Wow! I didn't realize what a lot of discussion these photos would cause.
Todd: Yes, I plan to do all these ponds and have from the very beginning when I bought this property. Because of erosion, there is not much else the land is good for and I think it will actually make a large "plus" out of a "minus." What you can see in the photos is about 12 out of 33 total acres I have. The green area (good eye for details) is indeed where I will build my house. Talked to the builder two weeks ago and he is looking at my plans right now and building an estimate. Currently I have a cabin I built and I will live in it while I get my house built. My girlfriend also has about 20 acres across the road, so if we get hitched, we will have a lot of land to look after. What you can't see in this photo is the really big lake (20 acres) at the bottom (see attached photo). I have all the property at the top of the lake where you can see two ponds and a finger-like peninsula. I don't know how I got so lucky to find this place, but it's like a little bit of paradise only one mile from a four-lane highway (see top of photo).
Harv: A toothbar is already on my short list to get, but I will be needing a dozer and probably a few dump trucks and a couple of graders before it's all over. I'm hoping to get the county to help me build a berm of dirt along the county road as a barrier and then begin cutting and hauling. The place where my main dam will be is already a narrow pass about four stories high on each side. I've already had an estimate of only $3,000 to build a dam across this spot. My major expense will be excavation and reclaiming soil to fill in gullies on the high side.
JJT & Gator: Thanks for your great suggestions. I have a sand pit being dug not far from me, but I don't really like how they are messing up the land around the site. I want a little more control than that, but your suggestion is very valid and I just may investigate selling some of the white sand I have an abundance of in the bottom of these gullies. I've also never heard of "fire ponds" around here, but soil conservation is a big thing and they may pay up to 50% if they have surplus funds left from other projects. ...probably a pretty slim chance, but they guaranteed they would engineer the project for free, so I will take them up on that. My alteration of the picture was so I could discuss what I want to do and have a good visual aid.
Neil: The erosion here is pretty bad (actually very bad) because I am on a natural high escarpment between two watershed valleys. One of these valleys slopes to the east toward Dallas, TX and the other to the west of Fort Worth, TX. The advantage is that there are lots of ponds in this area and the 20 acre lake is a soil conservation lake that I share with four other neighbors, but the dam is maintained by the county. It's a good situation.
Sorry about the long post, but everone was so kind to give their comments that I felt obligated to respond. For anyone really interested in planning and ideas for their property, nothing beats a few aerial photos. If you can find a pilot and pay him for his fuel, he might take you for a flight. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
JimI<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>
Edited by jinman on 12/02/01 00:08 AM (server time).</FONT></P>
