New Year's Eve Mud Party

Spent the last day of the year getting the runoff from the newly-installed gutters under control. Started at the new drywell "access port" and worked my way counter-clockwise around the house.

Have we mentioned that we have lots of clay in our soil? This is what it's like when you dig this stuff when it's wet... You stick the shovel in the ground - it slides in real smoothly because wet clay is slippery (unless maybe you hit a rock). Then you have to work to pry your shovel-full loose from the rest of the ground, because wet clay is very sticky. You get it loose and lift it, but it's real heavy, because, of course, it's waterlogged. Then you dump your shovel-full off to the side, but it's sticky, so it doesn't just fall off - you have to shake it off - and remember how heavy it is. So, you shake it, but not all of it comes off - some if it sticks to the shovel. You stick the shovel in the ground to get the next shovel-full, but you don't get as much, because you already had a bunch stuck to the shovel. You try to shake that off, but more of it just sticks to the shovel. After a while, you're getting smaller-and-smaller amounts of wet clay from the trench and shaking a heavier-and-heavier shovel. Meanwhile, your boots are sticking to the ground, too. Whenever you move your foot, you get this odd "sucking" sound and your feet seem to get heavier and heavier with each step. Before you start this exercise, you think you're going to make a nice deep trench, but you're really pleased just to get any trench at all.

And while you're digging this waterlogged clay, you're thinking about how this stuff is going to be hard as a rock next summer when you get around to having some time to do some landscaping.

(I can't help but to think that all this clay is good for something - pots, sculpture, cob houses, earth ovens, etc - but this is another story.)

By the end of the day, I had 3 of 4 downspouts running into the drywell. I also had this cramp in my left arm, so I had an interesting time trying to dry off after my shower (can't tell you how good that shower felt ... I even took my pants in with me to wash off the wet, sticky clay ... oh, forgot to mention - washing off muddy stuff in the shower is perfectly normal when you have an outdoor shower as we do).