Mud Lake Pond

This pond used to have high water levels, with small patches of exposed mud along the edges, but then the beaver dike gave way in 1998, dropping the water levels significantly, exposing a growing mudflat on the northwest side and around the fringes, which continued to become more extensive as the dry summer progressed! This became one of my favorite sinking places! But, since the water levels dropped, cattle have had trouble accessing the water there, and there have been a number of incidents of cattle getting stuck in the mud, with most getting out on their own. However, some calves did need rescue by ranchers. One stuck cow which I had reported in 1998 didn't get rescued and perished due to (I assume) starvation, its bones scattered around the vicinity to this day!

The expanse of mud had reached its peak early September. In general, the first few feet of mud is looser, with thicker, stiffer mud below. The northwest end was the thickest, while it got softer as you got further south, closer to the water where I did much of my cleanup. At the time these pictures were taken, the thick area was firm enough to walk on lightly a little ways out without sinking, just like walking on top of a mattress. I took many pix to show this "mud lake" pond from many angles.

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Saturday July 21'st And Sunday July 22'nd, 2001

Since 1998, the mud flats have been taken over by grass, leaving only patches and corridors of deep quagmire to sink in, as well as some open margins along the edge of the water! The videos included here show me demonstrating the voracious quagmire in action! The first video was shot just after 8 pm Saturday, July 21'st, and everything else was shot after 8:30 pm Sunday, July 22'nd.