Well at the Frog!!

I am well indeed, but what I'm really hoping for is water! Apparently, hitting a clear vein of water here in the holler is a 50/50 chance because of the rock formations under the ground. The well drillers arrived on Friday, March 2, and it was a very exciting moment. I applied for the permit in January, then had to make an appointment to have the environmental health representative come out and map the area to indicate the allowable drilling area. "Allowable" is determined by the location of septic fields. It's necessary to be prescribed distances from them.

I interviewed and got estimates from 3 companies - all good ole boys. They described how they would do the work, what kind of electrical access they would need, how much ground they would mess up and how many tree limbs they would have to cut off, etc. I chose the one that seemed most grounded, so to speak, and who took time to describe all the contingencies.

The drillers are very likable brothers with slow drawls, from a nearby town called Max Meadows. They have been very considerate in trying to edge the equipment in while cutting a minimum of vegetation.Based on what they told me, I took pictures of the area before the destruction. Here is the fence before the posts were taken out.

This is the "allowable" drilling area - at least 10 feet from the side fence and 50 feet from the back fence.

The guys came in first to prepare the area by cutting limbs and rolling back the fence.

Once the area was prepared, they used a forked twig as a dousing rod to locate the best spot to dig. The twig bending down indicates the presence of water underground. Go figure!

Having located the best spot, they brought in the big gun - the 60,000 lb. drilling rig. They backed in to be able to locate the drill more easily over the chosen spot.

After lining the truck up the way they wanted and making sure they had cleared the overhead electrical lines, they raised the boom.

Then, shortly after they got everything in place it started to rain! So, nothing else happened on Friday. I'm hoping they will get an early start on Monday and find water in no time at all.

In the meantime, the daffodils are waking up and the little Christmas tree seems to like the place we found for her home in the yard.