Spring Water - October 2008

Finding a source of household water proved to be challenging. Our original source proved to be fickle; only running with the rains. Contacted the most reputable local well driller to come to the site. They asked where we wanted them to drill...well, I wanted expert advice as to the best location to drill. They do not do that. Paying for a haphazard approach did not suit us.

Enter: Mary, a Native American/Scottish woman. She has "the gift" to dowse for water. Mary arrived, walked serenely into the woods, prayerfully selected her forked twig, prayed for guidance, and began to patiently walk over the land. She finally located a place where some water would be found at 90'. She was not overly encouraging that it would be a significant source, but daylight was dwindling. Mary offered to come again and dowse up on the ridge where water may be more plentiful. The plan was to have Mary located a good spot and then have the well-driller do his thing. While waiting, Mike found a significant spring up the creek. It has never been dry and became the primary focus of our efforts. This photo shows the crew setting a large pipe down into the ground to collect the spring water from its source. Then a small pipe, inserted into the mid-point of the reservoir was directed to our building site through a trench to a 1000 gallon tank at the base of the Hamilton Cabin. Patience, advice, exploration, and time provided the answer to the question of water. One more step forward!