Buried treasure and gold leaves
- Dec 12, 2025
- 6 min read
At some point in any endeavor you move from the toe-in-the-water phase to the just-jump-all-the-way-in-and-get-it-over-with phase. We are now in the latter.
We have water!
I won't bury the lede: we have water! When we decided to leave Chile and try to build something here in the Ozarks, we did it with the understanding that a county water line was approved and funded and that we'd have a water meter sometime in the summer or fall of 2025. The details don't really matter at this point, but that turned out to not be the case. Or at least, it has become such a small probability on such a remote timeline that it doesn't do us much practical good in the present moment.
On top of that, this gorgeous mountain we now live on is known for dry wells. So much so, that many regional water drillers won't even take on a job in this area. For months now, we've felt trapped between whole heartedly committing to this experiment and the hard reality that if there is no water, there is no way forward. So we finally did something about it.
Monday, Clear Water Drilling brought their enormous trucks down our up-and-down, back-and-forth road and started drilling. If you know me personally, you know I hate gambling more than almost anything in the world. The couple of times I've found myself in Vegas I've felt sick if I bet more than $20. It's just not my thing.
So, you can imagine my mental state as we watched the drill tick deeper into the dirt, every foot another $25 we owed, whether we hit water or not. We drilled 160 feet (I'll let you do the math) and while we didn't hit a gusher, we hit enough water to make things work out here.
There's a lot of planning still do do. Outfitting a well to provide water on demand, particularly off grid, is a complex undertaking. But in the weeks ahead, we'll be buying a solar-powered well pump, building a well house, burying a water reservoir, and lots of other frankly uninteresting little tasks that ultimately will lead to someone turning a knob on a sink and water coming out (hopefully). Bottom line: this experiment is still live!
Support request: If you have experience with solar-powered water systems, we would appreciate your advice!
The thinking tent
I can write in the city. I've written whole books in the city. But if I'm honest, my best work has always arrived while I'm in nature. Eventually, we hope every inch of our 20 acres will be a creative haven, but for now, there's a lot of uncertainty, and physical labor, and bills to pay. None of that matters in the tent.
You might not recognize them all, but little gems from my dearest people and fondest times fill this space. And, as much as I love spending evenings writing in the tent by myself, I love just as much welcoming others into what has become one of my most peaceful places.
Rocks, rocks, rocks, rocks, rocks, and rocks
Before you watch the video below, go back and check out the trail tour and wash-out woes in our first and second updates. Otherwise you just won't understand.
If you've been following along, you know that we've been renovating the old trail down to the creek since we arrived in July. It was going relatively quickly until we hit one particular section that is both the steepest and also cuts through a little spring that wants nothing more than to turn our trail into a wet-weather creek.
We have officially put in 23 rocks stairs on Pondering Trail now. Every stone was hauled up from the creek below or the run-off above. Many of the stairs were pick-axed into the shale bedrock. Every stair required prying and pick-axing out more rocks than dirt to place and level the stairs. It's the hardest physical work I've ever done (and one summer years ago I pick-axed a bunch of concrete off a stone retaining wall in order to salvage the materials ... so I know my way around a pick-ax).
I won't say Pondering Trail is finished forever. There are still sections that could be improved. But the water is running off, not down. The path is wide and easy to navigate. If you come by, you'll have an easy walk down to the creek with lots of natural stone to admire along the way.
Picnic by the creek
One of the loveliest things about our creek is that there's flat area along the bottom of the hollow that is perfect for sitting and enjoying the passing of the water and watching an occasional deer appear on top of the cliff above. Now that we have the tent and deck finished, we had time to start developing a little picnic area so anyone staying in the tent (which we're keeping food free for bear safety) can come down and cook up a little meal or hot drink and enjoy the water.
It's still a work in progress, but AJ installed this TANK of a grill. It's the same one the national parks use (generously donated by my parents, who I think are expecting to be repaid in burgers). There's now a little fire ring, and this weekend we're starting to put together a picnic table. Ultimately, we may try to lay down some natural flag stone, but that's a long process, and honestly, I need a little break from hauling rocks!
The quincho
This has turned into a long update, so you might be wondering. What about the quincho?! Have they just abandoned that project? Not at all! But, it turns out we had more to learn than we realized before we started throwing up big posts and beams!
My head is spinning with span tables and dynamic roof loads and soil composition and gravel volume. And, we've been learning about optical levels and building placement (while wearing my couture dickies and sun hat). But we're slowly figuring it out and are almost ready to start pouring footers for the posts!
The good news is that while all this learning and drawing was happening, our incredibly generous neighbor came and did site prep for us for the grand total payment of two slices of pizza and a bottle of water. He was a joy to watch. Then we did some final shaping and clean-up with the tractor, which was incredibly satisfying.
We've been planning on gathering rainwater off the quincho for garden irrigation, and that's still in the plan, but we're also really excited that our well is now on the same bench as the meadow, so there's a good chance we can also pipe water over there which will make the kitchen much more functional and ensure we can keep a garden going through the hottest months of summer.
We're also exploring whether combining all our solar panels onto the quincho roof, both for powering the quincho itself and the well pump, might be the best path forward. So much research still to do! And so many moving parts!
Support request: Getting the quincho's big beams and posts up is going to be challenge for the two of us alone (I'm small and mighty, but there are limits). So, if you're in the area and wouldn't mind helping raise the quincho structure sometime in January, reach out! We will provide lots of natural beauty, pizza, and beverages of your choice!
Keeping the fires burning
It's getting cold here (now that the autumn colors have faded). And as much as we love being outside, we need wood for our fire rings so we can keep cozy while enjoying the winter woods! Luckily, the one things we have no shortage of on this mountain is dead wood. You can hardly be outside without hearing a big limb or tree come down somewhere.
Last weekend we were a wood splitting machine! It might not get us through the whole winter, but we're well stocked for a couple of months at least!
Creatures
I'll end with a note on our many creatures. From pumpkin spiders to moles, we're starting to learn the seasonal rhythm of the wildlife here. I had a copperhead make a home in compost pile (we parted ways amicably), the trail sparkles at night with the tiny eye-shine of under-leaf spiders, and there are deer prints sprinkled across the meadow every morning.
As you can see, things are still pretty rough around the edges, but we're getting more civilized by the minute and are always open for visitors. I cannot say enough how much the ongoing encouragement, on-site help, logistical support, and shared celebration are helping keep us moving forward even when by all rights we should be seriously questioning our decision making skills. Thank you all!
I just finished all three updates, in order, and all I can say is brava! And bravo to A.J. The path looks wonderful, the stonework not unlike mosaic work, and the tent is pure magic. I can't wait for the next update, but I'll give you time to do more work and get the rest you deserve.
-- Maureen