3/14/19:
Building Summary: Today I went down to Jacobhouse, and Padre, Wag, and I commenced to dig and put in the water line extending from the well pump to my future home. This consisted of extending the ditch I started yesterday via shovel, taking down the mobile fence so Padre could continue that ditch with a pave-loader, clearing away loose debris, laying the pipe, and then gluing and covering that pipe. I also went with Wag down to Sparr Building & Farm Supply to get the pipe parts needed for tomorrow’s activities (explained in final note).
Commentary: It was an eventful morning at Jacobhouse today, and it started not long after I got down to the worksite. Indeed, as soon as I arrived to the farm, I found Padre and he said that he would be able to do ‘the ditch’ today. That in itself was a highlight, because the farm has been quite busy as of late, and I was skeptical as to if we would get a chance at all.
It was a surprisingly easy task, made so by many factors. The weather was prime*, the loader dug about 95% of the ditch, the pipe came with built-in couplings, and we had three people – Padre, Wag, and I – to expedite the process. The entire procedure of digging, laying, gluing, and covering was done in less than an hour and fifteen minutes. That’s pretty good for a 100 foot length of line.
The third highlight occurred after I got back from Sparr. This one was not so favorable and should probably be listed under the shenanigan category. It happened when I was putting back (or attempting to put back) the electric fence around Jacobhouse. For some reason, the wire was stuck in the ditch, and for a brief time I attempted to pull it out. Then, I tried to dig it out with my hands. Ants happened (I won’t go into any more detail than that), and next thing I knew I was attempting to plow the wire out with the shovel. For some reason I just straight-up forgot the line that we had put in, so I accidentally nicked the PVC**. It was only after discovering this that I realized the PVC had been dropped into the ditch atop the wire. So, I cut the wire, pulled it out, tied it back together, and put the mobile fence back to where it had been before.
Final note: It’s getting quite late and I’ve yet to eat, so I’ll make this portion of the post brief. Tomorrow I plan on hooking up the water line to the pump, putting in a faucet just north of the container, and running a ‘stub-up’ from the ditch into Jacobhouse. Also, I plan on ordering cabinets from Custom Hardware because Classic Kitchens gave a quote of $700 for just the two 36″ cabinets.
Additional Note: The FedEx Small Business Grant is still in progress. If you feel the urge, go to vote for Master Blend Cattle Company here. Thanks!
*For winter, the weather has been very mild, ranging between the 50’s at night and mid-80’s in the day. These are prime temperatures in my opinion.
**Fortunately, the nick was minor despite my fervent efforts to dig up that wire. I blame the ants for my not remembering the pipe’s presence.