May 2018 Island Trip Day Nine

Well yes, June is upon us, but why change a theme. Today was mostly about good and bad water.

The septic guys were here by 9:15. They used a locator to find the tank, which was kinda cool. The  current piping took a left directly after the clean out, and they found the tank in a matter of minutes. Why cast iron pipe goes deep into the lower field, we don’t know. It’s possible the house didn’t have septic in its infancy, and the pipe I was following dumped directly out into a shallow drain field. The guys didn’t have to dig far to expose the tank and lids, all made of concrete. They don’t think the tank has ever been pumped. The rebar handles were corroded down to less than a 1/4 inch in diameter. We found wood in the upper barn to place under the lid as the three of us carefully pried it open, less it slip into the deep, full tank. Turns out the tank wasn’t in all that bad of shape. I was aghast to see a panty liner in the soup as the pump started doing its thing. Our home has a sewer pump, and you don’t put ANYTHING down the loo other than waste and TP. As I looked closer, there were 100s of panty liners. Mom had been flushing them! Yet another sign of her illness. There was a time when she schooled me not to flush any sanitary product down the loo.

Unfortunately, the clog remained. A garden hose with a pressure nozzle attached was fished up the clean out toward the house. Things started moving, and then suddenly let loose with such force that part of the clog came flying out of the clean out. While still sore from working 8 days straight, I lept backwards like a baby goat. Never have I been happier to see a gallon of sewage in my life! The clog likely happened due to lack of system use. Paper gets stuck on drying pipes, it builds up… I”ll leave the rest to your imagination. My lovely plant  waterers are going to flush the toilet once a week for me.

For a mere $500, the septic company will remodel the hatches of the tank so they can be accessed at ground level. Cheap at twice the price, and knowing where the tank is, priceless.

The well crew showed up around 9:30. They didn’t know a filtration system was part of the deal, much less that I had an estimate, which would have been helpful as it has a list of all the bits and pieces. I, of course, shared the estimate with them. I would have to write for an hour to catalog all the forensics we went through with this project today. Inadequate electrical panel documentation, leaks, and concrete poured (by my dad) over pipes that have since broken will keep us from restoring water to the building at this time (It’s doable, but I want to keep costs under control) etc. The crew of two roll with the challenges with a smile.

I finished cleaning up the deck rebuilding site, filling in the ditch I’d created while septic tank hunting.

The other day the finish carpenter and I discovered the cabinet by the entry was not attached to the wall.Today I moved, and cleaned behind the cabinet. It was a spider wonderland, and the wall needs paint, of course.

There was time to go through all the CDs of photos we found in the darkroom office. I kept five with pictures of family and friends, including some of my grandparents on the farm in the 50’s. The remainder of the CDs were photos of people’s houses that dad might have taken for real estate brokers, or architectural magazines. Not knowing tho who or whys, these were thrown away.

Tim and I met at the brew pub and were joined by another friend, who is both brilliant and whack a doodle at the same time. They are both huge supporters of my efforts on my mom’s behalf, having known her and my father for decades. Sometimes a girl just needs a pat on the back for her hard work. The owner of the pub served on the land trust board with my father, and introduced me to another woman who did the same. An hour into the evening yet another of my parent’s friends strolled in who I hadn’t seen since I was 18. Tim reintroduced us. John was speechless for a moment, and then we talked for an hour. It was a kinda wonderful evening. I returned home, ate a late dinner while chatting with my DH, and slept solidly,