enough lumber to make all six raised beds! I'll give you all a garden update on Sunday!

As for dinners, it's comfort food as usual! Sweet tea, corn on the cob, loaded nachos, poutine and pizzas! 😋

Would you like to join me for a walk?

Here's a little video I took yesterday morning while walking Charlie. Thanks for joining me!!! 

That's all for now folks! Please check out the link widget below to see more Your Dream artwork! 

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This is a photo I took of the beautiful Fundy Bay. One of my plans this summer, if possible, is to go back there and share this lovely spot with Alex. I've always been drawn to this area and now I'm lucky enough to live just under an hour's drive away!

June 11th: Next Thursday's theme is Summer Plans. Click on the link for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨

Thursday Art Date With Rain. Click on the link for a description of the art date as well as a list of upcoming themes. 

Don't forget to add the URL link to your post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations! The link gadget expires Sunday at noon (EST).

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