9/6/2019 - Beavers and Bees Follow-up to 9/1 visit Bridge gauge 2.3 Water is Very High.
This Morning 9/6, the
gauge read slightly over 2.3. We should be at slow no
wake. The water is 3.6 inches above the top of the range we were granted by the
WDNR and more than 6 inches above the top we have been trying to manage to.
For at least the last
week, there has been a beaver dam in the culvert leading to the dam.
(Picture taken 9/1)
Clearing has been delayed due to a nest of
yellow jackets that swarmed me last week and left me a little gun shy with many stings. It took a while (and a little help) before I went back.
Thursday night (9/5),
Rosemary and Bob went down after dark and poured hot water and dish soap all
around the nest to slow them down a bit and help me out. They each got stung once. Hats off to Rosemary and Bob and all the help
they continue to provide. Rosemary
continues to do whatever she can to help our lake.
This morning, (9/6) I took the
measurement, then picked up Rosemary and we went to the culvert. The beaver dam was at least 15 inches tall in
a place where the water runs normally only 3-6 inches deep. I put on my waders and Rosemary stood on top
of the culvert and took all the branches I handed up to her to pile for pickup. It took a little while but the culvert is all
clear now.
(This is about 50% of what was in the culvert. Once the beaver dam was broken enough, much of the debris was washed through)
We loaded all the debris in
my truck and I hauled it off to dump. The board has been taken out and the
water is draining.
(Water flowing over the dam after clearing)
