We have just completed excavation!

We finished excavation yesterday, creating 3 terraces, 2 swales, and a small dam to feed one of the swales.

Here is a video snapshot of the excavation work:

Below are some photos.

 Before Excavation

First (Upper) Terrace

Second (Middle) Terrace

Third (Lower) Terrace

Upper Swale

This swale is about 700 ft. long. We will be cleaning this up by hand to ensure water spreads evenly and berm is dead level.

 Michael's Nyegan hole.

We will cover it with concrete and build an adobe dome over it. His camper trailer will be close by. The rocky subsoil was later moved to the bottom of the dam (see below)

Lower Swale Roughed Out

Foreground is edge of Terrace 3 before final grading, and the thing that looks like a road is the swale after bush removal and the first cut at leveling.

The Dam Area Before Construction

This is the dam area, the main gully or arroyo through the SGS land. About 50 feet downhill is the well, so this water will help recharge it. Notice the rock and subsoil placed to start filling in.

Cutting in to Build the Dam

The backhoe is cutting a sloping trench on each side of the gully and using the soil to create the dam. The dam will spill into the swales on each side, about 1000 ft. of swale length, 7 or more feet wide.

Tip's Extra-Curricular Activities

Tip was ever-present, and with the other dogs Jack & Jill, was always on the scent of a rabbit.