dug out a little pond with the LT185DT

[oldrockfan]

dug out a little pond with the L185DT

I have some land out in west Texas and even though we don't get a lot of rain out there... we do get some and I thought it would be fun to see if my little Kubota could scratch out a little pond. My son and I took on the project and took us part of 3 days to work in a low area of our property that collects water when it rains and turn it into a little pond!

Not fancy and very small but hey... it was basically free since we had the tractor and the time. We just used the box blade to slowly dig out to the clay and then used the blade on the front to push dirt around. It might not be a year round pond but at least it does hold water

Will try to post up a few pics.

 

[FTG-05]

Good job!

I especially like the last pic: Looks like you're ready to start fishing!!!

 

[skeets]

Looks good,,might be a good place to set up for hogs

 

[oldrockfan]

Good job!

I especially like the last pic: Looks like you're ready to start fishing!!!

Hehe, we actually threw some little feeder goldfish in there and the wife likes to sit by the side of the pond and feed them. At some point, I plan to make it wider but didn't want to take on the task of cutting down a bunch of cedars this year. Maybe eventually it will be big enough that it can actually make it thru the summer. Either way... I was impressed at how well the little Kubota worked.

Re hogs... unfortunately, they are becoming a big problem since we put in the pond.

 

[gpreuss]

Great job! The old L185DT never ceased to amaze me with what it could do.

 

[coachgeo]

Congratulations butt.. IMHO you just made a Mosquito Breeding Pond

Consider instead to dig some ditches with small branches to distribute the water evenly across a large area where the land can suck it down and refill the natural aquifers that have dried up in the TX drought. Also this will grow plants that breed a lot of life into the area, help filter the air etc etc etc.

 

[In Utopia]

Where at in Texas?

 

[skeets]

Lets seee,,, hmmmm feeder check,, ahhhh water check ,, hmmmm yup that will work

 

[Corney]

I am a little concerned about the wear abouts of the fella that was sittin in that green chairs, hope he didn't fall in the pond?

 

[oldrockfan]

I am a little concerned about the wear abouts of the fella that was sittin in that green chairs, hope he didn't fall in the pond?

He got too close to the edge and the goldfish got him

Oh and I have to agree that the little L185DT is capable of much more than you would think a 17hp tractor could. Considering the low price I paid for mine... It has more than earned its keep.

 

[John Mc]

And I thought everything was bigger in Texas. We call that a "cow hole" in NC, a pond is 1/4 acre or larger.

All kidding aside, that looks great. If it ever stops raining in NC, I have to clean all the muck out of the bottom of my pond, so that it does not dry out so fast. If not for the poison ivy and fire bans this past summer, I would have set the dang thing on fire to clean out the weeds.

I finally broke down and bought a tractor with a FEL and scrape blade, and El Nino began the very next week.

 

[D2Cat]

I thought in Texas those carved out areas of dirt were called tanks. Looks like fun. Want to increase your production, put a 1 bottom plow, or disc on the back to break the ground...then push it

Folks are amazed at what a small tractor can do. Then think of all the wells that were hand dug many feet deep through many feet of rock, then laced with rock to keep them from caving in.

We're spoiled.

 

[oldrockfan]

John, I'd love to make it a real "texas" pond but those darn cedars are a pain to clear out. For now, I will just have to settle for a mini pond. HAHA!

It is funny how every time we go out to our country place... we always end up finding a project that uses the tractor. Never in my wildest dreams would I think my two boys would fight over who gets to do the work out at the place. Ever since we got that tractor... they both volunteer to help out with the trail mowing, road grading, digging, etc.

 

[Daren Todd]

Coach, they sell some stuff at the farmers coop to take care of the skeeters in the ponds. We used to treat the pond at my grandfather's farm every spring. Doesn't effect drinking quality for animals, and the cat fish we caught and threw in there didn't seem to be bothered by it.

 

[oldrockfan]

thought I'd just post a quick update to the little pond that we dug with our Kubota l185DT and the box blade. We have cleared out some cedars so we could make it bigger. It isn't full yet but it is starting to fill up so you can see the new size. Still a small pond for sure but making it larger slowly but surely.

If you look at the pic, you can see the old edge showing original size. We left that little strip of raised area so the water didn't flood the new areas. Our plan is to hand dig that little border strip with shovels this summer. The new pond is quite a bit bigger than the original. Should have a better chance of holding water in summer.

 

[skeets]

That is lookin gooder and gooder,,, My self, i wouldnt take that little strip out. Cat tails growing on it would make a good water filter, for the rest of the pond, And yeah a hand full or two of bream will take care of the skeeters, and make for a good little fish fry too

 

[oldrockfan]

We were thinking we would catch some bluegills at the lake and throw them in there just for fun. Wife likes watching the goldfish or I'd put a couple channel cats in there

 

[CaveCreekRay]

You guys crack me up... and you reminded me of a story.

As a new Southwest pilot, flying high over West Texas one winter day with a low sun near the southwest horizon, I could see thousands of little ponds glistening in a line under the sun.

My Captain was an old Texas Rancher from the Houston area. I asked him, "Who dug all those ponds all over Texas? Did the Ranchers do it for water?

He leaned over to look out my window and laughed. "Those are Buffalo wallows," he said.

"Huh?" I responded...

He explained...

"Back in the late 1700's, the Buffalo herds were as thick as flies around here. There were herds so large you couldn't count 'em all. Buffaloes like water to keep them cool on a hot summer day, so they would go lay in a muddy puddle and roll around. Buffaloes have pretty long and woolly hair, unlike cattle. When the buffalo was done rolling in the mud, he'd get up and wander off, taking 200 lbs of mud in his fur, just like the 30 or 40 buffaloes before him."

"The next rain, the mud hole would fill up even bigger thanks to the excavation done by the buffaloes after the prior rain. After awhile, the buffaloes had created quite a few ponds and many of these ponds were put to use when settlers replaced the buffalo with the cow in the 1800's."

I have pictures shot at that special time of year when the ponds all line up under the sun. If I can find it, I'll post it.

Makes perfect sense now...


Ray

 

[oldrockfan]

Ray... Joke all you want but it has been a fun project and some good father son time. Sure I could hire the local dozer guy to come carve out an acre or two pond out at our place but what fun is that? I'd much rather enjoy my free time working on our place slowly upgrading things.

ps... I fly that route over west texas regularly as I have clients out that way. I don't take my plane nearly as high as you would in your 737 but then again it is nice to be able to hop in the plane and leave whenever I finish up instead of waiting around for the next southwest flight.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

You misunderstand... he was not joking at all.

Next time you fly commercial in the winter months, look under the sun and watch the endless line of ponds stretch off to the horizon. Minnesota calls itself the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." Texas must be the "Land of 10,000 Ponds."

You made yours yourself. Good for you and your son.

Not many Buffaloes left today...

Ray