Yesterday afternoon the beautiful old water tower broke in half and fell over. The tower and accompanying farm house are located between the Asian pears and the pistachio trees, and were built over a hundred years ago. The lighthouse-shaped tower and the wind-powered water pump stood around 40 feet tall until a walnut tree started growing into the side of the building and slowly pushed the roof into a slumping position.
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| Old Water Tower - Before our Recent Rain |
Yesterday, under the weight of the rain water that saturated the leaky roof and exposed siding, the leaning top half slid off and crashed down in the mud. I was on the other side of the farm when I heard the sliding and splintering sound of the weight breaking free, followed by a brief crash landing.
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| Old Water Tower - After our Recent Rain |
Before it crashed, my brothers and I had been dreaming of restoring the rustic water tower and wind mill to glory. The collapse has woken us up from our dream and now we must take action to save it. We can’t scrap it or just let it rot, the water tower is way too cool.
