Much to Molly’s chagrin, I operate life through a sequence of experiments. Call it the Scientific Method if you will. I have an idea, then I test it to see if it works. Sometimes this results in huge gains, and other times in colossal failures. But experiments offer valuable lessons that I use to refine my understanding. Like any good scientist, I study what other people do and I adapt their strategies for my own unique needs and circumstances.

While studying permaculture, I was exposed to three concepts that seemed to have perfect harmony with one another: 1) using greywater (household water from sinks and showers) to irrigate plants and trees and 2) building swales (a ditch and berm on contour) to capture runoff, and 3) planting trees on those swales to maximize water uptake. When we built our home in 2016, it seemed natural to combine all three – piping our greywater system to a swale and planting peach trees along the crest. I still believe this is a great idea, but for our circumstances, it required too much maintenance and didn’t integrate well with our animals.