Building Lake Corona

[pmsmechanic]

And now back to jk96 and the wonderful Lake Corona.

All the best, Peter

That sounds good but all there is left to do is watch it fill up with water and plant grass on the bank next spring. It could also get stocked with fish at some point.

But then there is the emergency overflow..... so I guess it's got a ways to go yet.

 

[EddieWalker]

Are water moccasins deadly...... like rattlers?

A water moccasin is the same thing as a cotton mouth. They are poisonous. We also have copper heads, and they are more poisonous and they bite people around here the most because they tend to stand their ground. We also have a Timber Rattlesnake here that is poisonous, but I'm not sure how it rates compared to the other two when biting humans. What I do know is that if a dog is bit by a water moccasin or a copperhead, it's not that big of a deal. Dogs can isolate the poison inside their bodies and process it out over time. My oldest female Akita has been bet two times by copperheads that I know of. I saw it happen once. She bit it and while thrashing it around, it locked into her cheek until it was dead. We took her to the Vet and they said that there wasn't anything to do about it, as long as it wasn't a rattle snake. She lost the hair on her cheek where she was bit, but otherwise made a full recovery. The Vet said that the venom from rattle snakes is very toxic to dogs, and often it's fatal. I don't know if this is true for all rattle snakes, or just what we have here. I used to buy hay from a State Biologist and he told me that Timber Rattle Snakes are fairly common all over here, but they are rarely seen. You have to really mess with them to get them to bit you, and even when he has seen one, and knows exactly where it is, he has lost it because of how well they blend in. We have found two dead cotton mouths in our backyard without knowing who killed them, or if any of our dogs where bit. Last year, my wife and I where grilling on our porch and the dogs took off after a cotton mouth in our yard. They both grabbed it at different ends and pulled it apart. The POPPING sound it made when it came apart was extremely loud!!! My wife and I where shocked by the entire incident, both seeing it happen, and hearing that loud POP!! The old girl that was bit twice had the tail end, and our big boy was on the head end, but we never found the head. She kept a hold of the tail end and we took that from her, but we don't have any idea what he did with the head. Might of swallowed it hole? might have tossed it over the fence while shaking it around? or when it came apart, me lost his grip on it and it flew off then? It's a huge mystery where it went. Neither dog was bit, so it was just one of those really strange things that happen when living out here.

 

[Jstpssng]

Timber rattlers ranged all of the way into southern Maine, although I don't think there have been any found in years. Working power line maintenance in New Hampshire many years ago the utility rep called one morning and told us to be careful between a certain section of poles, known as "Rattlesnake Hill" for a reason. He should have called about 2 days earlier...

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

2 people have died maybe 5 years ago, from timber rattler bites. One guy got out to take a leak on a side road, and it got him.

Probably ten feet from the water. I mow around it and it takes two passes with a 60 inch deck. That's also where I had the closest encounter with a water moccasin!! We where cleaning up the shoreline real good for a party at the gazebo and I was trying to weed eat what was above water line. I would cut down a bunch, then pull it out with a rake and load it into the back of the Mule. I was standing in about a foot of water cutting with the weed eater and it came out from under what I had just cut and swam by my leg, just inches away!!! Makes me jittery just remembering it.

We have them around here too. Scary. Last spring my wife came and got me out of the shower because she saw one near our back deck. It was as thick as her arm and about 5-6' long. I went and got my shotgun and shot it. The detached head was still wiggling and shooting venom out of the fangs, so I shot it a second time because it was so freaky looking. My wife thought I missed the first shot and was giving me a hard time and I had to tell her, no, it just took a second shot to finish it off!! She secretly took a picture of me in t-shirt, boxer shorts, and workboots while I was holding my shotgun and I expect that to be used to blackmail me at some point (or maybe it can be my funeral photo).

True story, have a buddy who lives on the upper end of Coleto Creek reservoir (between Victoria and Goliad Texas). He was working on his boat dock, and a mocassin bit him on his ankle 3 FEET BELOW THE SURFACE. He had just bought his wife a Z06 vette, and she was a nurse at the hospital. So she hauled his arse to town FAST. They live about 30 minutes out in the country from the hospital. She was calling the ER to get them ready with antivenom. He was in the hospital for days and was on crutches for a while.

 

[s219]

True story, have a buddy who lives on the upper end of Coleto Creek reservoir (between Victoria and Goliad Texas). He was working on his boat dock, and a mocassin bit him on his ankle 3 FEET BELOW THE SURFACE. He had just bought his wife a Z06 vette, and she was a nurse at the hospital. So she hauled his arse to town FAST. They live about 30 minutes out in the country from the hospital. She was calling the ER to get them ready with antivenom. He was in the hospital for days and was on crutches for a while.

Yeah, I can believe it. We're afraid to swim around our dock because of them. Seen too many cruising around. I've only gone swimming when I drop something important/expensive in the water. Occasionally I will put on hip waders to do maintenance at low tide and I feel like I need eyes in the back of my head.

