This part of Texas is rocky. There are rocks of every size on this
property. I am currently digging a
trench so I can build a raised garden bed and I am picking out tiny pieces of
gravel and small rocks out of the few inches of top soil I am clearing
away. Under that few inches of top soil I
am finding larger chucks of rocks and then bedrock. The garden is on the South side of the property. There is a slight downward slope to the land,
the North side being a bit higher in elevation then the South side. The cabins will be built on the North side
which is solid rock. The area where the
power pole and cabins will be built is solid rock, there is no top soil. Around here I like to joke that we take the
Bible literally. These cabins are being built on solid rock, no sand for us.
“Therefore
whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise
man who built his house on a rock. And
the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that
house. And it did not fall, for it was founded on a rock. And everyone who hears these sayings of Mine
and does not do them shall be compared to a foolish man who built his house on
the sand. And the rain came down, and
the floods came, and the wind blew and beat on that house. And it fell, and
great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:24-27)
Obviously,
one does not dig a hole using a shovel when dealing with solid rock. Rick used a hammer drill with a one inch
chisel to make the holes to put the two steel pipes needed to support the
electrical rack. Then he used cement to
secure the pipes in the holes. That task
alone took him two days of hard physical labor.
He would then spend several days building the rack and wiring it. He also was required to build the weatherhead (the long metal pole with wiring inside that is attached to an electrical
pole and covered to protect the wires from rain). In the city the power company and
an electrical contractor would build and install the weather head and rack, but
out in the country the home owner is required to complete this job. Since we are installing a lot more power than
a single family dwelling would use, bigger wire was needed. Minimum code called for 3 strands of copper
wire 1 inch (2.54cm) thick. Each strand
was 30 feet (9.14 meters) long. Not only
was this wire heavy but to fit in the weather head it had to be bent, a very
difficult task that required my help.
Most
of what Rick was required to do would have been done by a licensed electrician
if we were in the city. Out here in the
country there are only a few licensed electricians within a hundred mile radius
willing to come out this far. Thankfully
Rick has enough electrical experience that with a little guidance from folks at
the Electrical Supply Store he was able to accomplish this very difficult
task. If I had been forced to hire a
licensed electrician, this project would have cost several thousand dollars
more. As it was the cost of materials to
build that rack and weather head were well over $2000 and I had to pay
Pedernales Electric Coop over $4000 for their part of the job.
Getting
that rack built required several trips to both Rocksprings and Kerrville in
search of needed items. Last week we
basically made 5 trips in 6 days as Rick faced one challenge after another. Since we had no way of knowing when Pedernales
would come out to install the power poles, Rick had to work fast. I prayed that he would be totally finished
before they arrived. He finally finished
his part of the job on Wednesday, then moved some very large rocks (maybe 100
pounds/46 kg or more each) out of the way for the trucks. Then in answer to prayer Pedernales arrived Thursday
morning. God answers prayer perfectly.
It took Pedernales five large trucks, a crew
of men, and 3 ½ hours to complete the job.
Fortunately they arrived in Thursday morning when both of us were home
and it was relativity cool. The morning
low that day was 76 (25c) and very humid.
Most mornings we average in the low 70’s (21+c). We have been hitting 100f (38c) or above most
days for several weeks now. By noon
(often 11am for me) it is usually to hot and sunny for either of us to be
outside working. God knew I wanted to
take lots of pictures and He arranged for Pedernales to come in the morning so
I could do just that. I am not sure I
would have been able to stay out in that sun if they had arrived in the
afternoon. God is good.
I
took over 450 pictures and so it is going to take me some time to sift through
them. As soon as I am done I will share
more of that day with you all.
