Let it flow, let it flow!

A major problem that we have with Oba chan's land are the very active wild boars which have been scavenging for small crabs for some time. In the process they pretty much dug up the whole parcel of land and also messed up the constant flow of water coming down from the mountain. What should be happening is that the water flows across to the other side of the land and into a concrete drain. However, this was not happening, so the end result was a very water logged property.

So here began our first project, to make a temporary drain to dry up the land. Armed with our shovel and gumboots we started looking for the source of the water flow from the mountain. What we found was that there were several points close enough to each other near the shrubby trees and so we began digging a very basic pathway, while trying with every step not to fall backwards into the mud sludge. I must admit it did remind me of my childhood and happy times playing around in the mud. It's important to have a laugh along the way!

The basic pathway we made by directing the water flow with rocks.

Who could image the satisfaction that one would feel after digging in the mud all day and then successfully directing the water into the main drain. I possibly did a happy dance!

Our temporary drainage

Here is a side view of our efforts of drain digging for the day. Time to head to the nearby onsen - hot spring. I knew the next morning we would feel the pain of our labour!

p.s. A month later we visited Oba chan chi's to check on whether our efforts had not been destroyed by the wild boars. We were so happy to see that our simple drainage work had been doing its job and the land was gradually drying up!