Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? My front yard cow pond

My front yard cow pond - part 3.

7/29/15
Wet weather and other priorities kept me out of the pond until July of '15, and I've realized by this time that this is
a much bigger project than I'd anticipated, so I told myself that it would be done when it got done, and there's no point
stressing over the slow progress. By now I'm on the 2nd $69.95 trash pump from the china tool store because the first one
quit working, but I'm still $$$ ahead vs. a different machine, and dirt guy still doesn't have any of my $$$.
Point to me, at least that's what the voices in my head are saying...


8/14/15
By this time I've removed the muck from a little over three quarters of the pond basin, and I'm starting to get an idea of what
it may have looked like inside when it was originally built all those years ago.


8/23/15
Aaaannnddd it rained again. Pump, pump, more pump. Wait, where's that funny noise coming from? Oh, it's coming from the
pump. So Mr. Tightwad makes trip number three to the china tool store for another $69.95 trash pump. Slow learner, I am...


8/23/15
But I'm determined, if nothing else, and stubborn, and I will not be defeated by a simple mudhole, so I just keep nibbling
away at it. 3/4 yard at a bite. I'm gaining. Slowly, very slowly, but gaining is gaining and that's what I'm doing...


9/5/15
In spite of being a slow learner, I'd figured out by now that it was much more efficient to remove dirt from the basin and
dump it at the edge of the pond near the entry ramp. Especially when the material I was working was wet and sticky. I'd
build a loose pile at the edge and let it dry out for a day or two before moving it out of the pond to the skeeter hole that
I was filling. The skeeter hole was actually an old creek loop that had been cut off who knows when, and bermed up to hold
a couple feet of water to make a waller hole for the hogs that used to run here. It was an absolutely disgusting place.


9/20/15
I had the phone line flagged before dirt guy cut the dam, so he would know where it was and hopefully not get into it with
the excavator bucket. Those flags were pulled after he was done, so I had called in a new set of locates when I started
pulling muck out because I knew that eventually I'd need to get inside the cut to clean it out before the dam could be
closed up. The flags were set a good 15' below the heel of the dam. I found the phone line a good 30' uphill from where
it was flagged. This was the third time the phone line got cut since we built our house. Every time it was due to bad locates,
and every time the repair bill went to the location service company. Always call before you dig - it will save you $$$.


9/20/15
Yeah... that black wire to the left of the big green horseweed... it's not supposed to be there...


9/22/15
I rigged up a temporary patch to the phone line to get the DSL internet back up while waiting on CenturyLink to send a tech.


9/25/15
It's starting to look like maybe the end is in sight. No, not really, but it does look a lot better than it did before I
started digging. Progress is slow, but steady, and I'm starting to think about how nice it's going to be to have my pond back.


9/25/15
The dog is wondering what the heck is going on and if Dad has lost his mind for good this time.


10/11/15
It's difficult to convey dimension in a 2D photo, so every so often I'd take a photo with the tractor in the hole to put
some scale to the image.


10/16/15
There was a snake hiding in the pile of loose dirt that I was hauling out to the skeeter hole.
I tried to catch her, but she was fairly well PO'd and was not having any of that business, so I left her alone and called it a day.


10/18/15
Now it's really starting to look like something. At this point I'm more or less down to the original basin of the pond. I could
have stopped right here and had seven or eight foot of water in the deepest spot, but the memories of only being able to go in
feet-first off the dock of the neighbor's pond when we were kids wouldn't leave me alone. This is when I really did lose my mind
for good and decided to see how long it would take to dig all the way to China. A week or so later Nanner's water pump shelled out.
I was done for the season and the tractor was back in the shop for awhile. But I'm still $$$ ahead vs. a Class I and dirt guy still
doesn't have any of my $$$, so it's all good.


5/20/17
What? Where are all of the pics from 2016? Well, there aren't any. I had a giant attack of stupid and set out 500 tomato plants.
Thought I might make a little play $$$. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong. Note to self - don't be stupid. But, you may notice the pretty blue
thing coming out of the mudhole in the background. Well, Mr. Tightwad here got his wallet out and bought a proper 2" discharge trash
pump and 100' of lay-flat hose. After burning up china tool store $69.95 pump number three I had to do it. The hole had gotten to a
size such that it was taking two weeks to empty it after a rain. The new pump emptied it in less than half a day. Much more better.


5/27/17
Then it rained again, so I pumped it out again and got back to digging.


End part 3.