the drilling of a well and a recipe

 Hello.

 Today we are having a well drilled on a piece of property we purchased back in early December. The house is actually a little low-ceilinged cottage with 3.5 acres located directly across the street from us. We are not sure what we are going to do with it, a guest house? An air bnb? But first we need water and then we can begin making it a place we can perhaps use to serve others.

As I walked over this morning to meet up with the well drillers, I munched on a slice of coconut apricot bread. The recipe will be at the end of the post. If one likes coconut, I recommend it. It is a tasty, not too sweet and simple loaf to whip up in a short period of time. I was in a mindset to bake it this week. It keeps well too.

 And speaking of wells...we were, weren't we?  A list was given to us by the local Health Department when we applied for a well drilling permit. We called around and discovered not only is well drilling very expensive these days, but sometimes  there may be a backload for getting someone to come out in a timely manner. We were thankful today was the day our driller could be at the property to drill and it was a super pleasant "spring-like" day to boot. 

Earplugs, that is what I wish I had while this was going on...so very loud!!!! But quite a thrill to watch. I covered my ears and finally had to go inside the house and watch from the window.

This photo only shows the drill going through the ground until bedrock is hit . After that comes the actual water drilling. All was accomplished  by 2 o'clock in the afternoon, now we wait for the pump and lines to be run to the house.

 Interestingly, in my years of old home living I have owned houses containing a hand dug well (shallow, but a great well nonetheless),  a driven well ( no problems or complaints ), and drilled wells. But this is the first time we have ever had to be involved with actually having a well drilled.  The house does have an original well, but now adequately  cemented and covered, on the premises. But it has not been used since at least the 1970's.  From that time to present it was hooked up to the previous owners personal well house (about an acre or so away).

Coconut Apricot Loaf

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease a loaf pan, or you may use parchment paper instead, which is what I like to do with this loaf.

2 1/4 cups unbleached, all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups dried coconut, I purchase mine here

1 cup dried apricots, diced

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Begin by soaking your apricots in 2 cups of milk. Since I use unsulphured apricots, the apricots are harder in texture, so depending on what kind of apricots you are using will depend on how long you must soak them.  No more than 30- 45 minutes should do.

Mix all dry ingredients together, pour the milk into the center and stir until well combined. Ladle into pan and bake 50 -55 minutes.