nine metres deep, into the cold ground, and yet — the water never freezes. in december it comes up a degree or two above the air. in february steam stands a foot above the stone all morning. ice forms on the rope and is shaken off into the snow.
used in winter by every house within ten minutes' walk. the keeper of the lane keeps it broom-swept and the snow piled to the north of the parapet, so the southern stones get what little sun there is. it is the only thing on the slope that the cold has not, this century, defeated.
it is said that the well is fed by something warmer than groundwater. an old pipe? a vein from elsewhere? the keeper, who does not speculate, points only at the steam and says: it has done this since before my grandmother. the frost stops at the parapet.
field-note · drop a piece of ice in. it will be gone within the minute. the well does not return it.
the dry well · the sealed · snow · frost · the well