The Old Farmer's Almanac Was Right

I recently went thumbing through my copy of the Farmer's Almanac to see what it said about rain in my region. You see, it's been raining a lot this spring. I could probably count on my two hands the number of really nice days we've had in the last couple of months. Our country neighbor was telling us that the old timers said this has been the wettest spring in 17 years. I believe it.

Water levels of the pond have concerned us since we bought the property. We have such sandy soil, and supposedly the people who had the pond built were told it wasn't a good location for it. Soil wise, no, but view wise, it was. So they built. While I haven't been thrilled that it's been such a wet spring for my own activities, I am beyond thrilled at what it's done for the pond.

Here is what the pond looked like our first full summer.

Here is what it looked like this weekend. The overflow pipe was actually covered, and there was water draining out the back of the berm.

taken from the cabin side, looking down the narrow end

the tiny white speck is the overflow tube

the ground was mucky and The Aussie got bogged

This makes me unbelievably happy.

Drought, Rain, and Ranch Ponds

When we first visited The Ranch last spring, we were warned that there "may be a leak" in the lake. The water level had dropped more rapidly than the real estate agent/owner thought was normal. There was basically a sandbar across, creating two ponds instead of one lake. The last time it had been completely full was several years ago.  (We have a picture. It's glorious.)

As the drought continued, the water level dropped even lower. It broke my heart to see the narrow side almost completely gone.

We're still in a drought, but we've been getting rain. Quite a bit of it, in fact. I am super happy to report that we no longer have two ponds. We have one. Dare I even call it a lake? I'm so giddy about this, I don't care that I can no longer walk across the land bridge to get to the cabin. I'll have to drive. And before you scold me for not walking, I would if it was safe to. I have to always remember that we have bobcats, coyotes, racoons, deer, snakes, and bears on the property. Occasionally, we get neighbors' dogs roaming around, too. (One of them actually had a bell on his collar. It was kind of funny to hear it jingling as he and a buddy ran through the woods on the other side of the pond. He must roam a lot.)

Now I have to research how to get rid of green algae.

What a long, strange trip it's been

Years and years ago I attended a Grateful Dead concert with a friend I've known since 6th grade. It was quite the experience. I don't know many of their songs, but I sang along where I knew the lyrics. One line that I'll always remember is from Truckin'. This year has been quite the strange trip. I'm happy to say that the pond is filling back up. Fingers crossed we get more rain soon.

 Our first trip to tour the place. Little did we know we'd buy the only place we looked at.

 Springtime. Water down in the pond(s).

 The "Glade."

 Heartbreaking.

 Happy to see the water at this level.

 Got stuck in the mud on Christmas day. We were able to winch ourselves out.

 Yes, bears to sh*t in the woods.

 The Aussie, hard at work. Not easy on the grass because it's so soft, but better than a pickup truck dragging huge logs around.

 Beautiful Grandfather tree.

Praying these are deer and not hog tracks. Bottom may be deer, top hog. Hopefully they'll move on.

What a difference some rain makes

Over the last few months, I have been taking pictures, documenting if you will, the water levels of the "lake." I use quotes because the lake became two separate ponds, both shrinking. This could be all drought related, but we were told before we purchased the property that there *may* be a leak, because the water seemed to drop more rapidly than if it was just evaporating. When we were there a few weeks ago, I took the top picture. I have to tell you that it just about broke my heart seeing that side of the lake almost gone.

Since I took this picture, we have gotten some significant rain. I cannot describe how happy it made me to see the pond coming back, almost to where it was when we first saw the property.

 

 

I also managed to get a picture of one of the hummingbirds. Our friends say that there are even babies, half the size of the adults, that are coming to the second feeder we put up. It's really cool to sit outside and watch them. They dart around the yard, perching up in the trees, chittering at each other. Please excuse the crud on the window. The Aussie was mowing the lawn one day in the wrong direction and grass was flung up towards the house and stuck there. Just another thing that needs cleaning. ;)

 

 

We also had a larger avian visitor. I've seen one of the huge grey herons around the pond before, but it always took off as we arrived. We had a white heron visit this weekend. Very cool.

 

In less quiet moments, the guys were at it with the chainsaw again. While I like the look of many of the dead trees, it would be very dangerous to keep certain ones standing. This is one of them. When I drove up and saw what they'd been up to, I must admit that my jaw dropped, and some expletives came out of my mouth. It took them 4 hours to get this one down. I'm really glad we'll be able to haul the wood with Tigger and the trailer. Now if only we knew where to store to store the wood, since the log racks are already full. 

Lastly, just because he's my beautiful boy, I give you this picture for your viewing pleasure. :)

Cheers!

Kyra