[Russ_Boston]

Originally Posted by Larryandlinda

If our water dried up no worries.
There would still be a nice preserve. L&L

My thoughts exactly!

[lj410]

We have lived with our Pond View for over a year now. We have never seen a mosquito, snake or gator-yet. We have seen many beautiful sunsets and a vast array of birds. Of course we don't go looking for them either. Its peaceful and enjoyable to be able to entertain on our lanai with friends. We would never trade our water view in for a street view or kissing lanai. To us it was worth the investment for privacy. To each his own.

[wlou]

We agree. There is nothing that compares to sitting on our lanai watching the birds, sunset, and ducks. It is so relaxing and we feel very lucky to have been able to afford the waterview. It appears from my original question when I started this thread, that only a few have actually had their view "dry up". That is comforting and we will continue to enjoy the incredible water views. Thanks all....

[villagerjack]

The people who decry the water view probably do not have or if they do have it do not want to spend the extra dollars to get this beautiful view. Been here 4 years, never had a problem with mosquitos, never saw a snake or an alligator. Do see a lot of beautiful wildlife. We also have a golf view and I never got a golf ball and was never woken up at 5AM by lawn mowers which is another myth of those who do not own these beautiful views.

[nitakk]

Anybody ever notice the pond/lake at Harmeswood never varies - drought or deluge it stays the same height. Hmm.....I wonder why?!! Looks like you can buy a pond that stays put.

[downeaster]

Originally Posted by nitakk

Anybody ever notice the pond/lake at Harmeswood never varies - drought or deluge it stays the same height. Hmm.....I wonder why?!! Looks like you can buy a pond that stays put.

I have noticed the same. May be spring fed and not interconnected to the other ponds and irrigation system. The two ponds just across BV, opposite postal station, seem to be lower but their level fluctuates as they are connected to the system.
The person who mentioned the changing bird life as the level changes makes a good point. I have seen spoonbills on one of those ponds.

I have lived on a Florida pond. I chose not to live on one here as I felt the premium was too high. Other than that I think the advantages far outweigh any real or perceived disadvantages.

Originally Posted by wlou

We agree. There is nothing that compares to sitting on our lanai watching the birds, sunset, and ducks. It is so relaxing and we feel very lucky to have been able to afford the waterview. It appears from my original question when I started this thread, that only a few have actually had their view "dry up". That is comforting and we will continue to enjoy the incredible water views. Thanks all....

We feel the same with our lot.Although it's not a water view it is a nature lovers heaven.Behind us is a horse farm with beautiful old oaks that house a large variety of birds.We've even had a bald eagle stop by.Not to mention the horses.They are beautiful , they come right to the fence where we feed them carrots & apples.We've even had a colt born who is now around 6 to 8 months old,adorable.Although I imagine the water views are beautiful we wouldn't swap our view!!

[katezbox]

The pond across the street from us (on Kenya #5) had a sinkhole (last summer or the summer before), and had to be completely drained to facilitate a repair to the liner. It was months before it was refilled.

I know my neighbors across the street were upset by this at the time, but I think now it is just an unpleasant blip and that they wouldn't trade beautiful their views.

k

[SALYBOW]

Originally Posted by dolpterry

I hope people realize that the lake view property in the villages are just retention ponds that have to be built by the developers. These ponds will dry up at certain times of the year and if they dont you are more then likely in a wet low lying area. Since this area is stagent and not cirulating it is a breeding place for mosquitos. And you have to pay extra for this?

Back home I live on a man made lake. I served on the Lake Board and learned quite a bit about lake maintenance.

All man made lakes "want" to return to wetlands. It is a fact of nature. You can see areas of TV that have returned to wet lands. The one that comes to mind is the right hand side of Morse Blvd across the street from the Lake Sumter. In fact there are wetlands developing on both sides. We had to spend a large amount of money to slow this proecess down so that our lake would indeed stay a lake throughout our lifetime. TV does not spend this money. They also do irrigate from some ponds which lowers the water level in an area that is already under water restrictions.

As far as snakes and gators go. Ohio is not home to gators. Snakes are a different story. I did have a Water moccasin swim about 1 foot from the tip of my toe which was 1 inch in the water as I was building a bench on our deck. That cured me of getting feet near the water. My neighbor had one camp in his backyard for three days.

Our lake was living water (has a natural flow through it) so we did not have a mosquito in sight. The condos one street over were on the marina like area and they did have mosquitos. All of the retension ponds connect so they are not completely stagnant, ergo not as bad for mosquitos, but some of them do smell at times since they recycle the irrigation water.

