I finished hand digging my first swale last week and this got me hyped for the next big rain and my second swale which is there but rudimentary.
The second one is downhill and in the valley right before a creek and will hold a lot of water as a seasonal wetland inclusive of natives, productive permaculture plants and edible wild annuals like watercress.
We have been catching tadpoles locally and including them in water ponds that we grow taro and other water vegetables in. There are also the occasional water birds visiting so once the second swale is finalised I envision an explosion of life.
The hype is real!