The last time we visited this little body of water it had just become half full. If you didn’t visit it then perhaps it would help if you did. You can by clicking this link:
http://www.grangerlandrfd.com/texas-welcomes-new-lake.html
After the momentous effort (to us anyway) to build it, it had only taken two days for a heavy rain to come. That rain filled us with optimism but gave me another job. I had seen the contractor tamping down the soil and clay on the side to make it harder. The idea here was that it would stay in place. We knew that with a little rain it would become harder. Experience with clay told me that it would seem like concrete albeit with cracks when dry.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get a little rain. We got a lot of rain. Both pictures show the results of that. If I had any inkling this would happen I might have been able to saturate it right away with a water hose but I doubt it. We knew that the yard drained to the pond but we didn’t know we were starting a new “grand canyon” in the process. There is a little story involved in the process of fixing this problem.
This fence is one that I obtained over ten years ago. I knew the Sergeant Major of the Salvation Army unit in Conroe. He wanted to get rid of the chain link fence surrounding his parking lot. I had a 2-3 acre pasture I needed to fence. His people took the fence down and rolled it up. I hauled it off. It has been standing right here for a number of years.
The posts were a different matter. My truck, a tow strap,a chain, a shovel, and I removed most of them. I had cut the concrete off the bottom since they couldn’t be re-driven with concrete clinging to the poles and they occupied a spot in the back pasture just waiting for a use. They were just the right size to make dams in these little ruts/canyons.
The posts were a different matter. My truck, a tow strap,a chain, a shovel, and I removed most of them. I had cut the concrete off the bottom since they couldn’t be re-driven with concrete clinging to the poles and they occupied a spot in the back pasture just waiting for a use. They were just the right size to make dams in these little ruts/canyons.
This little road (Wilcox blvd is not on your GPS) is how I get to the back pastures. It doesn’t present as a problem right now but if I ignore it there certainly will be one.
It's pretty hard to get good pictures with some of the lighting conditions. Light reflects off water. The area to the far right of the picture is the collection of ruts at the edge of the pond.
I thought it would be an unending process as there are no roots or plants to hold up the erosion. It's going to cut into the road we have built to the back pasture. That doesn't even consider that our Son in Law, Kelly has set up an archery range here and it's loss would be catastrophic (but a local deer and pig blessing). Time to go to work.
Edit: I've been pretty happy with the way the fence posts cut into the erosion. I just spent some time without a truck so couldn't haul much dirt. The posts and the dirt I dumped on them has held up well.
It's pretty hard to get good pictures with some of the lighting conditions. Light reflects off water. The area to the far right of the picture is the collection of ruts at the edge of the pond.
I thought it would be an unending process as there are no roots or plants to hold up the erosion. It's going to cut into the road we have built to the back pasture. That doesn't even consider that our Son in Law, Kelly has set up an archery range here and it's loss would be catastrophic (but a local deer and pig blessing). Time to go to work.
Edit: I've been pretty happy with the way the fence posts cut into the erosion. I just spent some time without a truck so couldn't haul much dirt. The posts and the dirt I dumped on them has held up well.
If you are worried about an old man doing this sort of work by himself, don't worry. I have plenty of help. This is our young jack, Cruz. He is lamenting the lack of thumbs and assured me that if he had a couple he would move the wheelbarrow. When he realized that he couldn't help so much he decided to supervise. He's good at that. The miniature gelding and the llama do most anything he says.
He had a lot worse luck getting his wishes across with Ronnie.
Ronnie came from down the road. When his lawn tractor is in the shop (as it is now) he just comes in his wheel chair. When his tractor is working he just throws the chair on the back. Sally and I have come to see him as one of the spices of life.
Cruz, however, views him as insubordinate. I viewed the whole thing as humorous, then it became hilarious. Kelly came out for target practice. I would load up a wheelbarrow and move dirt. Then Kelly would fire two arrows. We managed to synchronize that pretty well but the donkeys decided to take an interest in the archery. With both of them viewing the target, Kelly had to run them off, go back to the firing station, and shoot before they returned. Between me and the donkeys I guess it's not easy being a hunter.
Ronnie came from down the road. When his lawn tractor is in the shop (as it is now) he just comes in his wheel chair. When his tractor is working he just throws the chair on the back. Sally and I have come to see him as one of the spices of life.
Cruz, however, views him as insubordinate. I viewed the whole thing as humorous, then it became hilarious. Kelly came out for target practice. I would load up a wheelbarrow and move dirt. Then Kelly would fire two arrows. We managed to synchronize that pretty well but the donkeys decided to take an interest in the archery. With both of them viewing the target, Kelly had to run them off, go back to the firing station, and shoot before they returned. Between me and the donkeys I guess it's not easy being a hunter.
In spite of everything I managed to get pretty well done. Somewhere close to the edge of the water I planted these little concrete dams. Higher up I dumped dirt. When the ruts were filled I beat them down with a flat blade shovel. I figured a couple light rains and the lacerations would be healed.
It has been said that if you want to give God a good belly laugh just tell him your plans. This is not a very good picture but you can probably tell that the pond is underwater and the llama knows where the solid ground is. He is avoiding the pond like the plague. I have no idea how well llamas can swim but I doubt if it is very well. He comes from the high desert country of South America and is loaded down with a type of wool.
This picture gives a much better view of the situation. The water came right up to the bank on the road side of the pond. I am pretty sure that the cracks in the pond were annealed.
It appears to me that I need to build up the bank on that side with drainage built in to drain to the pond.
I thought I would work on that in the next couple days when the ground was less soaked.
It appears to me that I need to build up the bank on that side with drainage built in to drain to the pond.
I thought I would work on that in the next couple days when the ground was less soaked.
Do I hear a loud belly laugh. It started to rain yesterday and I took these pictures today. It's supposed to dry up tomorrow I understand.
I'm not sure why I still hear folks talking about a drought, at least in this area. It rained like this for a few years after we moved in here and I guess we are in that part of the weather cycle again. The thing is, the ducks don't need a pond with weather like this.
I'm not sure why I still hear folks talking about a drought, at least in this area. It rained like this for a few years after we moved in here and I guess we are in that part of the weather cycle again. The thing is, the ducks don't need a pond with weather like this.
The pond is actually under the water in the back again. I know that I need to build a bank there but don't think I will be very vocal about it. That seems to cause rain. If I start hearing voices telling me to build a big boat, I will.
Since I expect this will take some time I don't intend to make a new blog entry every time I come up short. I do that far too often to be newsworthy.
Since I expect this will take some time I don't intend to make a new blog entry every time I come up short. I do that far too often to be newsworthy.
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