Lake Tomahawk construction

 I've seen the dam as it was begun to be scraped down, from the road. They are going to find leaks and do something about them. 

And the playground extension is begun as well.

So it was a good opportunity for some young people to dabble in the lake waters...

Their dog wandered where he pleased, but was dragging his leash behind him, so was obeying the "dogs on leash" sign literally!

Today's quote:

The smallest surprise, received gratefully, yields a harvest of delight.

BR. DAVID STEINDL-RAST

Sharing with My Corner of the World

Snowdrops and heavy equipment

 

After lunch last week there were big trailers which had downloaded the earth moving bobcats.

They were doing something next to the playground, and I heard the playground is going to be updated for more accessible play by handicapped children. Sounds good!

So I walked down to the dam along the almost dry Lake Tomahawk on Fri. 3.22.24

Which was good because I wouldn't have seen these snowdrops otherwise.

So almost all of them are out of focus.

There's fencing along the dam...

And big barricades that you can't miss!

More Lake photos and blossoms and critters coming soon.

Today is:

Waffle Day, 

National Tolkien Reading Day

Today's quote:

You are loved just for being who you are, just for existing. You don’t have to do anything to earn it… No one can take this love away from you, and it will always be here.

RAM DASS

Some background on the dam at Lake Tomahawk

The Lake Tomahawk dam as of 1936.

But let's look at more recent history (according to Barbara) of the Lake Tomahawk dam.

 This is how the dam looked when I moved here in 2007. Posted in 2013. I was pleased that the trees' roots helped stabilize the earthen dam.

This plaque was on the dam at that time, showing it had been there since 1933-34. Just 80 years before I took these photos in August, 2013.

The valve controlling release of water through big culvert pipes under the dam...and now that I think about it, perhaps the tree roots might have been interfering with them.

By the following winter, you could see a good crop of mistletoe in the branches of these old trees.

In 2015 the trees were cut down on the dam

Drained the lake in March 2015

Earth movers, and vibrating machines to tamp down the soil into the holes left by the roots.

Man in center with his back to us was using vibrating machine to fill in hole left by tree roots.

New walkway on dam, and permanent bench, as this photo shows in 2018 (to present.)

But there will be yet some new changes coming soon. I'll try to capture them. When it's below freezing it's a bit hard to get me out and about!!

Today's quote:

Don’t plan it all. Let life surprise you a little.

JULIA ALVAREZ

Lake Tomahawk being drained

 There was ice on the edges of the lake on Friday at noon when I took this header photo.

I noticed a couple of days ago that it was going down, but this looks like a big drain. It has happened before for construction.

And when I asked Melania, the Recreation Admin. if she knew why, she said it was for construction on the dam. I had seen a note in one of the Black Mountain Facebook pages that several thousand dollars were allocated to improve the dam. Pretty early to do so, but also, not many people around to go fishing when it's below freezing.

So whenever it's warm enough for a walk around, it will be less interesting in reflections of the sky and tree limbs, but more interesting to see what has settled into the muddy bottom.

Lake Tomahawk dam

 Here I am resting after the first leg of my walk. For most of the rest of the circumference of Lake Tomahawk, I would just take photos and catch my breath that way.  This walk was early Oct, before any of these trees changed much.

So as I skipped this bench...

And I huffed and puffed up the incline behind this dad and his two girls in a soft sided wagon which he could push,  while stopping to show them various things along the way.

I decided to feature the dam. The structure going out over the lake on the left is where the valve controlling the amount of discharge goes through a big pipe to the lower level beyond the dam itself, into the creek.

Looking down from the dam you see the opening of two culverts as the creek goes under the road. The release from the pipe under the dam comes out in that small depression right in front of the two culverts. 

And this is looking back on the dam from its other end, now lake to the right. 

 There is also a chute where water flows constantly down from the lake toward the culverts. Since the lake is fed by the stream on the opposite end, as well as runoff (which has been absent for weeks) and at least one weak spring, there is constant flow of water.

 Today's quote: 

Passive aggression is most often wielded by those who feel powerless and want to avoid their own true feelings.

Working on the dam

I was glad to see Lake Tomahawk dam was being given more work this week.  Taking out the tree stumps.

Earth movers and workers all over the dam, and some of the tree stumps are already gone.

The man with his back to us, right near the earth mover, has a vibrating machine that tamps down the earth that's put back into the hole.  And right next to him is a bench, still intact sitting where it's always been in the shade.  It will no longer be a shady spot however, since all the plants will be low and no more trees will be planted on the dam.

Quote for today:

The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.

Rabindranath Tagore
Gitanjali LXIX