Work in progress: a walk in the woods

This is what is left of a large willow tree, from the other end of the street, that came down during the major storm a couple of weeks ago. I have been rethinking my plan of how to use the old deck to make pathways, at least on the drier side of the property, and am now using the deck wood to border the paths of wood chips, rather than making a deck path all the way through the woods. That can come later. The wood chips allow me to make useable pathways very quickly. Hint: if you need woodchips, look for tree guys working close to home. They are usually very happy to give you the woodchips free, as it saves them a trip to the local composting centre. Just don't use it immediately as mulch on the garden, as it will "burn" the plants. Great for soft-underfoot pathways though!

I added an extra layer to the path made last year, and bordered it with wood from the old deck.
And extended it into the "woods". The smilax has started to grow back, but nowhere near as fast as I thought it would. Maybe the deer really do like the young smilax shoots?
Looking back from under the biggest trees, towards the house.