I figured I'd need some "fairy magic" and a lot of luck last night; I fell somewhat short on one or the other, or both.

This photo illustrates what working on an electrical panel for a well pump at 11:45 at night looks like. Yesterday evening the water pressure in the house dropped off to zero. After much fussing around I discovered that the well pump was not kicking on when the water pressure dropped, but flipping the circuit breaker switch directly next to the pump off and on several times would restart the pump. The breaker switch was looking old and rusty, so I thought... hoped... that the problem was a faulty breaker switch.

As it was already evening, the small-town local hardware store had closed, but the big box hardware store in the nearest city was open until 10pm. That would mean a 2-1/2 hour round trip by car, but if I drove "efficiently" I could make it to the hardware store before it closed. So off I went, reaching the store just minutes before it closed. I purchased the relatively common and inex.pensive (under $10 USD) switch, drove home, and as the hour approached midnight I found myself deep underground... okay, that's an exaggeration; but the well pump is set in a concrete bunker of sorts about 8 feet (2 meters) underground... in the dark with a flashlight and a Flairy doll trying to replace a circuit breaker switch without getting electrocuted or blowing anything up.

I didn't get electrocuted or blow anything up, so Luck and Flairy Magic must have helped a little bit. But sadly, after replacing the circuit breaker switch, the problem with the well pump failing to start continues.

Did I mention the rain? Oh yes, of course it was raining. Even though this area is classified as having a "semi-arid climate" with 265 sunny days per year and an average annual rainfall total of only 13 inches (33 cm), it has currently been raining for several days, with the weather forecast predicting another week or ten days of continuing rain. We have currently received more than 200% more rain than normal for this time of year, with no end in sight. This means that the underground crypt in which the well pump sits, and in which I was fussing around in the dark with a flashlight last night, was damp and muddy, with water dripping down the walls and water dripping out of the electric panel... which is probably not a good thing.

And... and... because when situations like this unfold, there's always an "and"... when, despite being tired and cranky and cold and wet and muddy and not having enough consistently running water with which to take a shower, I attempted to post this photo late last night (or around 1:00am), the internet service had dropped out... which tends to happen both late at night, and during heavy rains.

Well... I cannot claim to be confident that the well pump issue has been fixed, per se, but at the moment it is working again. After much online research, several trips to hardware stores, a liberal application of "magic words," and the assistance of three glittery little helpers, the pump appears to be functioning normally... for now.

Here, the Flairies are using abrasive paper to clean the electrical contacts of a part called a Well Pump Pressure Switch. Or at least, they're talking about maybe trying to clean the electrical contacts using abrasive paper.

Yes, those are bones on the floor. I believe I referred to the well pump room as a "crypt" in yesterday's post. I suppose "ossuary" may have been a more accurate term. To the left of the bones... WARNING: NEXT SENTENCE IS NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH... a matted mat of grey-brown fur is visible. This seems to be all that remains of an unfortunate field mouse, and represents the most photogenic (meaning: least vomit-inducing) of several mouse remains littering the floor of this dank and dismal chamber.

But anything is better with the addition of glitter, right? And WD40 spray can fix almost anything, or anything where duct tape is not really appropriate. So having employed both WD40 and glitter, I'm sure everything is just fine and dandy now.

I sure want it to be, anyway.