Muckworking

 There is another fence project on the west side.  If there is an untamed portion of the yard it is the west side.  It is open, and level which are problems that I want to take care of this spring.  First it is open which creates traffic through my side yard, wildlife, and otherwise.  Next it is level, the one part of the whole yard that is level.  This is a problem because the water doesn't move.  Peanut Galley erupts "You need a French Drain!"  No, I need drain slope.

Previously there was a lattice structure here that held climbing plants.  There was a white Rose plant that grew on it for years.  But I had issues with whatever I was growing there because of drainage issues that took a long time to realize.  I always knew it was swampy, but didn't make the connection to the problems with the plants in that area.

 As I started to dig into the problem I realized also that there was only a couple of inches of top soil, and then hard clay underneath.  This is a problem for plant roots, and absorption, and retention of water.  Also the entire side is level so low spots turn into long lasting ponds.  The biggest pond is right where I want to build.

 This area is typically overgrown with Ruellia which are a cane like plant that produce purple petunia like flowers.  They are commonly called Mexican Petunias.  Well they hide this swampy patch well, and love the water.  They grow like crazy, and hide the swampy mess underneath.

 So, first before I build anything I need to drain this area.  When we did the fence work here it was relatively dry because it had not rained for weeks.  But this area was still moist, and I used mulch to limit the muddiness.  So the next thing to do is to make a drainage trench to get the water out of here.

 I'm looking for the lowest spot I can get to be the outlet of the trench.  Then I work up the hill into the level area.  This will help me map the low spots in the side yard, and I can begin to move soil around to expedite the drainage.  I call this Muckworking because we have had some significant rain this week, and the west side yard is sloppy wet, and I am digging.  Very messy, but good because I am just a kid playing in the mud...