New Well Pump

 We weren't having any trouble but the old one was 18 years old and we didn't want it to fail on December 26 during an ice storm when no one could get up the hill so we proactively replaced it. Well is 430'. Hull's did the work as they did the first one.  

The water was cloudy for 2 days but we are set for another 18 years now.

Water problem

Have to drink beer and can't do any light laundry.  The well had a mud problem on Saturday that made our water look like week-old toilet water.  Luckily it didn't smell. It's slowly clearing now.

Water

Good on everything but way too much iron.

First business for today was the removal of the port-a-potty now that we have a functioning toilet in the basement bathroom.  Even better, Doug installed doors on the basement bath and the basement stairway closet, so those using the bath will can now use the door for privacy, rather than the two sheets of rigid Styrofoam insulation that was temporarily set up yesterday.
John and Chris were busy today cutting and fitting sills for the windows, so that now only a handful of windows are left without sills.  It is amazing how the addition of a door or window sill changes the appearance of the interior.

 Bill and Jonas have finished installing the maple treads going up to the loft.  They covered the treads with cardboard and blue painter's tape to protect the treads from foot traffic.  They then turned their attention to the stairs going down to the basement and put the finish on both the risers and skirt boards. 
Cody got into the trim work and applied finish to the thresholds for some of the doors. 

Water to the house

Jeff installed the toilet in the basement, the water heater, and fixed the valve to permit water to flow in to the basement.

Dwayne hooked up the grinder to the electrical circuit with a temporary extension cord, so now we have an active toilet indoors and the port-a-potty can be returned.

Adrian, Bill, and Paul shifted the island to its permanent position so that Adrian could drill a pilot hole to check the location of the down draft vent system.  It appears that the permanent position of the island will work with Adrian's adjusted ducting in the basement.  We also checked out the outside air vent for the wood stove and found that by positioning the stove in the center of the hearth area, its vent will also fit into the current ducting structure.  There will still be some adjusting for the exact size and shapes of these critical vents, but for now it appears everything will fit without any significant problems.
Roger from Vigilant Security was out to run wires and position them for the keypads that will control the system.  One keypad will go on the laundry room wall near the main entrance, the other in the master bedroom behind the closet door.  Both locations used interior walls so running the wiring was less complicated.
Bill and Jonas moved the maple stair treads from the shed to the house and began the process of measuring the treads and risers.  They were also involved with planning down and sawing the long hemlock boards that will form the risers.
The crew of Cody, Chris, and John worked on the exterior siding finishing up some of the trim work on the west wall and the installed flashing at the base of the west wall up to the rear door.  They also strung lines on the siding fabric to guide installing the siding.
Kohlhepps from DuBois arrived at lunchtime and took measurements for the granite tops.  He used a laser photo system and took with him sinks and faucets in order to exactly fit the cuts to the dimensions of these items.
John and Chris worked on cutting and installing some window sills on the bump out windows.

Bill and Jonas installed several of the maple treads on the stairs going up to the first landing.  They will cover the maple with cardboard to protect it from scrapes. 
It started raining here about noon time and has been on and off, mostly on, all day with temps in the low 40s.
The some flowers have survived the chickens' "care".  It's good to find a few things they don't prefer for dinner.  The lilies of the valley seem to like the north side while the columbine and bleeding heart are doing well on the east side.

Reading Elizabeth Street  Fabiano **** based on her family's history of Italian immigrants in NY in early 1900's

Wells complete

Well drillers made repairs to the rig and started drilling the first well at 0930. It was noisy and dusty at the Barony today.  Lots of gray pulverized rock in the drilling tailings.  It's finely ground shale that looks like concrete dust and packs as firmly when wet. They will move the tailings and will use our tractor to pick it up.  Tomorrow they put the geothermal hoses down into the 4 200' wells.  

Jonas is applying the final finish coat to the treads in the shed. They will set up over the weekend and be ready for  installation next week.

Jeff put a vent out of the upstairs bathroom.
The wall hangers are taping off the edges where the wall board meets the timbers.

 John and Doug are trimming out the front door and windows with the HardiePlank trim pieces.

But, our water is a horrible dirty brown now. There's no smell. I hope it clears soon.

