A creek runs through it

I've always characterized our purchase of this lot by saying, "Ellen and I bought a ravine." That is quite literally true. However, the one great feature of that ravine is this creek. We've had a lot of rain and snow melt, so it's chock full of runoff now, but the natural stone ledges create little waterfalls with a delightful sound, the proverbial babbling brook. This shot was taken in the rain near dusk, when I was walking Jett. When the weather dries, so does the creek, dwindling to just a trickle. This photo represents a big change in our property though. In January, I was enjoying a cup of coffee on our deck when I noticed a silver ribbon running along the base of the hill. I asked Ellen if my eyes were accurate this time, and if that was the creek I saw. She confirmed it, so on the spot, I decided my winter project would be to clear some of the woods all the way to the creek, so we could see it in summer too. I've been working at it with greater or lesser energy ever since and am getting to the point where I only have some of the larger trees to knock down as well as clean up the deadfalls. What was an impenetrable wall of nastiness overrun with thornbushes, poison ivy vines (some 2" thick if you can believe it) and trash, will soon be a quite pleasant, unfettered stroll. This is where I walk Jett these days, and after a snowfall, it's fun to look at the animal tracks, guess what made them, and wonder where they were heading as they passed across our land. So that's the rather wondrous aspect of this project. Now comes pretty much what you'd expect to hear about anything I attempt to do.

You may or may not know that Ellen desperately wants a hot tub. I just as desperately don't want her to buy one. We are both independent people, so there's no way I can stop her from creating a fund and saving for it. She's got a nice chunk of change set aside, but nowhere near enough. I had a weight set that we've carried around for years. Ellen wanted me to sell it on Craigslist. I had no issues with that. I'm past the stage where I'm interested in free weight training. Maybe 20 years ago, when I bought it, but certainly not now. However, Ellen thought that because it was her idea, she should get the proceeds for her hot tub fund. I, on the other hand, had a vision of a woodchipper to turn the mass of saplings and limbs I've cut into mulch. Without so much as a by your leave, I took the money and bought a used one on Craigslist. Ha! Now I was ready. Cut down the jungle and turn it into useful mulch for our spring plantings. Then I read that the worst plant mulch you can use is something that comes out of the business end of a wood chipper, because it actually absorbs nitrogen from the soil for a couple of years before ever putting it back. Ok, so my first justification for keeping her a little further away from her spa was a washout. I am a creative kind of guy, if somewhat inept, so in a flash of inspiration I decided to restore peace by saying I plan to build woodchip trails to the creek. Isn't that way cool, Ellen? Yes, she bought into that and I continued hacking my way down the slope. As time went on, and the piles of brush grew and grew, it became apparent to me that I just did not have enough of a chipper to deal with it. I'd have to rent one of the big ones that you pull behind your truck, so the whole chipper buy was unnecessary. Ellen learned of this new plan second hand, which was an unfortunate twist of fate for me. I was told that I was in big trouble. Not only is part of her hot tub masquerading as a woodchipper, now I'm going to spend even MORE money renting another. Another flash of inspiration was less inspiring for her. I said we can still use the one I bought for annual pruning and routine clean up. That didn't sell. Oh by the way, building wood chip trails on a hill isn't all that straightforward because if you just lay a carpet, they'll wash away. So I'll have an enormous pile of woodchips and another major project ahead of me to make use of them. She doesn't know yet about the cost of the landscape timbers I'll need to secure the chips on that pleasant stroll to the babbling brook. At times, I wish I'd decided to have my coffee in my office that day instead of on our deck.