Part of my yard/garden is a stream bed. Had a deluge 35 ft wide and 3 ft deep running at 10-15 mph for a day in January. Now it's pretty much bone dry. I'm trying to figure out how close to it I can plant things that don't like wet feet in the winter. Can't fill it with pretty river rocks because sand washes in and covers them. Swamp plants don't like it there when it's dry. Trying to choose and cultivate native plants that already grow there.
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Einstein once said that if he were to live his life over again he'd probably be a plumber. It was not until I was about 40 that I realized one of the great attractions of that idea: sometimes a trade like that can be pretty portable. One could choose where to live and probably find a job there. But by then it was too late for me. I had a master's degree in something and some pretty specialized work experience. I feel extraordinarily lucky to be retired.