I have heard stories of water moccasins falling out of trees onto docks and boats. That would make me jump into the water!

 

[bindian]

Booger after getting bit by a cottonmouth. Pretty sure it was a cottonmouth, as we have tons of them with two ponds and a gully. Now as to Copperheads, I haven't seen more than a handful in 27 years here. Copperheads bit more here, as they blend in real well with all the pine needles and sticks on the ground.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Molalla1]

Booger after getting bit by a cottonmouth. View attachment 684012 Pretty sure it was a cottonmouth, as we have tons of them with two ponds and a gully. Now as to Copperheads, I haven't seen more than a handful in 27 years here. Copperheads bit more here, as they blend in real well with all the pine needles and sticks on the ground.
hugs, Brandi

Poor Booger . . .

 

[sld]

The pond continues to slowly inch up as we loose what little snow we had. Good sign as it means the bottom of the pond that penetrated the bedrock is sealed up well.

2021-01-20_09-50-27

Looks awesome! I was worried about our pond at first too. We were losing quite a bit of water the first year it seemed like. My theory is the ground between the bottom of the pond and the water table finally saturated and the level was more constant after that.

One thing to keep in mind is I regularly saw an inch per day in evaporation on the hot windy days. Two weeks of no rain and you'd lose a foot of water. We finally tapped into our irrigation well and ran a line to the pond and made an aerator. That helped stabilize the levels quite a bit and the aeration was a bonus.

 

[fried1765]

Booger after getting bit by a cottonmouth. View attachment 684012 Pretty sure it was a cottonmouth, as we have tons of them with two ponds and a gully. Now as to Copperheads, I haven't seen more than a handful in 27 years here. Copperheads bit more here, as they blend in real well with all the pine needles and sticks on the ground.
hugs, Brandi

He looks SO..oooo sweet!
Is he OK now ?

 

[Molalla1]

He looks SO..oooo sweet!
Is he OK now ?

You can tell . . . "did I do something wrong" I feel terrible.

 

[jk96]

Looks awesome! I was worried about our pond at first too. We were losing quite a bit of water the first year it seemed like. My theory is the ground between the bottom of the pond and the water table finally saturated and the level was more constant after that.

One thing to keep in mind is I regularly saw an inch per day in evaporation on the hot windy days. Two weeks of no rain and you'd lose a foot of water. We finally tapped into our irrigation well and ran a line to the pond and made an aerator. That helped stabilize the levels quite a bit and the aeration was a bonus.

Thanks. Calling for some rain here Sunday and 5-8" of snow on Monday at the moment. With the ground frozen it should provide a little water runoff. Would be great if the bottom of the pond would fill before the heavier spring rains to prevent some silt in during the fill.

 

[sld]

Thanks. Calling for some rain here Sunday and 5-8" of snow on Monday at the moment. With the ground frozen it should provide a little water runoff. Would be great if the bottom of the pond would fill before the heavier spring rains to prevent some silt in during the fill.

Funny story. My Dad and I had worked on our pond for around 8 months and it was close but we still wanted to do a few things. Well, we got an 8 inch rain and it not only filled but we also got to see how our spill way worked. I remember standing next to my Dad looking at all the water and he just said, "I guess we are done with the pond."

That pond provided over 20 years of family fun. After he passed and my Mom could see I was struggling to maintain their 5 acres (as well as my place) finally sold out and bought a patio home. I still miss that pond.

 

[dodge man]

You need to get get anchors in for you ski boat slalom course in after you get your dock built and before it fills up.

 

[JethroB]

You need to get get anchors in for you ski boat slalom course in after you get your dock built and before it fills up.

Don't forget the submarine races. Watching them was a popular pastime for teenage couples at local ponds years ago.

 

[jk96]

We recieved about 3/4" of rain yesterday. Pond level in creaping up into the flats now.
2021-01-31_09-38-55

 

[ovrszd]

Anxious to see it full Jeremy. Thanks again for sharing this project.

 

[jk96]

Anxious to see it full Jeremy. Thanks again for sharing this project.

I am as well. This was an enjoyable project for me. Will post some additional updates when things thaw out and dry up enough to start on the emergency spillway. Will cut it into the hillside on the far end of the dam in the last pic. Will use this dirt removed to bring the slope out on the backside of the dam a bit more also.

 

[ovrszd]

A very, very small percentage of readers of this post would have the fortitude and stamina to do what you have done.

Few years ago I laid a drainage culvert in a deep ravine and filled it 20ft to the tops of the banks so I could fence across it. Did it with a CTL. Have no idea how many trips with a bucket full of dirt. Days. Not even close to the magnitude of your project.

Very fitting name. Just goes on and on.

 

[BigBlue1]

Any idea how many hours of skid steer operation it has taken you to do your project? I have to imagine it has been a ton of seat time!

 

[jk96]

Any idea how many hours of skid steer operation it has taken you to do your project? I have to imagine it has been a ton of seat time!

Pretty close to 230-250 hours I believe not counting additional time putting tracks back on, cutting logs, multiple stuck situations, etc.