Another mistake that I made was making the shoreline drop off too steep. I marked around the pond with red paint to show were the water would be when full, and then I graded the ground above the waterline so it would be easy to mow. Not much of an angle. Then on the water side, I wanted it to drop off as fast and as steep as I could to discourage reeds and other plants from growing there.
The thing I didn't think about was that the pond is only full for a short period of time, and as it drops, I have to deal with mowing the steep drop off. In places, this is very scary. Another thing I didn't realize was that the plants that grow in just a few inches to a foot of water will grow right up to the edge of the water and then take over the grass if not mowed constantly.
So now my challenge in life is mowing reeds at the edge of the water. Two years ago, I got a bigger tractor and a 12-foot batwing. This has made it a lot easier to get to the edge of the water and not have my tires any closer than I have to.
If I was doing it all over again, I would of made my shore line shallower, and easier to mow. The first five years was easy, but as Mother Nature takes over, she does what she wants!!!!
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