permaculture

["Roxann Phillips" <roxann@ancientearthwisdom.com>]

Thanks for all the ideas about fence posts - now I have another little
"opportunity" for brainstorming.  Our driveway is about 1/4 - 1/2 mi
long, and it passes over a few seeps before it reaches the house.  Most
of these springs are dry during this time of year, but we have one that
is more active than the others and we can't seem to keep enough gravel
on it to keep it from sinking.  We've thought about a culvert or a
bridge, but I wonder if any of ya'll have any other ideas.  We can't
redirect a whole lot because when the weather is wet, drainage from a
spring at the top of the mountain, comes to a small waterfall right at
the seep in the driveway.  I'd like to do something to incorporate the
beauty of it all without trying to just "get rid of" the water.  Will
larger rocks just keep sinking, or if we keep placing (planting) rocks
here, will they eventually build up to a level that will allow vehicles
to pass without creating potholes?  Rocks are probably our number one
resource to use freely, lol.  And something about water flowing over
rocks is very comforting to my soul.  Anyone have pictures of how they
solved a similar problem?  There is no other practical route for the
driveway - this one has been in use since the late 1800's, and without
intensive bulldozer work, there is no other way to re-route the
driveway.  Besides, there's probably other springs in the way of other
routes, anyway. LOL, this land abounds with such opportunities to learn
:)

Toby, I've read your book and loved it.  It has inspired me to find a
way to utilize the overflow from our household water source spring,
something along the lines of the graywater ponds that flow from one to
the next.  The spring is at the top of the mountain, about 300 feet
above the house, where we have a 1500 gallon storage tank which gravity
feeds to the house.  Well, when it's full, it just overflows onto the
ground.  I want to direct that overflow to small ponds and over
waterfalls until it reaches the creek in the valley below the house.
Plus, I wanted to hook up a trickle water system for my gardens by the
house using the overflow.  It probably overflows 9 months out of the
year, and especially during spring.  I just hate seeing so much water
run out onto the ground without finding a way to utilize it all the way
down.  Has anyone else done anything with a resource such as this?

Roxann