Around the Bend--More Trail Construction for the Dogs

Another day of weed whacking and brush cutting, and we have a bit more of our dog-walking trail completed. We made it around the Bend, an S-shaped curve in the creek that runs the full length of the ARC property. We're down in the thick underbrush now, which looks stark and unimpressive in winter, but in summer will become a nearly impenetrable wall of green. The cool part is that then, walking through those areas of the trail will be almost like walking through a maze in a hedgerow. And we can't wait!

The other neat thing that happened today is that we were finally able to hack our way down to the water. @catherine813 was the first in, followed by our long-term resident Gabriel. That dog had more fun today than he's had in years. He's such a good boy.

This is where we left off yesterday and started today. You can use the utility poles in the right half of the next two photos to orient yourself. The brush wasn't very thick here, but you can definitely see how much it opened up with a little work.

It's hard to tell much about this next photo. This is the back side of the Point, the little piece of land that juts out into the bottom half of the S-bend. This is one of those areas that won't look quite so enchanting until summer, when the hedges are leafed out. There are also some lovely wild rose bushes in this photo that are nothing but canes and thorns right now. I sure hope they bloom in spring. Some do, and some don't. We just have to wait and see.

This is where we stopped for the day. You can see those rose bushes pretty well in this shot. Originally, this part of the trail was little more than a very steep embankment down to the creek. But the ground is soft here, so I was able to dig out a less challenging grade that we will fill with mulch. Thanks to Asplundh, we have an unlimited supply of wood chips. Good thing, too, because we're going to need a bunch of 'em for this trail!

The most important part of all, though, is what the doggos think about their new walking trail. EJ gave it a resounding "YES!" yesterday. Today, Gabriel added his sniff of approval, along with little guys Abercrombie and Paige.

Watch below as Gabriel shows everybody he ain't skeered of no water!

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