Monday, August 23, 2010

Waking up too early

I wake up around 3 A.M. most every day; normally I'm able to go back to sleep for a couple of hours, unless there's something that grabs hold of my thoughts, some concern or problem.  In that case, I'm just awake, and there's nothing to do about it.  My mind travels through all the possibilities and concerns of "what could go wrong" and "what might happen" and I'm awake for the day.  
For the past two weeks it's been my cow.  I'd wake up and lie there for awhile, trying to still my thoughts.  Then I'd think, "As long as I'm up, I may as well go check on her."  
And after a trip to the barn, there was no way I was going to go back to sleep, so I'd make my coffee.  
The cow is still somewhat an issue, because there are things that could go wrong; but a new problem (if it is a problem) has taken precedence.  
Yesterday afternoon, out of the clear blue, we had no water.  The pump in the well that supplies the old house, the shop, the livestock's in-ground waterer, and our mobile home stopped working.  The pump is old, and probably due for replacement, so we braced ourselves for the worst.  Because replacing the pump is neither cheap nor easy.   
However, Cliff traced the problem to some thingamajig in the well-house; he happened to have a replacement thingamajig he'd purchased years ago at a garage sale.  He put in the replacement and, once again, we had water.  
There's a light on a pole out there that comes on when the well-pump is running; that way we know if the pump isn't shutting off for some reason.  
That light would not go off yesterday after Cliff's repair job.  He told his sister to go out and unscrew the bulb.  He's hoping he simply hooked the light up wrong; he'll check it out today.  
I took my shower, watched TV, and went to bed, not a worry in my head.  
At 3 A.M. I woke up with a little demon on my shoulder whispering, "foot valve, foot valve, foot valve," a phrase I've neither heard nor thought about for at least ten years.  
If I recollect properly from years gone by, when the foot valve goes bad on the pump, the pump runs all the time.  
What if the light is hooked up properly?  Maybe the pump is running all the time.  
The foot valve is cheap to replace, but it's down at the bottom of the well that's over 100 feet deep.  
I hate it when Cliff and I have to pull that pump.  
I could almost hope it's the pump that's bad; then we just fork over several hundred dollars and let Bruce fix it.  (Bruce is the local guy who works on well-related problems.)  
Cliff is still sleeping, so I can't ask him if my fears are valid.  
*sigh*
    

5 comments:

  1. Around 3 am is my usual waking time whether I want it to be or not, ha! It's when I wake up when Dear Hubby's alarm goes off at 1 am and the "What If's" hit me that I hate it. Funny how the mind can jump on the treadmill and never know when to jump back off, isn't it? Just like a hamster going 'round and 'round. I HATE nites like that.

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  2. I have the opposite problem. Sometimes you will notice that I was online at 2 or 3am playing FV or Pogo or some other silly online thing. It's because I am wide awake and can't sleep. I go, lay down at a decent time, and then think of a hundred things to worry about. Usually it is easier to just get up than it is to lay there and toss and turn and wake up the hubs. Unfortunately if I am up till 3 or 4 am I still have to be up at 8am to go and take care of horses, etc **sigh**

    Hope your pump worries turn out to be nothing. Oh, and the new calf... he is adorable. Love the markings on his face :)

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  3. My Dad and uncle have drilled wells for many years now. Like you, I would rather pay someone to mess with the pump. Oh, if you do have to pull the pump, hook the tractor up to it and pull.

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  4. That's how we've always done it, Small Farm Girl. It still isn't easy.

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  5. When I was a kid we had to pull our pump about every four years to replace something. The water was really hard (still is). Thankfully my uncle worked for the company that would do the work. So on a day off he'd bring out the truck and equipment and my dad and brother and others would help pull it, and Mom and Dad only had to pay for the equipment. Mom just had to make my uncle (her baby brother) his favorite dinner. Sometimes he'd bring my cousins with him, so it was a great day usually!

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