We got quite a bit done today, despite me waking up feeling sick. Lots of little pieces of some of our big fall/winter projects. The kids and I spent much of our day outside, and the chickens ranged all day.

We started off digging a small drainage way from the chickens to the low place where water runs through the back yard.

The runoff from the tarps runs down to the little area in front of the chicken doors there, and it collects. So this was an obvious place to start that project in a way that was small enough for my desired activity level.

Next I decided to support the tarp over the big run in a more secure fashion. It had collected about twenty gallons of water that wasn't draining because it had sagged down. I added some wood (an old door) under that area to make a flat, supported area. It'll still probably collect a bit, but nothing like before, meaning it'll drain into our small drainage system better than before.

Then it was time for some rest before I headed out with Sophie to start our biggest project ever...

First, we made an A-frame with a dowel, an old shovel handle, and a piece of 2x2. All scraps we had laying around. I calibrated it, zip tied the level, and Sophie and I set to work.

We set out to mark a place for swales.

We marked out five of them as we tried to get a lay of things, but decided on keeping three.

The top and biggest swale conveniently goes from the top of the south hugel along the top of the long south bed, and back behind the chicken run. It'll be fed by a ditch and berm that'll divert water that would otherwise go into the chicken run to wash away their bedding like before. That was a big problem, and I think this new water management system will help with it a lot.

The middle, and shortest swale, will go from the bottom part of the south hugel, past the south plum tree, and to the middle of the long south bed. It'll be fed by an overflow in the top swale that will run alongside the long south bed at about the middle of the top swale.

The third swale will go from the oak tree by the south bed across the bottom of the long south bed, and down where it'll overflow into the main drain that follows the natural path of water. It'll be fed by the middle swale at an overflow by the south hugel bed.

The feeds and overflows will make a zig zag pattern with the water to keep it from running in straight lines, which causes erosion.

I'm really pleased and surprised at how well the beds, which were made with no real regard for contour, are going to fit into this arrangement.

We also put a cardboard weed barrier over the long south bed. It's been layered with compost, leaves, grass clippings, and topsoil, and is starting to grow things. So I figured a barrier would be good for now til we plant next spring.

We'll need a huge load of wood chips, so I'm going to start calling arborists. I plan to fill in the swales with wood chips so they'll have room for water to fill and not be open. They'll be about a foot and a half wide and a foot deep from my current estimation, but that's subject to change significantly as I learn more. I've heard of folks making them as deep as two feet and three feet wide, but I seriously doubt we'll go that big. More learning is needed there, but we got off to a good start today.

Very productive for a day that started with me feeling sick! Glad I got to feeling better quickly, cause that little bit of progress helps a lot with my being down in the dumps lately. Shophie was a joy to work with on the swales. They boys chickened out, and I'm kinda glad of it. That daddy daughter time was great! She even helped me gather a bag of leaves after the swales work!

I hope y'all had an awesome Sunday. I'm gonna go nap a bit now before heading to work.

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Nate

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