Digging Around

I've been doing a little terracing on the hill that leads down from our patio area. I started out with steps that lead down to the bottom, right by the stone wall and the big oak.

Then I decided to make a small terrace from those steps to the part on the left that leads down naturally, connecting two paths to the bottom.


Then, Cocoa dug a big hole trying vainly to capture one of the gophers that dig up our yard. She managed to create a nice level spot with her excavation, so I decided to connect it to part of my steps.











I'd already dug out dirt around the little oak (not healthy for it), so I connected the steps that lead up past it to Cocoa's area and had a part that extended all along that level


A lot of the excavated dirt went to fill in areas that had been washing, giving us a smoother hill overall.
















Then, I brought that terrace around, connecting it to the first set of steps that come down by the wall.







Part of this is to get a small visual idea of what the real terracing will look like when we can have it done, but mostly it's just me playing in the dirt.











So, the first steps I did now connect just above the big oak to the terrace by the small oak and the steps there. Then it connects again near the top to the top terrace that runs to the end of the bank on the left and over to access the bird feeder on the right.


All this digging also has a therapeutic value. I've had a loved one trying to dig up and toss around old "dirt" of the emotional type, and the physical activity of digging in the dirt was very good for me. It's both focused and mindless, allowing me to be in the present and at peace. I like that.