The Things We Take For Granted . . .

Pop Quiz:  This home has

a.  a major gopher problem

b.  an archaeological dig for a very narrow primitive village

c.  an underground railroad

d.  water

Hallelujah!  The answer is d.  We have water!  Well, technically we've almost always had water - but only "almost".  The well that supplies our house is a shallow well (approx. 18-20 ft.).  With average annual rainfall of nearly 40 inches, the water table at that depth is usually sufficient for two people.  However, in a drought year with only 25 inches of rain, the water supply suffers.  

We have been rationing water for months - limiting shower time and number of loads of laundry per day, etc., but we finally hit bottom - literally.  By last week the water table had dropped so low that a single load of laundry would empty the well and we had to wait several hours for it to replenish before we had water again.  We cried "uncle"!  

Fortunately, there is a deeper well in the pasture behind our house that supplies water to the cattle and garden.  The landlord dug this lovely trench through our yard and ran a new water line, so we are now connected to both wells and can switch between. The yard is a disaster, but that can be fixed.  For now we'll use the deep well, but when the rain returns - as we know it will - we will switch back to the shallow well and use the deep well for the garden.

Water is something I've always taken for granted, but when it's in short supply, it changes your perspective.  I'm not sure I'll ever be as glib as I once was about the resources we use so freely.  If this were Twitter, we would file this under #farmgirlproblems!