Out little scare, prep for departure

We had a bit of a scare last night. Jake was in the shower and the water stopped. He had run out the monthly service we pay for on the internet earlier in the day and the movie he was watching just quit playing. He told Mama it had timed out. Likewise with the water, when it stopped, he told Mama that it too had timed out. Fortunately, he was just getting rinsed off so there was no urgency there.

However, Mama was in a dead panic. I went to the well house to see if the pump was running even though there was no water flow. That would have meant that the well was dry – our worst case scenario. It was not running and the pressure in the tank was pretty low, indicating further that the pump was off. I checked the power to the well house and it seemed fine.

I had to go back to the shop to get a tester for the switch that turns the pump on and off. When I removed the cover on the switch I noticed an ant infestation – fire ants. After I cleared them out and reengaged the switch, I heard the quiet hum of the pump running and watched the tank pressure go back up. As I was walking back to the shop to put my tester back Jake blasted through the back to announce that the water was back on. They knew that because he had not turned off the shower when he got out. Fortunately, he had closed the shower curtain.

Mama was already on the phone with someone talking through her dread in the thought of our well being dry and our tip to Florida being cancelled because I had to work on getting water to the farm. Later, as she relayed the event to people at church they had similar stories of switches being shorted out by ants. For some reason they love electricity; maybe it’s the ozone or the magnet field, no one really knows. Anyway, the trip is back on for now which is a huge relief to Mama and Jake.

As we plan for leaving today there are a few safety precautions we have to take, like unplugging items throughout the house, emptying the fridge, making sure all the faucets are properly closed, checking the locks on the house and other locked areas and parking vehicles in front of the tarp covered entrances to the shop. If we do not remember it all, I am sure we will be alright, but it is better to take the time to leave things stowed and secured properly.

We will be off to an early start tomorrow.