Digging Trenches
August 20th, 2013 · No Comments · Posted in farming
No sooner had our pastures been grazed and neatly mowed than crews moved in with heavy equipment to dig them up. We are installing water and electricity in three strategic locations. That means digging trenches for the service lines four feet deep from the house to all three locations–deep enough that the water won’t freeze.
The hydrants are “frost-free,” meaning we’ll be able to draw water for our livestock even in the depths of winter, and we’ll have electricity nearby to power heaters to keep water tanks from freezing. Who said farming wasn’t expensive?
I have to say the digging part went a lot faster than I expected. The workers had to remove part of a wooden fence and a lilac bush next to the house, then they drilled holes in the foundation to access electric panels and water pressure tanks. The water is coming from a new well we had drilled in the spring.
Now that the pipes have been laid, we just have to wait for the man with the dozer to come back and fill the holes. We’ll have bare dirt to live with until the grass re-grows in spring. And we’ll be patrolling the fields for some time picking up all the rocks the digging brought to the surface.
The chickens don’t seem to mind. They’ve been all over the piles of fresh dirt looking for bugs. And the cats like to slink around the dirt piles and explore the trenches. But now we have a new worry: tracking dirt into the house. All shoes must be removed at the front door.
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.