This guy and his wife came over and asked if I needed any work done
around the place. I told 'em sure, and then we got to "talking" and I
found out that the husband of the team used to drive heavy equipment.
Well, one thing lead to another, we rented a backhoe, and (among other
things) the pond is bigger now. I pumped out the water from the
existing pond (which didn't take too long, as dry as it's been), then
the guy dug a hole which nearly doubled the pond size. The thing used
to be roughly 60 feet in diameter and roughly circular. Now it looks
like two circles about 60 feet in diameter that are jammed together.
It is real ugly right now, we got only about 1/4 inch of rain today,
so the thing hardly has any water in it. I'm running the garden hose
in it, but it doesn't hardly do anything in a pond that size. It's
hard to say anything positive about water knowing the troubles it has
caused in the UK and even closer in Texas, but right now I'd be happy
with a tropical storm or two, or 30. Did I mention how dry it is
here?
--
Galen Hekhuis
Hell hath no fury like a bird in the hand

Congratulations on the grand venture. I am jealous!

So that is about 20 x 40 yds! How deep? Quite the natural pond!
Will it also just stand there waiting for Bob? Or will you put a pump
on it?

Pics would seem to be in order!

Jim

Did I mention how dry it is
here?

Maybe there is a tail end of a hurricane
out there with your name on it.

k :-)

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 22:24:55 CST, Phyllis and Jim
wrote:

Congratulations on the grand venture. I am jealous!

So that is about 20 x 40 yds! How deep? Quite the natural pond!
Will it also just stand there waiting for Bob? Or will you put a pump
on it?

We only got about 1/4 of an inch of rain yesterday, and right now
there is only about 10 inches of water at the deeper parts. The thing
looks like a giant mud puddle again, more mud than water. When full
it should be 4 1/2 to 5 feet deep. There is an aerator in the pond,
but no water pump, nor do I plan to add one. If Bob (the snake)
returns, I'll probably have to move him, but I'll deal with that when
and if it happens.

Pics would seem to be in order!

It is so ugly right now it has broken every camera I have tried so
far. When it looks better I'll be trying again.

On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 02:51:05 CST, k wrote:

Did I mention how dry it is
here?

Maybe there is a tail end of a hurricane
out there with your name on it.

It will take many more than just one. Maybe 15 or 20 would do the
job. It used to be that I could dig down 1 1/2-2 feet anywhere in the
yard and hit water. Now you can did more than 6 feet and not even get
mud.

--
Galen Hekhuis
Hell hath no fury like a bird in the hand

Galen,

That seems a huge water table change! Do you see that as a function
of housing? Has it stabilized, or is it still falling?

When we lived in Miami, we had water pretty near the surface. That
was 22 yrs ago.

Jim

"Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message
...

brevity snips

Did I mention how dry it is
here?
============================
We're in a severe drought here. The farm ponds have about dried up and the
trees and brush are turning brown. New landscape plants around all the new
construction in town are dying. It looks like fall here, not mid-summer.
The last decent rain was back in March. Lawns and pastures are brown and
crops are failing. And the heat and drought keeps on........ :-(

Our garden, watered as much as possible, isn't doing well at all. The earth
is so dry it repels the water.
--

RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 20:44:48 CST, Phyllis and Jim
wrote:

Galen,

That seems a huge water table change! Do you see that as a function
of housing? Has it stabilized, or is it still falling?

It isn't a function of housing, I'm in a rural area where there isn't
a whole lot of "housing." It's more a function of how very little
rain we have had over the past few years.

When we lived in Miami, we had water pretty near the surface. That
was 22 yrs ago.

There is a mixture of clay and sand here, overlaying the Hawthorne
formation of limestone. That results in sort of two water tables. The
main one is in the limestone, at a depth in this area a little below
the Suwannee River, roughly about 80 feet above sea level in this
area. That water table has been falling also, although not as fast.
The upper table is in the poorly drained sand and clay, where it is
over cracks in the limestone, it drains down into the aquifer,
otherwise it pretty much stays around. That is the part that is so
dry. We have gotten pretty used to saturated ground here. We don't
really know how to behave now that it's so dry.
--
Galen Hekhuis
We'll cross that bridge when it rears its ugly head

"Phyllis and Jim" wrote in message
ups.com...
Galen,

That seems a huge water table change! Do you see that as a function
of housing? Has it stabilized, or is it still falling?

When we lived in Miami, we had water pretty near the surface. That
was 22 yrs ago.

Jim

More likely, a combination of local overpumping of the aquifer and the long
drought Florida has been experiencing. I assume Galen lives in Florida.
It's a recipe for sinkholes. I hope the subsurface where he lives isn't
karst limestone. He might wake up with an unpleasant surprise some
morning.

George

"Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 20:44:48 CST, Phyllis and Jim
wrote:

Galen,

That seems a huge water table change! Do you see that as a function
of housing? Has it stabilized, or is it still falling?

