[Jolly Amaranto]

My folks moved to a remote location in Milam County north west of Bryan/College Station back in the 1970s. They built their retirement home there. My brothers and I still maintain the property. There was a 100+ year old hand dug 60 foot deep well that we had cleaned out and added a venturi pump to pull water from the 10 foot deep pool. It almost ran dry when we had the big Texas drought a few years back and the water table went way down. Water quality is kind of sketchy with a very high iron content. Chlorination causes the iron to precipitate out but then you have to have a tank filter that needs to be back flushed periodically to empty all the iron mud. The chlorination injector pump is a constant maintenance head ache. We still use bottle water for drinking and cooking. Ice cubes made with it turn brown from the still dissolved iron.

This reminds me I should get the septic tank pumped out. Have never done that since my dad passed away 27 years ago. No one lives there full time so it doesn't get much of a work out. The place is getting used more lately now that my kids and nephews head there to get off the grid on weekends.

We installed a gray water dry well when we built the place. In spite of emptying the dish water tub into the flower bed after doing dishes, the gray water line gets fogged up periodically at the outflow into the well. Enough fats, oils and grease make it into the line from rinsing dishes and soap scum from the bath that I had to install a clean-out near it so it could be snaked out when that happens. All food scraps are pitched into the woods for the critters to munch on. They do a great job of cleaning up.