What are these?




Over the past few years, since hubby has been getting certain catalogs and magazines related to this subject, these thingamabobs have interested me. Don't know why; they are just weird to look at.


Then I think about how they are actually used: underground. The beating they take, and how their invention changed an industry. Well. Maybe it didn't change an industry, but in some places of the world they can make the difference between living and dying, so they can certainly be used to help change lives.


Used to be you'd use a shovel, a bucket, a long rope and a LOT of sweat to accomplish what one of these can help with; coupled with the right technology.


Yep. They are water well drill bits. They use them to drill through solid rock.

Hubby gets several different water well drilling magazines. One story in there really impressed me. Over in Africa clean water is a critical thing. There are well drilling companies that donate well drill rigs and time and money to go over there and drill wells in some areas.

Once the well is drilled the pumping mechanism is actually hooked up to a child's "round-about," or as we call them here, "merry-go-round." So instead of buckets, ropes or whatever, the children who are sent for water play on the merry-go-round to pump their water.

I liked that idea, and the kids in the pictures seemed pleased with the arrangement.

Comments

jel said…
I don't see any kids in the pictures?
November 20, 2009 at 6:42 PM
Anonymous said…
I never know what half the stuff my husband has laying around is either. :)
November 21, 2009 at 9:29 AM
Calfkeeper said…
jel-ha. I meant the kids in the magazine article. I got these pics off the internet.

tljw-yeah. He has lots of weird gadgets all over the place. Half the stuff I never even know what it's for even AFTER he explains what it is.
November 21, 2009 at 9:39 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Oyster

It isn't even halfway through the month yet and I have run out of lists or anything amusing to tell you about the dairy. So here is a poem I picked up on a homesteading forum. It does deal with ag issues, just of a different sort... Enjoy! The Oyster Baxter Black The sign upon the café wall said OYSTERS: fifty cents. "How quaint," the blue-eyed sweetheart said with some bewildermence, "I didn't know they served such fare out here upon the plain." "Oh, sure," her cowboy date replied, "We're really quite urbane." "I would guess they're Chesapeake or Blue Point, don't you think?" "No ma'am, they're mostly Hereford cross . . . and usually they're pink But I've been cold, so cold myself, what you say could be true And if a man looked close enough, their points could sure be blue!" She said, "I gather them myself out on the bay alone. I pluck them from the murky depths and smash them with a...
Read more

Like Cats A'Fightin'

Image
That's a local saying when it's snowing hard. Snowing like cats a'fightin'. You can look out and see the fur flying. Ellen had never been outside while it was actually snowing. She was enchanted. She had to have a bucket of it to carry around. It was in the mid-20s but we took a bit of a walk before coming back in for a nap. The snow is still too dry to be able to make a snowman, it is really powdery. So far we have somewhere between 3 and 4 inches, I would suspect.
Read more

The Blind Calf Story

Image
This happened last month. I thought it was an interesting case. Wed Aug 15th 2007 8:30 AM: Went out and brought new heifer calf and cow in from field. Not too sure how old calf was; umbilical cord sort of dried up, but calf still seemed damp. Left her with cow all morning ‘til maybe early afternoon, then separated them. Beautiful, normal calf. 6 PM Fed calf bottle. She slugged back the whole thing. Thurs Aug 16th5:15 AM (approx) Calf comatose. Or as near as I could tell. She was on her side, non-responsive, drooling, head on ground, eyes closed or just barely opened. I tried to feed her bottle but she only swallowed convulsively once or twice, then milk just drained from her mouth. 5:30 AM. Husband went out and looked at her. Drug her out of pen and out of the way to be taken to boneyard later after chores were all done. She was barely breathing and as I said, totally non-responsive.This was a real grief as the cow she came from is a great milker and to get a heifer from her was a joy....
Read more