Woke up to some strange rumbling noise and flashes of weird light last night and looked outside and wet stuff was falling out of the sky.
Couldn’t remember what the stuff was…..
2.8 inches in my rain guage so far this morning – hope it’s raining at our ponds…!
George Glazener
N.E. Texas ¼ and 2 acre ponds
Originally posted by george:
Woke up to some strange rumbling noise and flashes of weird light last night and looked outside and wet stuff was falling out of the sky.
Couldn’t remember what the stuff was…..
2.8 inches in my rain guage so far this morning – hope it’s raining at our ponds…!
George Glazener
N.E. Texas ¼ and 2 acre ponds Good for you and God Bless! Hope you get more of that where it came from. I know how dry it is down there.
I checked my rain guage last night and it had an inch. This morning, it says 4.3 inches. Now that's hard to believe. However, like Paul Harvey says about the rest of the story. I looked on the internet this morning and it says my land, 70 miles to the NNW only got about 3/10. Heck, I'll take even that.
I hope it really is rain, not oobleck. You guys have been droughted for so long you may not know the difference.
Originally posted by Theo Gallus:
I hope it really is rain, not oobleck. You guys have been droughted for so long you may not know the difference.
What's "oobleck?"
I wonder what effect an oobleck downpour would have on a fish population? I decided to investigate the stuff falling from the sky and it does indeed appear to be water!
Got an inch here in southern Collin county, it appears the folks just east of here did much better. I honestly can't remember the last time the pond received runoff. This wasn't enough to put much of a dent on the water level but its very much appreciated. I'd much rather get a series of events like this as opposed to one big gully washer that fills the thing up instantly.
"What's "oobleck?"
Cecil Oobleck is a green slimy substance (once thought to fall from the sky due to "aliens"). It is a non-Neutonian fluid. Meaning that when a small amount of force is used it acts like a liquid. When more force is applied, it acts like a solid. May have started as a Dr. Seuss thing, not sure though. I checked outside, and we are getting clear rain. No green stuff yet. :p
BTW I am REALLY proud for Texas right now. You all have surely needed this. Dave I hope your puddles are filling fast.
Just curious. What kind of PH's do you have down there? Additionally from what I've read here your alkalinities are usually quite low.
What I'm getting at is if your alkalinities are low which doesn't buffer PH changes very well, and you suddenly get a lot of rain which typically is acidic, could you have PH shock problems with your fish?
I know in New England when they get a quick snowmelt sometimes their bodies of water experience a PH shock and fish kills.
Maybe some preventative liming before you get significat rainfall would be in order?
Thoughts?
Cecil you are "right on the money". I have tested from 4.5 to 9 on the pH scale. Every pond around my area is different, but 75% of south Georgia ponds are basically null in the calcium and total alkalinity departments. My only concern with ag lime would be how slow it tends to work in these parts. Could you actually get it in the pond quick enough (before rain) to prevent an acidic problem? Luckily to date I have experienced zero kills after a major rain, but we have seen some stress situations. I never connected the two until you just pointed it out. Thanks!
.25 south of San Antonio
I could take 3" with no runoff!
I'm in the blackland prairie region of Texas. The soil here is alkaline so I would presume the pH of ponds and lakes in this area is high. Limestone is abundant in this area so we should have decent buffering capacity. However, ponds are so low right now that a sudden inflow is almost certain to drop pH. I've seen a couple of fish kills occur in this area when drawn-down ponds fill suddenly. I'm not sure what sort of shock is the culprit but I'm definitely wary of a major rainfall event right now.
I'll bet that puts a smile on your face from ear to ear!
That would be like someone telling me we have 4 inches of solid ice to fish on!
I just checked and I'm up to 4.75 inches here in the D/FW metroplex and it's still coming down. Still a slow soaker but sometime during the night we must have gotten a frog strangler. I expect we would have a mud hole if this happened on my ponds. It's just been too dry for too long. I don't ever recall seeing this much rain in a guage.
Glad to hear you guys are getting some rain. When you are done with the rain, send it my way. I've only gotten about 3/4" in the last 3 months.
I just got a call from country neighbors. We got 2 inches. Although it is a huge blessing, it is only a drop in the bucket. One guy told me about his brother who owns a backhoe and digs the graves for the city cemetary. He is finding no moisture until he gets below 6 ft. It will take a lot of rain to recharge that.
Under normal circumstances, the rain we received over the past two days would have gone a long way towards replenishing my pond. As of nightfall the total rise in water level was less than a foot - and that doesn't look like much when your down 6 feet. The ground is really drinking this stuff.
Wow, this thread is like a Texas BBQ! The rest of the PB's are lookin' in from around the nation with approval and a collective sigh of relief for ya'all.
Me, well I am still in the dream phase, but quickly approaching REM.
AHVATSA...where ya been? Good to hear from ya! You already know how inspiring your project has been to me. You noted a sprinkle way down 'dere; have you collected any of the heavenly tears yet?
I only got 1" but I will take it. It takes three inches to get my creek on a rise but I think it will fill my pond if it ever does!
txpondad- Three posts in 4 years. We need rain more often!
We got 1 3/4 inches here in East Texas.. Pond went over the spillway.. First time in over a year... Yea
Just got back from my place in Honey Grove (Fannin County). We got 3" yesterday, and 3" in the two preceeding weeks. For the first time since I bought the property last summer, the water has actually risen!
Also watched a flock of about 500 geese try to land on my pond until they saw me and my brother in our boat at the last second. Chaos ensued as they changed course. Awesome sight!
Just got back from a week out of state.....the pond was up about 3' from about 2.5" Friday and Saturday. Still have about 2 more foot to conservation level. Come on gully-washers.
1/2 acre pond now 3/4 acres.
Brettski
We are waiting on rain. I did clean out an old pond (.25a) to 6-7' steep sides and now clay lined. Ran a 2" overflow line from a windmill. Surprised with presure from 400' line with maybe 15'-20' of fall. Reduced to 1/2". Splashing discharge into limestone rock pile and at 3 gal. minute is filling small pond nicely. Per exchange with Bill Cody and ewest I bought a bundle or surveyors stakes and a bundle of cedar shingles and put together 60 lolipops. I will install on a steep bank in 2-3' for FH spawning.
Starting a shooting range and pavilion with targets to 300 yds. Hope to have pics soon.
ps moved mud and silt to a "sandy" small field. Spread and disc, soil seems to be improved. Had trouble growing anything there last year. Should do better now????
