Drove past the old gravel pit on Route 9 near Millerton yesterday. The water is so clear now you can see the bottom.

We used to run a 10-inch cutterhead dredge out there for years, pulling up material that looked like chocolate milk. The whole pond was just mud. Now it's been sitting idle for maybe five years and it's turned into this little lake. Got me thinking about how we used to just move on to the next cut. Never really saw the after. Has anyone else gone back to an old site and been surprised by what it looks like now?

3 comments

3 Comments

emmaj331mo ago

That part about never seeing the after... that really hits home. I used to see those old pits as just empty holes, kind of ugly scars. But seeing one turn into a clear pond like you said... it makes you rethink things. I guess nature just needs us to step back for a bit to fix what we messed up. It's a pretty cool thing to see.

the_andrew1mo ago

Nah @emmaj33, that "nature just needs us to step back" line is way too nice. Most of those pits just fill with nasty, polluted water that nothing can live in. It's not a fix, it's just a different kind of mess we left behind.

rileynelson28d agoMost Upvoted

Man @emmaj33, you nailed it! Seeing that pond form is such a humbling thing. I remember walking past this one spot near my folks' place that was just a dry, jagged hole for years. Now it's got frogs and dragonflies buzzing around it like it was always meant to be a little wildlife pond. It's crazy how quiet things get when we just stop messing with them for a while.