the last reported depth measurement on Dec 15 (4 weeks ago) was 22" short of pool
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The midwest got a fair share of a January thaw combined with a good dowsing of rain. The rain really came down about 4 days ago. We got about 2-1/2" in our little pocket of weather activity. With the ground absolutely saturated and the subsurface frozen, we gained alot of new water depth. I'm pleased to report that we are now 10" short of testing the spillway.
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(18" spillway pipe to right/frame surrounded by a patch of grass)

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The docks are beginning to look a bit more in place as the water level reaches upward. The cribs, spawn saucers, and PVC logs are gone, submerged along the shoreline beneath the duck decoy in the dock reflection.

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The red/white floats mark the end of the concrete boat ramp. At this stage, the top of the ramp at that end should be a little more than 4 feet below the surface (5 feet at full pool). This has become my favorite place during the summer. I see now why Bill Cody talks about a concrete swimming area. This has become mine. I put on my Rockytopper Blue-footed Booby beach shoes and hang out here (when it's a little warmer).

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The mini silt pond for the field tile feed has become part of the aquahabitat. FH were swimming up and down the new channel, checking out the newfound protection. The larger ones had a black patch on top of the head...that is a FH, right?

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10 more inches of water to meet full pool will do a nice job of filling in this little zone behind the nesting boxes and tubes to create a mini marsh/wetland. The bottom slope is fairly gradual from the edge of the timber and out for about 50 feet. I expect we will get good vegetation growth in this area. I hope I don't regret it; it might get out of hand...?

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Back to the standard pond growth reference point at the front of the building pad.

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...might be kinda tuff for detail, but a wide angle view stitching 4 pix. The white of the Sycamores looks cool.

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...and finally, backing up on the building pad to the approx area where a house might set (next time, I'll get a ladder to elevate to the correct deck-viewing height).

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I hope to return with the next set of pics, ushered in with a photo of water entering and/or exiting the spillway pipe.