Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Jul 10, 2008, at 10:17 AM, <eureka AT hctc.net> <eureka AT hctc.net> wrote:

> Ah...very beautiful indeed! If only we had a smidgen of
> their rainfall.

I was most surprised and chagrined to learn from the docent that they  
pump most of their water and have a several-thousand-dollar-per-month  
water bill. I found and find it most unsettling.

The wet part of the big island is on the other side, the Hilo side.  
The Kona side is much drier.
> The greatest permaculture challenge of the ravine is just
> getting from one side of the property to the other.

How wide across at the best place for a bridge?

>  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.

A steel frame from a mobile home or long-bed truck might provide the  
main support--check at wrecking yards. Extra mid-span support could be  
steel pipes sitting on concrete footings.

I've not seen a book on homemade bridges. I made my bridge from white  
oak logs about twenty-five feet long. Concrete supports on either end.  
Two-by-ten oak planks go crosswise, with space between so they dry  
fast after a rain.