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[<eureka AT hctc.net>]

Ah...very beautiful indeed! If only we had a smidgen of 
their rainfall. I agree, the planting of it is a great 
opportunity. We love our ravine. In our favorite area I 
have put in a butterfly garden. Since our neighbor 
drastically cleared the land around us, it's the one place 
we actually can go and still feel like we are in the 
wilderness. It creates another microclimate altogether. 
Our chickens free-range in it, fairly protected by the 
overgrowth. We have a productive native stand of 
mulberries growing in it, a bounty of chili pequins, and 
among the oaks an oak that would make even the Keebler 
Elves envious.

The greatest permaculture challenge of the ravine is just 
getting from one side of the property to the other. This 
also could be looked upon as a design opportunity (except 
I know more about plants that engineering!). The 
shallowest crossing for the tractor is at the far end of 
the land over one of the limestone conglomerate shelves 
above a drop. The creek is usually dry, but on those 
occasions of heavy rain there is no way to cross. During 
two floods I experienced in the last seven years, I could 
not access that side for five days. So, we are reluctant 
to put any animals on that side. I have been trying to 
talk my husband into puting a couple of zip lines across 
the middle and a small bridge at the crossing for the 
tractor. My level of adventure is greater than his.

Another inpirational idea is from the Bridge of Flowers 
that I visited in Massachussetts 
http://www.shelburnefalls.com/attractions/bridge.html 
where an old bridge was turned into a garden and foot 
path. It was one of the most lovely and unique gardens 
I've ever visited. It would be pretty cool to build a 
bridge across that was also a garden...if I could figure 
out how to design a bridge.

Is there any book or source you could recommend on 
owner-built small-scale bridges (foot, tractor)? I'm 
thinking of something along the lines you see in state 
parks, etc.

--Sage


On Wed, 9 Jul 2008 20:31:36 -0500
 Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com> wrote:
> On Jul 9, 2008, at 11:51 AM, <eureka AT hctc.net> 
> <eureka AT hctc.net> wrote:
>
> >  I like the permaculture ideas a
> > lot, but they don't all work for us. For one we are
> > challenged with a deep ravine that splits the five acres
> > in half that makes any kind of radius of work proximity
> > impossible.
>
> A challenge is often an opportunity. You caused me to 
> flash on a place  
> that might urge you to use the special opportunities 
> that a ravine or  
> gulch presents for a spectacular garden. Chris and I 
> visited this  
> botannical garden in Hawaii, on the big island. Not the 
> famous one  
> just north of Hilo, over on the wet side of the island 
> north of Hilo.  
> This one is north of Kona. It has a deep ravine going 
> down through the  
> middle of the property that carries rainfall from Mauna 
> Kea down  
> through the Kohala mountains and on to the ocean.
>
> Okay, Google helped me find it. It is called The Garden 
> of Pua Mau  
> Place at Keanahalululu Gulch. You can view it at this 
> Web site:
> http://www.us.totaltravel.com/link.asp?fid=618498
>
> We loved it. In addition to the gardens the place has 
> fantastical  
> sculpture. For the grandsons we took a photo of me 
> astride a giant  
> preying mantis, making as if I were wrestling it into 
> submission. Hah!  
> Enjoy and be inspired!