Out here the ground is comprised of sand and pebbles below the soil.

The valley is glacial deposits for MANY feet down before any shale or bedrock.

Water heads straight for China when poured on the ground.

On that note, Dorothy found an abandoned gopher hole behind the barn and we observed several garters basking near the mouth of the hole just before it got too cold out

Going to monitor the opening in the spring to see if it is in fact a brumation site... It would be great if there is some wintering down just a few hundred feet from the house.