141224 Pond is filling up

Fun in the snow

Pond filling up

Can't wait until spring when this is all green.

141201 Late Fall

If you ignore beauty

you will soon find yourself without it.

But if you invest in beauty,

it will remain with you 

all the days of your life.

Frank Lloyd Wright

POND SETTLING IN UNDER FALL SKIES

141113 More grading work

South outlet of Vaughn's creek

Vaughn Lake filling up.
When will it fill to the culvert?

141112 RIP RAP rest in peace

RIP RAP CHANNELS TO SLOW FLOWS, PREVENT EROSION, AID SEDIMENTATION

VIEW NORTH FROM TOP OF FOREBAY

View WEST from driveway turnaround 

141110 Now that's a fine mess we're in.....

Pond will done tomorrow! Yeah

Dozer loses 2nd gear.

It's not looking like we are going to get this mess graded before winter arrives.

141106 the dike removed

the dike

the plunge

the rush of waters

141031 Draining the upper half of the pond

141023 using the drive -- ta dah!

Greatness is not in where we stand,

but in what direction we are moving.

We must sail, sometimes with the wind

sometimes against it.

But sail we must, and not drift

nor lie at anchor.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

After a long difficult struggle with the permitting authorities and their requirements and regulations we have finally completed our road into the property It took a lot of hardwork, planning, patience, research, persistence some good luck to have the right people helping us. It does not look like much but it was quite an accomplishment.

141022 Road is done!

Bill and Jamie place last piece of matting down before last load of gravel is dumped!!!
Cold and dreary day.

141018 Mr Studley, Hay House gets a redux, Top terrace....

Dozer making terrace at top of hill

Hay Hoop House gets a redux.

Mr Studley pining for the ewes.

A handsome ram lamb.

141017 The Road.....

This dim and dreary, drizzly day,
Dave and dozer paved the way.

A southward view,  last year in 2013 from the front lot, we did not know it then but the road would come off
be on the left side of this picture.

141013 The road culvert extension goes in ... but not without a fight.

Dang! the pipe does not fit even though the outfit that makes them says they should.

Dang! the coupler won't make it work either.. Now what to do.....

A little deformation here.... and a little deformation there....

141011 Survey work in October

We are placing stakes strategically and sighting elevations and distances to mark off the boundaries of the pond.  This is from the south end of the pond toward Turner's Road Culvert.  It rained all spring and summer this year, but the fall has been extraordinarily dry. Finally we have been able to work in the area of the pond.

Here we are sighting up the road to the knoll to correct the elevations according to the plan.  There is a 20' change in elevation from the surface of the pond to the highest point on the knoll. The pond surface will be 10-15 above the normal height of the Genesee River.  The northward river flows, that once regularly inundated the entire watershed, are now modulated by a dam about 25 miles to the south.  The Mt Morris dam was completed in 1952. In 1972 Agnes almost caused the topping of the dam. That was considered to be a 300 year event.

141005 First taste of Fall

Dramatic fall sky covers the progress on the road and pond area.

Pickerel Frog inhabiting the pond

140919 Moved Sheep to Williams Field

Sheep grazing Williams field

View South from Williams Field

140917 Fall grazings

Sheep grazing Bond/Williams since
9/5 thru 9/19 2 weeks!

Same field after grazed 2 weeks

140901 Hurray fence enclosed** sheep lead to Williams corner

Photos to follow....

Bridge Thicket Brush Hogged

River Trail Brush Hogged

140831 Labor day: end to a very wet summer

“There are, it seems, two muses: the Muse of Inspiration, who gives us inarticulate visions and desires, and the Muse of Realization, who returns again and again to say "It is yet more difficult than you thought." This is the muse of form. It may be then that form serves us best when it works as an obstruction, to baffle us and deflect our intended course. It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.” 
― Wendell Berry

So sad and frustrating that this project is not completed.

Dozer needs work. We seem stymied....

140830 Gray Tree frogs

Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) are variable in color owing to their ability to camouflage themselves depending on the substrate where they are sitting. The degree of mottling varies.They can change from nearly black to nearly white. sexually dimorphic. Males have black or gray throats, while the throats of the females are lighter. Tadpoles have rounded bodies (as opposed to the more elongated bodies of stream species) with high, wide tails that can be colored red if predators are in the system. Metamorphosis can occur as quickly as two months with optimal conditions. At metamorphosis, the new froglets will almost always turn green for a day or two before changing to the more common gray. Young frogs will also sometimes maintain a light green color and turn gray or darker green after reaching adulthood.They prefer to breed in semipermanent woodland ponds without fish, but also lay eggs in swamps, vernal pools, The gray tree frog is capable of surviving freezing of their internal body fluids to temperatures as low as -8 °C

 H. versicolor have bright-orange patches on their hind legs, which distinguishes them from other tree frogs, such as H. avivoca.^[3] 


Found this hiding in a water bucket tire. The American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) is a common species of toad found throughout the eastern United States and Canada.The eggs of the American toad are laid in two strings and can hatch in 2-14 days. When hatched the tadpoles are recognizable by their skinny tails in relation to the size of their black bodies. They may advance to adulthood in 50-65 days. When metamorphosis is completed, the "toadlets" may stay in the water for a short period of time before they become mostly land based. Tadpoles have several mechanisms to reduce predation .  They avoid predators by swimming in very shallow water, and by swimming close together in schools during the day. Tadpoles also produce toxic chemicals in their skin that discourage some potential predators. Fish have been reported to die after consuming one tadpole; however, most fish quickly learn to avoid eating American toad tadpoles. The call or voice of a breeding male is a high trill, lasting 6-30 seconds, similar to a ringing telephone. From Wiki

1400828 of Walnut, Bitternut and Basswood trees

PHOTOS TO FOLLOW

140828 Scottsville Swamp monster captured on media

Rarely seen spotting the Scottsville Swamp monster.

140817 Moved sheep to meadow view

RYE GRASS FIELD AFTER 7 DAYS GRAZING

Oak Thicket after sheep grazing

Hill top showing grazed area and ungrazed area with nut trees

Upper & Lower Switchgrass Field recovering after grazing

Rye Grass field getting post graze brush hog, fertilization and liming

Clover field: Dante is not feeling well

New Hay rack at Hill top ready for hay stockpile

Sheep using new grain feeders