Gorgeous Gorge isn't quite a "gorge" but that's the name my family calls it. Originally it was just a marshy area but when I was about 9 it was bulldozed out and a dam built at one end. After that it became a pond for the cows to enjoy. However, these last few springs I've noticed that, when the frost goes out, parts of the bottom of the gorge would heave above the water line. It would soon revert back to a marsh. I decided I would prefer to keep it as a pond and today, a backhoe came in to deepen it. The first picture is how the pond looked earlier this week.
The backhoe operator went around the edges of the pond deepening it by a few feet and building up the dam. As I had expected, there were only a few inches of water in the pond and it was frozen solid. The muck dug out needs to dry a little and then the backhoe will come back to level out the edges.
Of course, the moment he left, Indy and I were out to explore the excavation. Found some pretty stones and examined the different types of dirt that made up the bottom of the gorge. By the time I had gone all the way around I was pretty dirty. It will be a year or two before Gorgeous Gorge looks "gorgeous" again. On the plus side though, it will probably be another 50 years before this will need to be done again.
Gorgeous Gorge isn't quite a "gorge" but that's the name my family calls it. Originally it was just a marshy area but when I was about 9 it was bulldozed out and a dam built at one end. After that it became a pond for the cows to enjoy. However, these last few springs I've noticed that, when the frost goes out, parts of the bottom of the gorge would heave above the water line. It would soon revert back to a marsh. I decided I would prefer to keep it as a pond and today, a backhoe came in to deepen it. The first picture is how the pond looked earlier this week.
The backhoe operator went around the edges of the pond deepening it by a few feet and building up the dam. As I had expected, there were only a few inches of water in the pond and it was frozen solid. The muck dug out needs to dry a little and then the backhoe will come back to level out the edges.
Of course, the moment he left, Indy and I were out to explore the excavation. Found some pretty stones and examined the different types of dirt that made up the bottom of the gorge. By the time I had gone all the way around I was pretty dirty. It will be a year or two before Gorgeous Gorge looks "gorgeous" again. On the plus side though, it will probably be another 50 years before this will need to be done again. 
2 comments:
Gorgeous Gorge is truly a family landmark. So happy to see it restored. Your nieces had many a fun day, playing there, in their younger days.
cjb
Thank you for taking care of the gorge. I remember it fondly in all seasons.
Rebecca
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