This is a Friday night so I don’t suppose I need to write anything of great consequence. However, this is important to us since we have managed to solve our water issues on the farm. Hooray!! The smaller tubing worked for the compressed air and the air-lift pump works great. Thanks to Gnome for Belize Rigging…it helps to have brains on a farm…it makes all the difference in finding elegant solutions.
The heat is Punishing; It’s stifling hot and we are suffering in the midst of dry season in Belize. I’m not whining for nothing…it has been a real feel of 117F (47C)! Phew!! The Piggies are whining in Paradise too…with squeals, squawks and prolonged weeeeeeeeeees! Mmmm…maybe we should do a Piggie Haircut Day…anyone for a mow-hawk!! It’s not a joke by the way, we do shave their hair as an annual event..
On the farm, we are having issues with water scarcity. We haven’t had any rains for four weeks now. We have a shallow well which is being pumped up by an air-compressor (using the air-lift method). If you have any inclination to read about our Water Saga (actually quite an entertaining read!) then please click on the following pages: Pump Vs Frog and Gnome Premonitions.
Anyway, today Gnome decided to change the tubing which connects the compressor to the bottom of the well. The air goes down the tubing and displaces the water which shoots up out of a PVC pipe. The well hasn’t been filling up quick enough so we figured that we needed to draw up the water slower with a smaller tube. So, today we both got hot and sweaty to pull all the piping up to make the necessary changes.
Our hope is that there will be a continuous draw of water rather that spits and spurts. Anyway, let’s hope this will work otherwise there will be more Gnome tweaking. 😉
We had our usual town day today and then stopped off at the hardware store to purchase one connector and a roll of teflon tape. These were two crucial pieces that were missing in the air-lift pump construction that stopped us from completing the full Gnome-Rig yesterday.
Gnome put the missing piece in and switched on the air-compressor. There was a moment of silence as we stared at the pipe coming out of the well. All of a sudden there was the glorious sound of water shooting out of the pipe…YAY!!! Hip Hip Hooray!! Respect To The Gnome. He Gnome-Rigged an air-lift pump all by himself!
And then at Gnome’s finest moment, the clouds gathered together above our house with the inevitable Sod’s Law rain. Ha-Ha!!
We celebrated with a glass of vernaccia; Gnome says that this particular wine that he has made tastes like local (vernacular) Sardinian wine which has a sherry like quality.
Mmmm…what a lovely way to celebrate. A little bit of sunshine in a glass.
This morning Gnome woke up with a start. He had a furtive look about him like a squirrel and his eyes were kinda bulging as he said,
“I know it! We will find the air-compressor in PG!”
I processed his statement in with a pinch of salt as I tried to shake myself out of my sleepy state. I yawned and then cheekily replied with,
“Oh, Neo Gnome…has the oracle spoken?”
In the back of my mind I was thinking that he was just trying to find any excuse not to take the three hour drive to the city to procure this contraption for our well-pump.
He said it again,
“I know it! It’s at Mac’s!”
I yawned and patiently said slowly,
“How do you know that? Where? We’ve never set foot in that shop before…”
With conviction in his words, Gnome said,
“I can feel it…”
I rolled my eyes with my usual derisive Chinese woman look and thought to myself…oh to live with a sensitive Italian Gnome who can “feel” things…what next. I didn’t believe him but I thought it best to humour him.
And so off we went into town and enroute, I made him go into every hardware store to look for a portable air compressor. I wanted to delay the inevitable…the disappointment and then the long tedious journey to Belmopan. None to be found and the last place was Mac’s Shop which is a little run-down shop selling mostly second-hard hardware. The road was blocked so we had to make it on foot. Guess what we saw as soon as we entered…
Gnome rushed over the machine and said out loud,
“There it is! I told you!”
Well, there it was and there was no denying that he was right. Gnome’s premonition was correct. I laughed to myself and thought…all this solitary time in the bush must be activating secret Gnome powers…Ha-Ha. I’ve been watching too many crappy Super-hero movies!! If Hollywood ever make a film about Munchkin and Gnome, in the bush, developing special powers, I want Maggie Q to play me! Too Funny.
Anyway back to reality…
We now have a portable air-compressor and Gnome is putting together all the bits to make the Air-lift pump..
He has been messing around with PVC pipe, hoses, bits and pieces and stuff (oh, how technical of me) all afternoon:
Nearly accomplished but we are missing a connector. So, watch this space for the next thrilling installment! Will Munchkin and Gnome get their well-pump working again? Will they be able to do it before all the water runs out? Oh the thrills and spills of living on a farm!! Oh, and what if Gnome really has super-hero powers??