Erosion

We have a small (usually dry) creek that runs behind our house. When we first moved in, we noticed that we also had a significant erosion problem above the creek going up the hill from the creek to our house. This had been partially fixed by the builder with a retaining wall but below the retaining wall the grade was still so steep down to the creek that we were losing a significant amount of soil. What is more, sediment from the creek had built up over time diverting water to further wash out our hillside.

Over the last few months we have been working to address this issue. Our neighbor helped quite a bit by moving some large stone he excavated from his yard up against our hill and dredged out the sediment to all the creek to no longer wash out our hillside. I have been gathering rock and putting it on the hill to further build it up and fight the erosion. After several months of working on this it is almost done. Our soil will be retained, the creek will be in good shape and we will be able to enjoy that part of our yard without worrying about losing our hillside to the creek.

Erosion is a tricky thing. It takes place slowly and steadily. As it happens its effects compound other problems, like blocking up the creek which then speeds up the erosion from below until you have a real mess on your hands. Fixing it is also a tricky thing. It takes a lot of effort and patience. Hauling rock is no fun thing but watching the problem slowly work its way to a solution and resolution is enjoyable and rewarding.

Life can be a lot like erosion. Slowly and steadily things slide down the hill…getting washed out and creating bigger problems that sometimes don’t get noticed for quite some time. Like erosion, the solution takes effort and patience. It isn’t usually fun to turn these things around but the solution and resolution is enjoyable and rewarding.

It is important to pay attention to your life. Take notice of things that were once there that are now gone. Which of those things have slowly slid away that should have been retained? Begin building your retention and reclaim those areas to get yourself healthy again.