A local fella with downtime on his hands stopped by last week. He has a scraper, large dozer, two operators and no work for the next 5 days. Asked if there was anything he could do for me at a VERY dicounted price. He's well known and reputable in the area. Normal price ranges from $105 to $135 for man and equipment on an hourly basis, or $1.35/cu yard on scraper only. We've agreed on a price for well less than half of that for work done next week while he's idle.
I took him for a tour around this property and showed him a pasture adjacent to our existing holding pond. This is what it looks like facing east.
That pasture had two 45 degree berms installed this time last year that directs most of the surface drainage from it and another couple hundred acres to the east of us, into the holding pond.
I've decided to have a 75 yard wide X 350 yard long new area excavated with an average depth of 12 to 15 inches. Using a laser level where we've staked out the area, it will start east of the holding pond at a 30" depth, and taper over 350 yards to 10" deep where it will end, approx 25 yards from the pond. I've already buried an 8" drain line from the end of the new wetlands area to the surface of the holding pond so I can pull the cap in the spring to drain the wetlands area.
Virtually all of the dirt being removed will be taken elsewhere on the property
to build additional berms and for other uses. It's over 8,700 cubic yards or 435 truckloads!
I really don't plan on hunting this new area this season. It will be a good resting spot for waterfowl over the next 4 months and a dawg training area after season ends. Because it's so late in the year, I'm planning on tilling and seeding Rye grass on all of the exposed area around the perimeter of the new wetlands wherever equipment has destroyed the existing pasture grass and other ground cover. I hope to get at least some grass emerging between now and early November. Should I plant the same rye seed inside the wetlands area while I'm doing the perimeter areas? The rye is a fast germinating seed and takes about 25 lbs to the acre for proper cover. Is there anything else that could be planted that will have a chance of emerging before frost and winter rains hit?
