My New Well.

Hello Daylily Friends,

I had hoped to be writing to you from Milbank, South Dakota, because my wife Diana and I had planned to go there together to visit her parents, Margie and Willie Giessinger. Margie grows some of the most stunning daylilies that I have ever seen, considering that her climate is so very, very cold during the winter. She grows only dormants, and her dormants are more beautiful than I have seen anywhere else. The cold weather certainly agrees with Margie's dormant daylilies. Diana's father, Willie, was a U. S. Marine, and served with the invasion force at Guadalcanal during World War II. Willie was highly decorated for his heroic service. For years after the war Willie sold cars for American Motors in Milbank. Willie and Margie are now retired.

As I say I had intended to go with Diana to Milbank on an early morning flight on Tuesday, August 20. However, Monday evening on August 19, my irrigation tank that holds 1,700 gallons continued to fill from the well. The well just kept pumping water, and the tank overflowed. Danger was imminent. If the overflowing was not stopped I could have lost my adjacent barn. Fortunately, I was able to stop the overflowing water by turning off the electrical power to the well. It was obvious that I needed professional help. So, I called Dave Ward from D. W. Water Systems and pleaded with Dave for assistance.

Of course Dave did help, but I could not get the well repaired until Monday, August 24. This meant that I could not go with Diana to South Dakota. She had to go alone, and I stayed behind to handle our emergency. Unfortunately, Northwest Airlines did not consider my problem an emergency. So I lost the full value of my $350.00 ticket. The ticket is now worth $150.00.

As I say, Dave came to repair the well on Monday morning. He had to remove 300 feet of steel pipes, along with approximately 300 feet of wire, as well as the pump itself. Notably, Dave installed the well back in August of 1989, over 20 years ago. Dave had the records from when the well was installed, and he knew how to fix the well. He took the crane from his truck, and removed all of the old metal pipes, and I am showing a picture of the old pipes being grouped together on the ground after removal from the well. Back when Dave first installed the well, PVC pipes were not trusted for use in a well. Now, the PVC pipes are preferred, and so Dave replaced the metal pipes with the PVC pipes. The actual pump for the well comes from "Grundofos Pump Corporation" which is located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. I am showing the old pump being removed from the well. It is admirable that a "well-pump" will last for twenty (20) years, working full-time, underground, submerged in deep water, every hour of every day, for so many years. Grundofos Pump Corporation is to be commended for building such a reliable well-pump. I am also showing a picture of the new pump going back into the well. After all of the connections were made, Dave tested the well, and of course the well pumped as it was supposed to pump. I am showing a picture of the well pumping water after Dave's repair.

To keep my Greenhouse in good shape, pending the well repair, I had to have hoses stretched over 325 feet from our house to the Greenhouse. I used the hoses to water the daylilies and the new seedlings every day, and to also supply water to the Greenhouse "coolant system." You can see why I could not go with Diana to South Dakota. I had to stay behind to manage my daylily crop.

I highly recommend my friend Dave Ward for well drilling services. His email address is as follows: dwwatersystems@bellsouth.net. He receives fax messages at the following number: 770/422-7117. Dave's office phone number is 404/788-9192. Dave is knowledgeable and reliable and dependable. He is a graduate of Jacksonville State University, and he has an interest in music. In fact, he likes to listen to music in his "ear-phone" while he works.

Well since this is where I post information about my daylilies, I thought I would show one of my new introductions that has not been show publicly before today. It will be called CARRIBEAN BLUE. Diana and I have been fortunate over the years to have gone on three cruises to the Carribean. The first trip was one that we took after Diana won a contest. The second trip was when we took Kelley when she was about 13 years old. The last trip was about 10 years ago. I have always remembered the beautiful blue color of the water, and so this is where the name originates for my new daylily. CARRIBEAN BLUE is a cross between Delta Blues and Tet. Crystal Blue Persuation. It is an evergreen. It is 37" tall, it has 3-way branching, 30 buds, and a 4" flower. The picture I am showing is one that I took outside during the year of 2008. Although CARRIBEAN BLUE is an evergreen, it has done well in our climate. I hope that you will like CARRIBEAN BLUE.

Well, I am pleased to report that Diana returned home safely from her visit to Milbank, and that is most of the news from the past 5 days.

Bill