Dear Aunt Pricilla,

From the Baron (just slightly modified):

Dear Aunt Pricilla

We continue to have a roller coaster ride as far as the weather out here in Pennsylvania goes. A week ago we had two days in a row with lows in the single digits. This morning the low was 54 degrees. We missed the recent East Coast snowstorm last weekend and only got a couple of flakes in the air--no accumulation. With this weekend's heat wave our snow has completely melted. Some of our daffodils are starting to poke up through the mulch and I have been trying to cover them up with more mulch to delay their efforts to break out and grow. If I can delay them another week, or so, that should be enough to protect them from any cold outbreaks that sneak up on us.

The warmer weather has brought a rather unpleasant aftereffect--ticks. After going without any ticks since we started visiting Pennsylvania, I have been plagued by 4 in the past 2 weeks. Poor Gambol has accumulated his share of them too, which is not a surprise with him going through the forest and meadow with his nose on the ground. For Gambol we got a standard flea and tick collar and just got a prescription filled for the anti-tick medicine you apply direction to the skin of a dog. This is a 30 day treatment, so we'll be giving this medication to him once a month until winter returns and the cold kills off the ticks. I guess I will have to start applying insecticide whenever I go out, especially on my jeans, shoes, and hat.

We had a bit of excitement at the Barony last week. On Wednesday morning The Baroness was just starting to take a shower when the power in the house dipped (like a brownout) and the shower head produced a burst of gray-black water. The shower water turned cold, so I went downstairs to check on our tankless electric water heater. The electric circuits were fine, no circuit breakers had tripped, but the water heater was leaking slightly and the leak apparently had just started when The Baroness experienced the brownout. My first assumption was that the well had run dry and the pump had surged when it sucked in some mud at the bottom of the well. That, of course, is a nightmare scenario for a home owner: clogged faucets and equipment, like the water heater and even the washing machine, and having the well drilled deeper or treated to increase the water flow--all of which can be quite expensive. We called out the well people and they drained our water pressure tank in the house and it ran as clear as could be. They suggested that the electric water heater had some built up calcium in the lines and a small part of that calcification had broken off, causing the buildup of pressure in the water lines and the water heater (and causing the temporary power surge and the resultant leak). So as a last resort, The Baroness called our builder and asked him for help as she was not enjoying taking cold showers. He responded that day and came out to check the system. He fixed the small leak in the system but couldn't really do much for the heater itself, so he called in his brother, a plumber. The plumber came out and did a quick check, confirming that the systems was not working. He asked his brother where he got the heater (a local plumbing supply store in State College), so they went off to see what the manufacturer (Bosch) would do for the 10 year warranty on the heater. After a couple of days of calls back and forth Bosch agreed the system needed replacement and shipped a new unit by Fed Ex. The new heater arrived on Friday morning and the plumber came out that afternoon and hooked it up and everything worked again. So we were without hot water for 9 days. The Baroness appealed to a hotel in the industrial park where she works to let her use their fitness center for a morning shower. Otherwise the Demmert family was taking wash cloth baths with water heated on the stove. I should add that we will be getting a water softener system installed shortly to take care of that calcium problem. Interestingly enough, our well water is incredibly soft--only 4 grains of hardness. The problem is that the massive amount of heat the water heater applies causes any minerals in solution to precipitate out and that results in the scale buildup in the pipes.

Gambol is maturing every day and although he does not come immediately when called, we have been experimenting in letting him off leash at the end of our walks. For 3 out of 4 times he came running when called for his hot dog treat. On the 4th day he decided he didn't need a treat and took off for 30 minutes on his own. We will graduate from beginner puppy class tonight, but have already enrolled him in a follow-on training class starting next Thursday evening. One trick we have been working on is hiding a treat in another room and telling Gambol to find it. We started out with that trick by just throwing a treat on the floor and saying, "find it." Of course he saw it fall and went right for it. Now, because he didn't see it fall, he has to air scent to find it. He sounds like a pulsing vacuum cleaner as he goes about tracking the treat's scent. It is amazing to watch and he really seems to have fun locating the treat with his nose.

So with the start of Daylight Savings Time and a hot shower to boot, we hope that Aunt Priscilla is on the mend from her recent surgery. Get well soon, St Patrick's Day is just around the corner!