The Grass/Land - Perhaps a Mystery Solved

Perhaps a Mystery Solved

But Another Mystery Presents Itself

This past summer we had a spate of leg injuries to the horses that we just couldn't explain.  There were new horses introduced across our fence lines on all sides so we were concentrating our search for booby traps along the fence lines.  We could find none.   Below are photos of some of the injuries. 

 

 

 

 

Today, we noticed that some young pines in the middle of the chicken pasture had some bark damage that looked like it was done by deer.  We rode closer to inspect and found that right in the middle of this stand of young trees there was a place where the sod was worn away and there were two exposed holes in the ground bordered by old timbers and jagged stones.  These holes opened to standing water that was up to about four inches below grade.  This "thing", whatever it is, is man made and pretty old at first glance.  My husband went back after our ride and determined that it is over 3 feet deep and the water is quite fetted: not like an artesian well or a place where our well has been pumping fresh water unbeknownst to us.  It is above the level of the house and in the opposite end of the pasture from our septic tanks and leeching fields, so it is unlikely to be tied to those.  We don't know how deep it is or what it is and we need to investigate further, but I am pretty sure that falling into these holes is what caused the leg injuries this summer.  We didn't find the holes because we weren't looking in the middle of the pastures for the problem.  The deer are drawn to this place, I am sure, because of the water.  It has been  so dry there is no standing water anywhere else.  But the question remains: since it has been so dry, where is this water coming from? 

 

 

 

 

 

I will take photos of the site tomorrow.  We are lucky we didn't have a broken leg!

 

 

 

 

I put my foot in this last one to show scale.  Anyone out there have any ideas about what this might be or who we could call to find out?

 

 

11/27 Update

I have called the county commissioner's office and they told me to call the county health department if I think it is an old septic tank or to call the state water board if I think it might be an old well or old cistern for fresh water.  I opted to call the state water board because I do not think it is an old septic tank because it is uphill from the house, and no one with any sense would put their septic tank uphill from the house.   Also, we know where our waste water goes and it  is not there.  I talked to someone at the state water board and she said it sounded like it might be an old well or even artesian well!  She said that no one at the water board is really qualified to evaluate something like this and she suggested we call a well drilling company and have them come out and look at it.  She said they would have experience with old water wells in the area and they  have underwater cameras on cables that they can lower down into places that are not accessible to see what's going on.  So I called a local well driller and left a message. 

 

As an aside, my great grandfather, Asa B. Conklin of La Salle County, Illinois, had a creamery that he built on a piece of land that had an artesian well.  I guess in the nineteenth century they could pipe the cold water from an artesian well into a "cold house" (usually a winowless stone building) where they could age cheese and keep cream and butter cool before refrigeration.  This old farm was originally a dairy and if it had an artesian well it would have been very handy for them.  What a nice feature it would be to find here!   

 

 

11/28 Update

I talked to the well guy today.  He has drilled wells in this part of Colorado and maintained them and updated them for people for decades.  He says that we have an artesian well!  It was used to supply the house with water as late as twenty years ago, when he added a pressure pump for the then owners.  He is coming out next week to look at it and advise us how best to reactivate it's use.  We are extremely excited about this!   It makes perfect sense for a dairy, as I said above, but in this dry place, in this dryest of times, it seemed too much to hope for.   Maybe a little pond?  Maybe a drip water system to keep the garden moist?  Maybe an aesthetic water feature?  Maybe a spring fed endless lap pool between the spring and the garden?   Maybe spring water for the sauna?  What luck!