It isn't a function of housing, I'm in a rural area where there isn't
a whole lot of "housing." It's more a function of how very little
rain we have had over the past few years.

When we lived in Miami, we had water pretty near the surface. That
was 22 yrs ago.

There is a mixture of clay and sand here, overlaying the Hawthorne
formation of limestone. That results in sort of two water tables. The
main one is in the limestone, at a depth in this area a little below
the Suwannee River, roughly about 80 feet above sea level in this
area. That water table has been falling also, although not as fast.
The upper table is in the poorly drained sand and clay, where it is
over cracks in the limestone, it drains down into the aquifer,
otherwise it pretty much stays around. That is the part that is so
dry. We have gotten pretty used to saturated ground here. We don't
really know how to behave now that it's so dry.
--
Galen Hekhuis
We'll cross that bridge when it rears its ugly head

Yep. Sounds like a recipe for sinkhole formation. Keep your safety ropes
handy. lol

George

On Wed, 1 Aug 2007 12:15:21 CST, "George"
wrote:

Yep. Sounds like a recipe for sinkhole formation. Keep your safety ropes
handy. lol

What you say is largely true. Right where I live, however, there is
virtually no chance of significant cavern formation underground. I'm
right at the top (154') of the drainage in my area, there is
practically nothing higher. When it rains here, the rain begins it's
journey to the Suwannee River. Granted, I'm not that far from the
Suwannee, but virtually all the cavern development occurs within just
a couple of miles from the Suwannee or its tributaries. I've been
exploring caves for over 40 years, and moved to this area specifically
because it is one of the best places in the world (no exaggeration)
for cave diving, but there is virtually nothing here that favors
cavern development. A few miles from here they are probably on "pins
and needles," and should be, but right here it isn't a problem. I
could probably go on and on about limestone hydrology, but I won't.
Suffice it to say that it is virtually impossible for a sinkhole to
form here, but if it did, I'd be thrilled and not the least bit
rattled.
--
Galen Hekhuis
We'll cross that bridge when it rears its ugly head

"Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 1 Aug 2007 12:15:21 CST, "George"
wrote:

Yep. Sounds like a recipe for sinkhole formation. Keep your safety
ropes
handy. lol

What you say is largely true. Right where I live, however, there is
virtually no chance of significant cavern formation underground. I'm
right at the top (154') of the drainage in my area, there is
practically nothing higher. When it rains here, the rain begins it's
journey to the Suwannee River. Granted, I'm not that far from the
Suwannee, but virtually all the cavern development occurs within just
a couple of miles from the Suwannee or its tributaries. I've been
exploring caves for over 40 years, and moved to this area specifically
because it is one of the best places in the world (no exaggeration)
for cave diving, but there is virtually nothing here that favors
cavern development. A few miles from here they are probably on "pins
and needles," and should be, but right here it isn't a problem. I
could probably go on and on about limestone hydrology, but I won't.
Suffice it to say that it is virtually impossible for a sinkhole to
form here, but if it did, I'd be thrilled and not the least bit
rattled.
--
Galen Hekhuis
We'll cross that bridge when it rears its ugly head

Well, that is good to here. I too have been caving most of my life, and in
fact, hydrogeology (particularly karst) is by and large what I do for a
living.

George

On Thu, 2 Aug 2007 22:06:07 CST, "George"
wrote:

Well, that is good to here. I too have been caving most of my life, and in
fact, hydrogeology (particularly karst) is by and large what I do for a
living.

Far out. NSS 9294. Are you coming to the convention in Live Oak in
08?

"Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 2 Aug 2007 22:06:07 CST, "George"
wrote:

Well, that is good to here. I too have been caving most of my life, and
in
fact, hydrogeology (particularly karst) is by and large what I do for a
living.

Far out. NSS 9294. Are you coming to the convention in Live Oak in
08?

No, unfortunately, I'll not likely be able to do so.

George

On Fri, 3 Aug 2007 11:11:08 CST, "George"
wrote:


"Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 2 Aug 2007 22:06:07 CST, "George"
wrote:

Well, that is good to here. I too have been caving most of my life, and
in
fact, hydrogeology (particularly karst) is by and large what I do for a
living.

Far out. NSS 9294. Are you coming to the convention in Live Oak in
08?

No, unfortunately, I'll not likely be able to do so.

Bummer. I'd liked to at least drop by and say "Hi." It will be just
down the road for me.

On another note, we got almost 4 inches of rain yesterday, last night,
and this morning. If any of y'all had anything to do with it, thanks
mightily. We needed it. I went out and looked at the pond, and while
it isn't hardly full, it has a bunch more water in it. Now instead of
a big empty hole I've got a big hole with muddy water in it.
--
Galen Hekhuis
We'll cross that bridge when it rears its ugly head