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Digging a Well

March 12, 2016 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

When you need water for irrigation, and you know that two of your neighbors have found water at 6-10 feet below the surface, and you have lots of boys with lots of energy, what do you do? You get them interested in the challenge of digging a well by hand, that’s what! The four oldest boys have been spending every spare minute for the past week or more, digging. The soil is solid clay, under the top 6-8 inches of topsoil, and with the drought that is now well into its second year, that clay is bone dry and not quite but almost rock-hard. They are chipping it away, a 6-inch level at a time, with their spade, and using it to fill in holes in the paddock. Mr. Inventor and Mr. Diligent built a crane to lift the buckets of clay out. I thought it was pretty ingenious! It only lasted a few hours, long enough for me to get these pictures, and then a screw came out of the hinge. They are now pulling the buckets of clay up with a rope. As of last evening, the well was 5.5 feet deep. Hopefully in another week I can report success! 12-IMG_312013-IMG_312414-IMG_312515-IMG_312616-IMG_3127

Filed Under: Activities at Home Tagged With: Boys, Canterbury, Miller Street house

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Comments

  1. Ross Taylor says

    March 30, 2016 at 10:30 pm

    So how is the well coming on? 🙂

    Reply
    • NZ Filbruns says

      March 31, 2016 at 7:11 am

      When it rained, we halted progress; it seems to us that wet clay is a bit more dangerous (as in, cave-ins) than bone-dry clay. When it dries out again and the boys have time again, they will resume work.

      Reply

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The Family:


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Girl #1, Esther, my right hand

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