What will we do with a drunken sailor......

That was the first thing that popped into my head after I looked back at my little row of flags, because it looked like a drunken sailor had tried to make a straight line.  Straight was not what I was going for.  I wanted a line that was on contour.  In other words, all the little flags, assuming I used my A-frame level correctly, are on the same line of elevation.  I needed this to determine where I was going to place my swale, otherwise known as a berm and basin.

A Place for Dogs to Run is many things but flat is not one of them. In this area the change in elevation is between one and two feet over a ten foot run.  When we have a lot of rain it can get up a bit of steam as it comes off the hill and do some damage (erosion) as it continues downhill.  Placing a swale here and one farther down the hill, will hopefully catch the water and allow it to slowly absorb into the hill and not rut out the lower part of the hill.  Plus, the added soil moisture should help us to return this area back to native warm seasons grasses, instead of the fescue, and add various trees.  All in all a win win situation for starting to return the land to its natural state.