Just A Little Sip Will Do

Just when you think things are going ……. not great, but okay. I had resolved the issue of the cold weather in my mind and decided to hunker down and use the time to watch every Hallmark and Lifetime movie ever made while twiddling away with my paintbrush. Told myself it could be worse. I was warm (really, too warm) and I had all the amenities of modern life available to me. I could shower at will, cook whatever I might desire and nap whenever I wanted. 

Not much going on in a campground when the temperature is in the single digits. Just an occasional customer for a propane refill, or a tenant to pay rent or buy quarters for the laundry. So, here I sat yesterday, hot cereal and coffee close by and a movie on the TV. HeWho was lounging in his chair next to me and several dogs were in my lap, stalking the spoon of oatmeal as it made it's way to my mouth. Eddie had his little head on my chest, hoping for spillage, while Toni Louise stood with her paws on the arm of my chair, no doubt plotting to overturn the entire bowl. 

This is when it happened. The power went out. I looked at HeWho as HeWho looked at me. It came back on and I was annoyed as I waited for the TV to reboot so I could find out who the murderer was in my Hailey Dean mystery. I settled down to watch and about 20 minutes later the phone rang. One of my tenants telling me she only had a trickle of water. I assured her that HeWho would get back to her, thinking that maybe her pipes might be frozen and just starting a thaw. I told HeWho plumbs and digs. He said the same thing and I un-paused my movie.

Toni Louise discovered my empty bowl and was licking it and jangling the spoon until I snatched it away and took it to the sink. Perhaps I should have turned the water on then and I would have known …..

Shortly after that the power went out and stayed out. I alerted camper Kevin, since my tenants will call him, too. We notified our power company and were informed that the outage should be resolved by 6:45. It was 2:30. It was a dull and dreary day and the meager light from outside was insufficient to brighten anything inside. And quiet. Very quiet.

There is very little you can do without power. No water, the pump needs power. No propane filling, that also needs power. I thought a nap would be an excellent idea, but it was TOO QUIET. After almost 45 years of sleeping with a fan on, thanks to my husband, I cannot sleep without background noise. Our cell phones were alive with messages from tenants alerting us to the no water/no power situation. 

At about 4:30 HeWho decided to make a Chinese food run, lest we starve. He wanted to be here when the power was restored, he said, in case there was an issue with the water. What issue, I thought to myself, could there be? The electricity comes on, the pump draws the water from the well and fills the holding tanks, then disperses it throughout the park. Simple. 

I swear he tempted fate with those words, because the pump did not pump and we still have no water. He checked all the systems and found that even though the pump was getting power, it was still not working. For the first 12 years we were here, the only problem we had with the water was the high mineral content and the sulphur odor. We are required to send a water sample to the department of natural resources monthly since we provide drinking water to make sure it is okay to drink. So, smelly though it was, nothing was wrong with the water.

Then our pump (who knows how old it was) died. They came out and dug it up and replaced it and while doing that, went deeper with the well. After that the water was crystal clear with no odor. It even tasted good. It made the mess in my back yard easier to deal with. I had the haul dirt to fill in the ruts left from the tires of the truck hauling the equipment and I even scraped up sod in areas of the park to get grass going again. I was so happy with my sweet tasting water.

A little over a year later, the motor went out in the pump. Again with the excavation and the tearing up of my yard to replace it and be told it was not under warranty. We did not choose the pump they put in. We were only concerned that it was large enough to serve the park. Figured the well people knew what they were doing. HeWho argued with them about the warranty and I am quite certain they sent the defective pump back and were compensated. Well, here we are less that 3 years later and the motor has crapped out again.

No, we are not calling the same company. Doubt they would respond, since HeWho would only pay for the labor involved with the last excavation. Besides, they apparently buy defective pumps …..

So, now we wait for the well people to call us back. Doubt we will get a call back today. I can just imagine how messy the excavation will be this time. The ground is soggy wet and there is still snow piled up. 

The good news is that I can harvest that snow in buckets and bring it inside to melt so I can flush the toilet! And water the plants. Today is watering day. I will be scooping lots of snow to get 12 gallons of water. Maybe I will just give each plant a little sip to tide them over ……..