Holding On Anyways and Waterbars

The minute you think of giving up, remember why you held on so long.

A friend posted that on facebook today.
I have to write that one down.
Its easy to just say forget it when it gets rough and you can't think of one good reason to put up with stuff.

From now on I'm gonna make myself step back. There's got to be a reason for holding on. In fact, why did I even start on any given project in the first place?

We're getting a ton of rain daily in the form of torrential thunderstorms. Our driveway is pretty steep and if not properly graded, will wash out. I hate it being graded because not only is it somewhat expensive, but all the big gravel ends up on the sidelines or down at the bottom of the driveway. That means the harder it rains, the more will wash out.

So, having been taught how to do trail maintenance by the District leader of section 7, I am applying those concepts to the driveway. Water bars, carefully monitored during a storm to see that they are working well, utilizing large gravel and rocks to fill in deep gullies,  raking and using fill sand and lastly dead leaves to slow down the run off are all techniques that are strategic instead of just tactical.

I find it challenging to do this work by hand. That's the way our grandparents did it, and the way trail maintainers do it in wilderness areas where no power tools are allowed.

So far so good, and I'm not giving up. Might take a break though.