Until this February, I walked Lucky on leash only. He like to chase cars, bicycles, motorcycles, and people so I have to hold him by his collar until they pass to avoid problems. And it isn't just chase; it is snarl and lunge. And it isn't all, just some. I cannot see a pattern of any kind. He will ignore one car and snarl and lunge at another. He doesn't like Ladas, vans, or trucks but not always He is getting good with bikes and most pedestrians. If there are people working beside the road he will ignore them. He is not keen on people with shopping bags but not always. Walking him on leash stresses me out and does not give him enough exercise.
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August 2012. Four years earlier there
might have been 20 in the community herd |
Last fall I walked him up a side road east about 2 km, past an area that was used for common grazing in times past when villagers had cows. Those days are gone and a big commercial farm about 2 km SE was grazing cattle and sheep. So in February we went back to that grassy area as there were no livestock, vehicles, or people, and I let him run. It was awesome.
We went the same place several times and then started exploring farther back up the hill on the south side, just to give Lucky new places to run and sniff. I took lots of pictures.
I had walked that area in 2009 with Volk and Bobik and it had certainly changed in the 12 years. In honour of yesterday being Earth Day (I think) what I will try to do is show you where we walked and the changes that took place in the landscape and vegetation. It may take a couple of posts. So if anything isn't clear in this one, maybe I can fix it in the next. I have so many pictures and can't use them all. Clicking on the pictures will "Embiggen them".
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| Large Area Google Earth Overview (from 2019) |
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| Enlarged Google Earth Overview (from 2019) |
Some background. Zhovti Vody is a uranium mining town. It has/had a deep shaft mine on the north edge of the city. The mine had a great deal of water infiltration which had to be pumped out. Three steel pipes ran at least four km, past our place and up to a settling pond about 2.5 km east of us. The holding/settling pond was created by a dam across the valley. The top of the dam is about 35 meters higher than the Zhovti River which runs past our house.
A second dam down the valley, is much shorter across and about 15 meters below the high level dam. I assume it was to provide a backup in case the upper dam broke.
Water was flowing constantly through those pipes the first years after we moved here in 2008. But sometime in the past few years, the mine closed and the pumps stopped. Last year, they ripped out the pipeline for salvage, meaning the mine will not be reopening.
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| Wide view of the pipelines from the mine to the holding/settling pond November 2009 |
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| Wide view of the settling pond from the top of the dam August 2009 |
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| Wide view from the top of the dam a couple days ago. Bone dry. |
This is enough for one post. More in a few days.
Thank you for showing a little of the area in which you lived. Bone dry dams are all too common here. Sadly.
ReplyDeleteWhen they quit pumping water into it, it dried up in a hurry.
DeleteThings pretty dry in parts of Australia? Some places too wet too.
Yes. On both counts. Much (most?) of Australia is habitually dry. Except when it floods.
DeleteGlad you found that secluded spot where Lucky can run off-leash. Dogs love that, don't they? When I was a kid on the prairies 50 years ago, nobody "walked" their dogs. All dogs ran free, all over the goddamn place, all the time. Times were different then, eh? I bet you remember those days too.
ReplyDeleteYes, we always had a farm dog that was never tied up and ran free. The car chasers had short lives as we lived by old #14 highway until it was rebuilt. We had a Buster and a Streak that I recall.
DeleteWow, that's a big change in the pond area. Did the closing of the mine have a big impact on the economy of your town?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it did. The town was not happy when they pulled the pipes as it meant the mine would never reopen. Zhovti Vody took some real hits with the demise of the Soviet Union. There were two major military factories here making electronics for aircraft as well as the mines. There is still mining here but it is surface and I am not sure what it is.
DeletePopulation went from 80,000 to 40,000. We have three petrol stations which should tell you something of the economy.
I love when you include pictures..
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty country in its own way. I love it.
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