An update.
What's that line from a song: "If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all!"
When they dug the large mud pit that destroyed my orchard, they had cut though the 1.25" water line & elec lines to the well I use for irrigating the property. They were supposed to replace the line when they were done. Because they took so long I crossed the irrigation pipes with the municipal system we're hooked up to for emergencies (very expensive) so I could irrigate.
They finally came out, 6 months late, and replaced the elec lines with some that were a 12 ga 3-wire line (mine were 8 ga 4-wire) and it didn't reach the end of the line they had cut anyway.
AS if that weren't bad enough, they never notified me were working on the lines (so I didn't know to cut off the muni. water), they connected the PVC from where they originally cut it all the way to the well shed (about 450'). In the well shed, for some reason I can't fathom, they disconnected the air tank & plumbing from it to the well. That left water running full force for days until I noticed it by accident. Who connects water line with the water running full force through it???
With no irrigation because of the water running full force into the dirt 1500' away from my plantings, I've lost all the raspberry/Blk rasp, several fruit trees, 3 grape vines, 8 muscadine vines, 150 strawberry plants, 3 huckleberry, 2 Hnasen's cherry, and 9 blueberry. No to mention the decorative plants.
Are we having fun yet? Actually, where I was depressed last year, now it's just getting funnier & funnier. I know that makes me weird.
The gas exploration people actually felt bad & asked me to get the lines replaced correctly & bill them. 2 days later I had a functional well & will have a backup well going this weekend. All the free water I could want for irrigation (just have to worry about the cost of elec for the pumps & they're 220V).
Other good news, while it's been so dry & hot, the wild muscadine crop looks pretty bad, I actually have muscadine on a few of the vines I planted in Nov. Not enough to make anything, but a promising sight nonetheless.