Digging a Deep Well at the Orchard

To assure a steady supply of water at the orchard, we started digging a deep well today, September 25, 2020. Mang Boy, the digging contractor, estimates that their rate of progress will be about a meter per day. 

Based on the depth of the driven pipe for the water pump nearby, we expect to finish digging at a level of about 16 - 17 meters below the ground. This job should take about 3 weeks, as the manual digging becomes tougher as the well gets deeper. 

Their digging and concrete lining method are very interesting. Once they have dug about a meter, they place a steel form then fill the sides of the well with mortar. 

This step-by-step digging/lining with mortar continues downward until a good level of water is reached. In the future, when the water level subsides (especially in summer), they can easily extend the well deeper and the concrete casing further, while maintaining a constant well diameter.

 

 

Papaitang Kambing at the Orchard (4K)

To kick-off the construction of the simple house of the orchard's caretaker (Robert), we slaughtered a young goat as offering to the spirits of the place. This is a customary practice in these parts, in northern Philippines. 

I personally don't subscribe to such beliefs, but I certainly didn't offer any objection to slaughtering a young goat - just the thought of slurping hot papaitan soup doesn't fail to make my mouth water each and every time. 

The footage (including audio) was captured with a handheld Osmo Action camera.

 

 

Finally, the sun shines over the orchard

After weeks of overcast skies, the sun finally came out over the orchard this Saturday (September 5th, 2020). There was a strong breeze going, and I almost hesitated to send up a drone to capture the property from above in good light. The controller gave a lot of "strong wind" warnings, but fortunately I was able to fly and land the drone safely.

Following is a 4K video of my exploration of the property. The aerial footage was taken with a Mavic 2 Pro, while the rest was captured with a handheld Osmo Action camera.  Audio was recorded by the built-in microphone of the Osmo Action.

And some still photos:

Note - please click the photos to enlarge.

 

The orchard in good mid-afternoon light - the two long, straight sides of the property fenced with CHB wall and cyclone wire is visible.

I stand among rows of (left to right) Bangkok santol, chicos, dragon fruits and mangoes (grabbed from a 4K video footage).

Rows of mahogany at left and gmelina at right border the southern and northern flanks of the orchard (grabbed from a 4K video footage).

A stand of hardwood trees at left and some mango trees at right frame the second bahay kubo which is located in the middle of the orchard.

Another view of the second bahay kubo. I was in the shade of the palm tree flying the drone, but I came out in the sun to take the photo.

My favorite subject in the orchard are the huge, photogenic buri palms.

 

Closer to the ground, I took a couple of photos with the tripod-mounted Sony RX10 IV. I wish I could shoot more with this camera, but the strong breeze would not allow many of the interesting subjects to be still.

 

A young jackfruit. Many weeks from now, this will grow into a gigantic fruit with a very interesting aroma and unique taste when ripe.

The stepping stones that cut through the middle of the mahogany stand lead to the ornamental plants garden in the front portion of the orchard.