Your Scribe was in negotiations over the weekend with Kevin the Well Digger, discussing the creation of a well about 100 feet from the cabin.

I think I am a good negotiator who interacts well with craftsmen.

The problem is, the deal generally doesn't get done.

I had agreements with both Bob the Reluctant Woodsman and Gary the Energetic Logger to fell and sell some trees, but neither has as much as bent a sapling.

So I hope this works.

I like Kevin the Well Digger and think we have a good plan.

This week he will clear some trees. Then (if he actually does that) he will bring machinery in, and start digging for water. If no water, he won't buy the rock and tiles that make for a surface well.

Several things: He does not guarantee water. "I dig holes but I don't guarantee wells," he says. But Kevin says he has had good luck on my road.

Also, it will cost about $3,000. This might not be much for those who would settle at a Plum Creek mountmansion at Moosehead, but it is a lot for your impecunious Scribe.

Still, I need water. If there were a fire, it would be essential. Plus, if the local farm store one day says that we can't fill up our five gallon containers any longer, my operation at the cabin would come to an abrupt halt.

So Kevin the Well Digger and I shook on it. By next week there should be a clearing that will be called, The Future Site of the Well.

I am looking forward to it. And I hope my luck changes as far as having someone actually do the work.

(An aside: Another sweet-sounding deal of mine has been finalized with a neighbor getting the benefit. Terry the Ambitious Renter was going to pay me $10,000 for one acre so he wouldn't have to leave our little enclave when his landlords sell the property that includes his apartment. I felt great, a Donald Trump in Deet. Then he withdrew, saying he'd have to pay too much to bring the electricity down the road. This week I find out he has bought land from a neighbor, closer to the source of electricity. I congratulated him on his purchase - but was secretly crankified I missed out on the 10 Large. I could have built three wells with that!)

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