I do a lot of research online. I'm trying more and more to BE a homesteader. I've been reading Amy's blog for a few months now and being prepared comes to my mind when I think about her or her blog. She's made that a personal goal of hers-- a good goal for me to emulate! There is so much I need to do and learn. Until this week I have only been fooling myself into thinking we'd be alright if catastrophe struck. I do a lot of thinking about "What would I do IF..."
But I'm afraid I haven't done much to actually get prepared.
(photo-source)Recently the small town of Kemp ,close to where I live, has had to do without water for several days and because of this terrible drought the ground has dried and the pipes are so old they've cracked under pressure. The businesses and residents of that little town have suffered because of it. I don't live inside the city limits. I live out of town about 7-1/2 miles. One difference between city limits and rural route living is the Utilities. This week Water Source has been on my mind a lot.
One reason I must say, embarrassingly-- this week we wasted water! A lot of it. I won't give all the sordid details, but it involved our swimming pool and I feel like such a hypocrite even talking about finding a fresh water source ..."Just in case ..." but it has brought home now more than ever the need to conserve and not be careless with our valuable resources.
Another reason WATER SOURCE has been on my mind is I've been wanting to dig a well on our own property for a while or at least see if the one that has been capped-off is any good. For research this week I've investigated Water Well digging, by hand and machine. I've looked into parts to case a well, and the parts to create a pump as apposed to having an electric pump. I've priced pitcher pumps...didn't know you could still buy those. Didn't know how little you actually needed in parts to actually have well water on your property.
I've learned how to study the lay of the land to find the best place to dig. You have to pay attention to location regarding your septic of course and the barn. Both places, you Do NOT want to have near your well!
I've also looked into purifying water for drinking that's been stored or possibly contaminated in the event of an emergency. I've come to understand that not all water needs to be boiled. If you have bleach that isn't too old and still potent or viable; you can put about 15 drops of clorox bleach (not lemon fresh or scented) into 1 gallon of water... Mix well. Wait 30 mins it should have a slight bleach smell, but will be potable for drinking.
Lastly, Water Source has been on my mind because of the lack of rain. This is something that is out of our control. We cannot control the weather; all the more reason to be prepared for whatever may come our way.
Earlier in the week I was watching a local news broadcast; they were filming in our little town---and there were people who had gathered at the city park to pray for rain.
All this talk of water made me think of this passage of scripture:
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:10-14
This morning I woke to the gentle sound of thunder.
It was raining. God is faithful.
* don't forget to hop over to read more articles on preparedness at
Homestead Revivals Preparedness Challenge #21
God Bless you and Thanks for reading.
9 comments:
Water and the lack of it has always been one of my big concerns. We live in the city but there is always the possibility of something causing at least a temporary shut down in the water supply.
I'm glad you're getting rain.
Prayer should always be our first thought! I don't mention that enough and I appreciate the reminder. BTW - welcome to the Preparedness Challenge ;-) All your research is very appropriate, I might add. Consider having more than one water source so you always have a back up. I'm looking into water catchment even out here in the semi-desert mountains.
I grew up outside Mabank, so I'm familiar with where you are. I've recently found your blog and enjoy it. Lezlee (Prior) and her family are life-long friends. Now I live in Navarro County. I'll be watching for your writings.
I know God is in control of all things and he takes care of his own...this has been proven to me over and over again many times in my life...he'll prepare you when the time comes...trust in him in all things. God is Good....Mel's Designs from the Cabin enjoyed your post today about water or the lack there of...Mel
I've spent the past few days thinking of water storage and am looking into getting one of those galvanized 5000 gallon tanks to catch rainwater. We are experiencing a severe drought here in Texas and wildfires are a huge concern.
This tank (which I don't know the price of and haven't yet discussed with my husband) would help with fire protection AND a back-up water source.
I know we would conserve if our coop water wasn't available at the tap but I looked at our monthly water bill and we're currently using 6,000 gallons on average each month. That's a far cry from the 50 gallons or so that I have on hand.
I noticed your post linking with Homestead Revival because this week we were blessed to obtain containers to store over 1300 gal of water...and it was all free! We were pricing tanks as well and searching Craigslist for deals, and my dad asked why we didn't just try to get old aerator tanks that were being replaced. We located a local company that handles those and sure enough, there were four tanks out by the dumpster, as well as lots of PVC that was still perfectly fine.
As we were driving out to get the tanks we passed a chemical company and noticed stacks of plastic 55 gal drums out back. After an inquiry we were invited to help ourselves with what we needed of those as well.
We felt very provided for by our Heavenly Father! These tanks will be part of our water storage system on our new off-grid homestead, as well as part of an aquaponics system we hope to try in raising our own food.
I'd really like to know what you learned or where you learned about well-digging because we will be doing that soon as well.
Thanks for sharing!
Fransene
LiveReadyNow.com
I've been thinking about preparedness also, funny huh? Haven't done much about it. Another friend and I have talked about it and she has already begun to build her "pantry". R and I have talked about a well years ago, and he has always wanted a windmill. I should get serious about it and do some research.
BTW did it really rain there? R says we didn't get any at our house but it rained at his work.
lylas
My father was a world traveler and he always carried a little bottle of bleach to purify the water wherever he was - so I guess there is truth to that! Good for you Pat, sounds like you are doing your homework and I hope your region gets the much needed rain - wish I could give you the more-than-plenty that falls here this time of year. Ann
the first time we lived in Okinawa, they were having a drought, things were still green and it rained, but not like normal...and so many people on such a little island, we were on water rationing for 3 years, for a solid year we had water 22 hours and no water for 24 hours, then the water we did get was nonpotable, we used bleach to treat it, and transported water from another base in jugs...looking back that seems crazy that I did that for a solid year, with little kids, but we just got used to it and everyone had to do it.
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