It’s been nearly a year since I finished my Permaculture Design Certificate Course (PDCC, or commonly called the PDC). I’ve been observing the land and the way the water flows on it. Every big rain I go out and get my boots muddy looking to see how the water moves across my baby permaculture system. Every once in a while I get time to chip away at the design that resides mostly in my head. The labor sometimes seems fruitless. It’s difficult to know if I’m doing it right. My only credentials so far is an online course and lots of other online research.

Full Swales: Then comes the rain

This week we got a nice steady couple inches of rain. It was nice and soaking. I was sitting at work doing my normal daily grind when my wife called and said “The ducks are swimming in the swales.”. This lit me up! I was so ready to go home to see for myself.

How did they work? I hadn’t seen the swales, channels and ponds full of water yet. Sure there has been a little water here and there, but nothing enough to really show me what’s going on.

When I pulled in and went in the house I kissed my wife and she said “Are you changing your shoes to go see the swales?”. Oh yeah, she knows me too well. I had to go spend some time observing and reflecting on the details of this event.