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

Happy St. Patrick's Day

My iota of blood from my Irish ancestors must be why I love Irish Step Dancing.

And I was amazed to see a flash mob in a station in Australia doing Step Dancing.

EnjoY!

Mudflats of Lake Tomahawk

Lake Tomahawk is being drained...

The island is  surrounded by mud flats

Even the little creek from Walker Cove is low

The dam is so bare with just tree stumps, waiting to be taken out.

People are even playing within the dried out mud of the lake bottom

The sign says the roots of the trees in the dam will be removed, and new landscaping will be completed by the spring.  Guess what next week is, folks?

At least it's nice that there's no smell from the lake bottom, and lots of folks still come out on sunny days to play around this hole.  After a week of rainy days, it was welcome!

Enjoying blooms

A huge Staghorn Fern

we're back

More hot house flowers

Quote for today: (Yes, I remembered to add it this time...I've been forgetful lately!)

Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.

Jalaluddin Rumi
Essential Rumi, versions by Coleman Barks

Exotic orchids

Gardeners or horticulturists at the Biltmore make sure there's nothing dead or dying, see the leaf on the left above which has been cut off.

Orchids with a little pouch...

Flower memories - Biltmore 3.1.15

Dream of spring from the Conservatory walkways

Mud in drained lake

To work on the Lake Tomahawk dam, where trees have been removed, and now their stumps and roots must come out, and now the lake itself has been drained.

First noticed last week, Thurs. night, I returned in daylight on Friday and again on Saturday.

This is the mechanics of the drain, which I suppose is concrete running through the earthenware dam.

You can see the chute of the regular spillway is dry, since it takes water only from the normal height of the water.  Look to the far right near that black plastic barrier, and you can see where the water is coming out from under the dam, then flowing over to the stream under the roadway, (and on following photos.)

The steady stream must mean a valve is controlling it.  I do wonder about the fish that were in the lake...do they go through the valve also?

Lake level on Friday, March 6, 2015.  Ducks are still feeding in the water, or swimming in the middle...

Or taking a siesta.

By Saturday afternoon the north end of the lake is almost dry, with just a few streams going into the center and south end near the dam.

Geese are trying to feed in what water is left, and these are goose footprints.

They had mud-caked feet and legs...and their leader decided to walk down the lake bed to where water was deep enough to swim...

like walking on a beach, (for us humans at least) they figured out pretty quickly that drier dirt was easier to walk on than the wet muddy areas...

Here the Canada Geese are happy to float on water again!

I asked a fellow human walker on Sat. if he'd seen the last time the lake was drained, and he said no.  I said I'd also missed that...which was why I was taking pictures this time.
He then said he'd heard that they were going to dredge it this time. 

I haven't come up with incentive to go look for a few days.
The spring housecleaning bug has hit me.  So I've been taking curtains down and washing them, and since it's a rainy day (off and on) that's a good thing to be doing.  I sure don't have energy to also go for a walk!