Oh Noooo

Wow!

Shortly after posting the blog on Friday, the dog and I heard a huge bang. I listened for further noise and all I heard was the dog growling and the occasional bark.

Finally after being unable to quiet the dog I started looking for the source of the noise. I also needed another cup of coffee, so I had coffee cup in hand.

I went through the sunporch while looking out the windows. Made my way into the kitchen and looked out the windows. Yup. There it was...

The 220 volt line that runs from the house to the outbuildings was laying in the lawn. Looking under the pine tree in the back yard I could see the remnants of the old pole laying near the driveway. The bang I and Rowdy had heard was the bolts for the hanger being ripped from the side of the house.

I poured my coffee and walked back to the living room. I called my son who is now living in the apartment above the equipment shed. Yup, he had heard the noise also. I asked him if he knew what it was. Well, the noise bothered him even less than it did me. He hadn't had a clue.

I told him the pole and wires were down. Well he was still with electricity so he didn't know.

Then I broke his heart when I told him we'll have to get that fixed right away. He was looking forward to spending the rainy day doing nothing but resting. Instead we would be spending the day out in the rain rerunning the wiring.

We've known for well over twenty years that the pole was bad and would eventually come down. I've just always debated whether to run new line underground or to change the lines in a different direction and eliminate the pole.

Well now in the time of need to get it done, the new direction was pulling way ahead in my mind. The wire that was there was more than enough to do the job and it would certainly be cheaper than buying the pipe to run wires in. I've also been told many times that wires in pipe that eventually get wet just seem to disintegrate and then need replaced.

It would also take the least amount of time to do the job...

So Friday we shut off the breaker for the outbuildings and spent the day out in a pretty steady rain climbing ladders and running the wires from building to building. Only had to make two trips to the hardware store to pick up supplies for the job. The second was only because I changed my mind on my first plans. While doing the job I saw a better way.

Saturday morning it was still raining so I waited until about 10:30 to call him. I told him to come over for an early lunch and then we'd get started. He moaned a bit about having to work in the rain another day, but came over anyway. By the time we finished eating and cleaned up it quit raining. We spent the rest of the day working on the final two buildings.

We got power back to his apartment and that building and the wires were all run to the shop. But once in the shop I decided on another change. So it was off to the hardware one more time. It was also getting very late, so we stopped for a bite to eat and I decided to call it a day. We were both very tired and needed a good rest. The shop could wait one more day.

Sunday we loafed the morning away and then finished the job during the afternoon. So everything is fixed now and all is back to normal.

Living on a farm is not all fun and games. When many things go bad it is your own problem. No city, county or township is taking care of the things that many people take for granted. Wiring past the main entrance is your problem. Plumbing lines that run to outbuildings is your problem. If one leaks you grab a shovel and start digging to find the leak and fix it or rerun new water lines yourself. If the pump goes bad or breaks down it's up to you to fix it or get another or you just do without water.

Even though there are problems and responsibilities you must take care of yourself it sure is worth it.

But before you ever decide to make the move to country living, make sure you are also aware of what you will eventually get involved with.

We are both experienced with just about anything that could need done. I did all that work for a living during my life and still have enough interest in it to keep up with code changes and new materials. He has learned from me and also has a degree from a tech school that has taught him a lot.

If not it would have cost us a huge bundle of cash to pay someone else to come here and do it and I'm sure it would have even cost more to get it done over the weekend! That is if we cold even have found someone to do it over a weekend, or even someone who would have been able to get to us that quickly...

Well that's enough about my weekend. I certainly hope you had a much more enjoyable and dry weekend. Heck, I'm still waiting for my shoes to dry!