Farm Journal
Thoughts and images from life at Foster Road
- Journal Entries
- 60: JUNE 30, 2010
- 59: JUNE 10, 2010
- 58: MAY 28, 2010
- 57: MAY 13, 2010
- 56: APRIL 30, 2010
- 55: APRIL 19, 2010
- 54: APRIL 5, 2010
- 53: MARCH 19, 2010
- 52: FEB. 20, 2010
- 51: FEB. 14, 2010
- 50: FEB. 9, 2010
- 49: FEB. 1, 2010
- 48: JAN. 27, 2010
- 47: JAN. 20, 2010
- 46: JAN. 15, 2010
- 45: JAN. 10, 2010
- 44: DEC. 18, 2009
- 43: DEC. 15, 2009
- 42: DEC. 7, 2009
- 41: DEC. 2, 2009
- 40: NOV. 22, 2009
- 39: NOV. 13, 2009
- 38: NOV. 6, 2009
- 37: NOV. 4, 2009
- 36: OCT. 23, 2009
- 35: OCT. 10, 2009
- 34: OCT. 9, 2009
- 33: SEPT. 30, 2009
- 32: SEPT. 23, 2009
- 31: SEPT. 12, 2009
- 30: SEPT. 9, 2009
- 29: SEPT. 7, 2009
- 28: SEPT. 2, 2009
- 27: AUG. 29, 2009
- 26: AUG. 21, 2009
- 25: AUG. 20, 2009
- 24: AUG. 18, 2009
- 23: AUG. 16, 2009
- 22: AUG. 14, 2009
- 21: AUG. 13, 2009
- 20: AUG. 12, 2009
- 19: JULY 23, 2009
- 18: JULY 3, 2009
- 16: JULY 1, 2009
- 15: JUNE 7, 2009
- 14: MAY 31, 2009
- 13: MAY 25, 2009
- 12: APRIL 24, 2009
- 11: APRIL 21, 2009
- 10: APRIL 16, 2009
- 9: APRIL 15, 2009
- 8: APRIL 13, 2009
- 7: APRIL 12, 2009
- 6: APRIL 1, 2009
- 5: MARCH 2009
- 4: FEBRUARY 2009
- 3: JANUARY 2009
- 2: DECEMBER 2008
- 1: OCTOBER 2008
Oh Well
The house had a well. Has a well. Has two presently. The water comes from an aquifer deep below the property. Clear and clean-tasting, it passed all the required tests at sale. But the well sits, in all its hand-dug, concrete-topped glory, just five feet from the back of the house smack dab in the middle of my soon-to-be kitchen extension. Dang.
The new well will have flow that can feed a modern life: showers, dishwasher and laundry, plus irrigation I’ll want for the field garden. Although it will be a fine addition, it’s one of the many renovations for this property that offers little show quality. “Hey, check out my new WATER!” Water’s running today and it’ll run tomorrow. Hard to get excited.
But much like the tree removal, the task comes with big equipment. So let’s savor the clanging excitement and amazing concept of digging a hole 170 feet deep through topsoil, subsoil, layers of gravel, clay and solid limestone. Then eureka, thar’ she flows!
The property is mostly on Wassaic Silt Loam, a soil type found in select locations in New York, New Jersey, and a few other spots. Well drained and fertile, it should do well with my floral and vegetable crops. It’s not Kansas prairie, but it’s got potential. It’s been in grass for years and I hope to start some buckwheat and legume green manures on it while renovations proceed (ah, that tractor talk again).
It’s all very natural and primal. Coring down through millennial layers of grey and brown earth to reach a pure and (so far) untainted supply of water. Then topped in a fluorescent, tropical blue well cap. Hmm. Guess it will be harder to miss on the mower.