Another problem with the ponds down here is that all the water that is used for the irrigation systems recycle through them and with it is the phophorus that people add to green up their lawns. This also cause vegetation growth in the ponds. We were not allowed to use fertilizers with phosphorus in them for that reason.

All that being said, I do miss sitting on the deck and looking at the lake. To offset it somewhat we paid the premium on our lot for a larger lot so out lanai sits 35 feet from the one behind us. We were very blessed to have a great realtor who kept this in mind when he was searching around for us.

Congrats on your decision to move to paradise! You will enjoy. If you pay for lakeview, get the largest body of water available.

[StarbuckSammy]

Harmeswood ponds are spring fed.

[katezbox]

Originally Posted by SALYBOW

Back home I live on a man made lake. I served on the Lake Board and learned quite a bit about lake maintenance.

All man made lakes "want" to return to wetlands. It is a fact of nature. You can see areas of TV that have returned to wet lands. The one that comes to mind is the right hand side of Morse Blvd across the street from the Lake Sumter. In fact there are wetlands developing on both sides. We had to spend a large amount of money to slow this proecess down so that our lake would indeed stay a lake throughout our lifetime. TV does not spend this money. They also do irrigate from some ponds which lowers the water level in an area that is already under water restrictions.

As far as snakes and gators go. Ohio is not home to gators. Snakes are a different story. I did have a Water moccasin swim about 1 foot from the tip of my toe which was 1 inch in the water as I was building a bench on our deck. That cured me of getting feet near the water. My neighbor had one camp in his backyard for three days.

Our lake was living water (has a natural flow through it) so we did not have a mosquito in sight. The condos one street over were on the marina like area and they did have mosquitos. All of the retension ponds connect so they are not completely stagnant, ergo not as bad for mosquitos, but some of them do smell at times since they recycle the irrigation water.

Another problem with the ponds down here is that all the water that is used for the irrigation systems recycle through them and with it is the phophorus that people add to green up their lawns. This also cause vegetation growth in the ponds. We were not allowed to use fertilizers with phosphorus in them for that reason.

All that being said, I do miss sitting on the deck and looking at the lake. To offset it somewhat we paid the premium on our lot for a larger lot so out lanai sits 35 feet from the one behind us. We were very blessed to have a great realtor who kept this in mind when he was searching around for us.

Congrats on your decision to move to paradise! You will enjoy. If you pay for lakeview, get the largest body of water available.

Wow - thanks for this great information. I knew about the fertilizers, but not that the ponds would try to "return" to a wetland/preserve area. Friends of ours bought a home in Ft. Myers right on a pond (and I mean RIGHT on a pond) - less than 4 feet from waters' edge. They have had snakes in their lanai multiple times - and in the bedroom 3 times.

[villagerjack]

Yes I noticed that on Kenya 5. I am told the District is now in charge of these ponds and not the golf course who used to be in charge. I am told they keep a watch on them and will do what they can to remedy any problems. I notice they spray once a week or so to get rid of the algae. They actually get in a boat and go out and spray it and it usually subsides. However the lower the pond gets the easier it seems to be for the algae to grow.

[katezbox]

Originally Posted by villagerjack

Yes I noticed that on Kenya 5. I am told the District is now in charge of these ponds and not the golf course who used to be in charge. I am told they keep a watch on them and will do what they can to remedy any problems. I notice they spray once a week or so to get rid of the algae. They actually get in a boat and go out and spray it and it usually subsides. However the lower the pond gets the easier it seems to be for the algae to grow.

Hi VJ

Didn't know the district was in charge - we live on Kenya 5

[kandj]

Originally Posted by nitakk

Anybody ever notice the pond/lake at Harmeswood never varies - drought or deluge it stays the same height. Hmm.....I wonder why?!! Looks like you can buy a pond that stays put.

Apparently it is a good thing we bought in Summerchase with a view of the "Harmeswood pond"!. We do have the golf cart path behing our villa, but we didn't look at that as a deterent. We enjoy being able to see the blue herons land on the pond in the morning.

[Barefoot]

Backing on water is indeed a wonderful perk. The birds and bunnies are prolific, and frogs sing at night. Most ponds of course are not spring fed, they're just "holding tanks" for irrigation water. If it doesn't rain, the ponds get low. We chose to back on very small ponds to minimize the likelihood of Gators.

Recently one of our ponds became completely dry, even after a heavy rain. I called the appropriate department to ask about it. A strom drain had to be replaced, and they assured me that after the next rain the pond would look beautiful again.