The Sutton Life

There was not a moment where we thought, “Let’s get into farming. It will be easy.”. Even so, I can still feel the places where my rose-colored glasses have been ripped off, only to be replaced by a big ole’ dose of reality. This may be the most true in our endless search for a broken pipe. This pipe situation that we are going through has led to many moments – often resulting in that hysterical laughter that made everyone distance themselves 6 feet before social distancing became popular. So, without further adieu, here is our pipe story. 

As you many or may not know, we bought this house at an auction. We knew we would renovate it. We knew that would mean new electric, new plumbing, a new roof (among a million other ‘news’ that we were (somewhat) prepared for). We did not realize we had a water pipe that ran over a mile down the road and around the corner to the meter. We did not know that this pipe was a private, hand-dug line that was actually conduit instead of plumbing pipe. We did not know that halfway down the road, our neighbor had a handshake agreement with the prior owners to tap into this line which means we can not turn our water off without turning his water off. We did not know that out of all the issues an old house can have, the water line would be the thing that gave us nightmares. 

It all started one afternoon when we were working at the house. A man walked in through our front door, went to the back room where Scott was working, and yelled out “Do you have water?”.  Keep in mind we have no idea who this person is. But Scott, being Scott, just checked the water without asking. I guess he assumed people who wanted to rob us did not first ask about the water status in a house. Tap on: no watert. So, this man (who ended up being the neighbor that has tapped into our line) went house to house until he found the problem. Another neighbor was burying a horse and hit the line (pause: how many times has this ever happened to you? Yeah, it was our first experience too. RIP horse). 

Another note about this water line: It does not run straight. It does not run next to the road. It runs all through other people’s property. In their backyards. Through their fields. And only about 10 inches underground. Which seems easy to find. But it is impossible. Well, unless you have a horse to bury. 

Fast forward, that leak was fixed. But there was still a leak. Our water bill (for a house we do not currently live in) is hundreds of dollars. We can not find the line. We can not turn the water off (remember the neighbor?). Scott has logged close to 80 hours looking for this leak. He comes home muddy, exhausted, and defeated. In good news, he has lost about 10 pounds but I don’t think he exactly loves this workout program. 

Then, something happened. All the boys were digging for the pipe and Reed (my 13-year old) hit something. This “something” spewed water about 20 feet in the air on impact. YES! The water line! No! Another leak. Scott fixed the leak (managing to make the neighbors upset for turning off the water) and a miracle happened! The meter stopped spinning. The leak was no more. Did my child actually have enough luck to hit the mile-long pipe right where the leak was? (Yes, we bought a lotto ticket. We won $10. That was enough proof for us). It was fixed. We stopped on the side of the road and checked the meter about 4 times a day. We danced and high-fived and celebrated each time the little spinner was still. This probably did not help as far as the neighbors thinking we were crazy but happy-crazy us better than just lost-it crazy so we didn’t care. We talked about this accomplishment like we just won Olympic gold. It was a BIG deal! 

Then, this morning happened. Scott gets a phone call at 6:00a.m. Guess who? Yep, the neighbor. He doesn’t have enough water pressure. He needs Scott to come fix it. Scott is patient and kind and all those things love is supposed to be. But, at that moment, I would not have been surprised if he bypassed the pipe situation and spent the rest of his days digging a well. But he didn’t. In true Scott fashion, he drove over there. Walked all through neighbors’ yards. Fielded phone calls from the neighbor and his wife anxious to get their water back to normal. He went to Lowe’s. He bought more supplies to repair it. He started digging. 

And he digs still. Scott and Maddox (our oldest) are there now hoping against hope to see an end to the pipe drama. But, that is probably just a pipe dream. The story continues….