Water

One of my favorite activities in the spring is ditching the driveway.  My gravel driveway fills up with water.  I have puddles 15 feet long, side by side, one for each tire track.  A good volume of water collects in these puddles and it's best to drain it off before the ground melts.  If I don't remove the water I'm in mud up to the hub caps.  And it's impossible to get the mail without getting my feet wet. So I dig little ditches to drain the puddles to the west side of the driveway where ephemeral ponds form every year.   Dirt shovel in hand I pick the most likely lowest spot and dig out a little trench.  I move aside the snow and dirt to form a rivulet.  I made a great one today because the water gushed off the driveway faster than you can drain a bath tub.

So satisfying!  The water formed ripples so I moved aside the materials so the water could drain faster.  An old oak leaf floats down and causes an obstruction.  Have to remove that!  Then I ditched another ravine between the tire tracks so I could drain both puddles at once.  Now the water flows even faster. There is something about diverting the water flow and focusing on the water drainage speed that I find is as mesmerizing and relaxing as riding a motorcycle.  I had other chores to do outside like collecting maple sap and cleaning out chicken runs and emptying the compost bucket.  None of those are nearly as much fun as ditching the driveway.