For the lack of a nail, a kingdom was lost

I often miss the obvious

     For the past several days, and nights, I have been checking water throughout the house.
     My well seems to be pumping about every 35 minutes.  (Yes, while playing solitaire on the computer I can hear the well kick on and I write down the time.  Anal?  Quite possibly.)
      I was confused.  The pump kicks on when we use enough water to have to draw from the well. If no water is running, we should not be drawing from the well.  Simple?  I think so.
      Or thought so.  I checked the bathrooms.  I checked the basement.  Walked around outside.  Nothing was running, leaking, dripping, or whatever.  Nothing.  All faucets off.  All toilets quiet.
     It could be the water filter is running, but no sound was coming from it.
     So I just figured it was a quirk of the house....maybe the well pump is extra sensitive.  Maybe the water filter or the ice maker is really running and I can't hear it, because my hearing is getting lousy.
     You can imagine my surprise today when I got the mower stuck in mud on the east side of the house.
     Mud.  Oozing, gushy, squeezey mud right below where the hose attaches to the outside hydrant.  Evidently that hydrant was not off entirely.  There was a little dripping...enough to set the pump off every 35 minutes or so.
     And enough to create a quagmire.  A swamp.  A mess.
     I didn't notice it at first, it just looked wet, but when my mower started to go backward when I was going up the little slope, I thought something was wrong.
     Then it got stuck.  The mower deck was set at three inches, and got buried in the mud on one side.  The big back tires were buried about one fourth of the way.  It would not go forward.  It would not go backward.  I was stuck.
     I got Jackie outside, grabbed some cardboard, some straw, my wife and went to the mower.
     Now getting Jackie on a mower is no easy task.  One leg doesn't work right, balance is an issue, her shoes were getting muddy, and she got on backwards.
     Eventually she got in the seat, facing front.  I put the straw and cardboard under the rear wheel and we started the mower.
    With her steering and me push/pulling, the machine edged slowly out of the muck.  She drove back to the driveway and I helped her off.
     Then I finished mowing and washed off the tractor.
     But now there is a huge rut or two next to the house.  There are some footprints in the muck and I am not exactly sure how to repair the damage.
     But I played solitaire for an hour....and didn't hear the well pump once.
     I should have known there was a dripping faucet.  I should have checked the outside hydrants more carefully.  I should have avoided the wet area.
    In other words, I missed all the obvious clues.
    But, no more running water on the hose connection.
    I guess every disaster has a silver lining.