2 YEARS ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS | Huge POND & SWALE | OFF GRID LIVING

2 YEARS ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS | Huge POND & SWALE | OFF GRID LIVING | Part II

Рет қаралды 59,384

Күн бұрын

We left our city lives behind and moved to the top of a mountain in Spain, to live off-grid. We’ve spent two years alone, renovating an old stone house and restoring the abandoned land.
Since living here, we have relied solely on a mountain spring for all of our water needs. This summer, the spring got dangerously close to stopping completely. With over 150 trees, animals, vegetables and our (Robbie’s) long baths, we need to prepare for the worst.
So with all our great permaculture wisdom (from living in the middle of a city our whole lives 🤦🏻‍♀️) we have decided to try and make a pond!
The goal of the pond is to create a large store of water, approximately 50,000l, to fall back on should the spring run dry, and build a little more resilience into our homestead. After months of dry weather, we are coming into winter, where an entire years worth of rain can fall in 24 hours! We are racing against time to finish the construction of the pond, so we can seize the opportunity to fill the pond right to the top!
Join us as we continue to build our off-grid homestead, and become self-sufficient from the land.
0:00 Intro
00:26 Recap from last episode
01:03 Digging swale/ pond drainage channel
03:14 Building a scare crow (for eagles)
05:05 Planting seeds to prevent erosion
05:47 Irrigating our seeds
06:28 Installing water inlet pipe to pond
07:32 Emilia injured - we bought a sofa
08:13 We begin filling the pond!
09:25 Ants eat all of our seeds
09:41 We made a fence to stop animals
10:59 Charging €10 for wild boar mud spa treatment
11:25 Praying to the rain gods
11:42 Pond fills up, Emilia tries to swim in it
12:33 1 month time-lapse of pond wildlife camera
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#offthegrid #abandoned #offgrid #offgridliving #homestead #homesteading #renovation #restoration #stonehouse #tinyhouse #wilderness #diy #alone #Spain #permaculture #organic #organicfarming #farming #pond #swale

Пікірлер: 64

@tessakennedy7156 5 ай бұрын

I don't think the pond was intended to be a wildlife magnet but it sure is turning out that way. All those mountain birds and animals can't believe their luck!

@ladyandtheowlman 5 ай бұрын

Yes, it seems like the word has spread, there are more animals everyday, you can hear sounds at night up there, fighting over the best places for a bath!... grunting boars and crashing of antlers!

@clarisse942 4 ай бұрын

Totaly,completely agree.

@Neilhuny 5 ай бұрын

Maybe not what you wanted but I am really impressed by the wildlife you caught on camera! And your dancing/acrobatics/jumping! I hope you are having a lovely Christmas Day

@ladyandtheowlman 5 ай бұрын

Thanks again Neil. Happy Christmas and New Year to you too! 🎄💫

@HeyMichaelLeo 5 ай бұрын

Priceless

@ladyandtheowlman 5 ай бұрын

Thanks Michael! Happy New Year to you 🌟💖

@AlongThePathsOfNature 5 ай бұрын

Merry Christmas! ❤ @AlongThePathsOfNature

@ladyandtheowlman 5 ай бұрын

Thank you Hugo! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you too! 🧡🌟🎄

@timshimmin3468 4 ай бұрын

The bees are gonna love this pond.

@terrylynch1259 5 ай бұрын

Brilliant!.... Very Cool Wildlife....

@ladyandtheowlman 5 ай бұрын

Thanks Terry! The wildlife is amazing up here, probably because there aren't any other houses or people around on the top of the mountain. Although... there are only so many times you can be excited about wild boar digging up all your vegetables and sheep eating your trees! 🌲

@Pete7751 5 ай бұрын

Greetings from the Czech Republic and Happy New Year 2024.

@ladyandtheowlman 5 ай бұрын

Hello! A very Happy and prosperous New Year to you too 🧡

@jaybakshodeh118 3 ай бұрын

super lovely family,

@ladyandtheowlman 3 ай бұрын

💖💖💖

@mikehuth3541 5 ай бұрын

Merry Christmas to you and your family! God Bless.

@ladyandtheowlman 5 ай бұрын

Thank you Mike! Merry Christmas and New Year to you too! 🎄💫🌟

@kirstindennis3252 5 ай бұрын

Amazing!! You're such hard grafters 💟 sooo - daytime enjoyment of pond for you, and night-time fun for the animals... That's fair! - just I was feeling ouch for those cut down almond trees... But I know you're amazing transformers, and what you cut down now, you'll replant 10times more lush 🌿🌸🐝🐉🐸🌾 super well done, my fave little family xxx

@ladyandtheowlman 5 ай бұрын

Hey Kirstin! Thanks for your sweet comment! Not sure we’ll be getting much daytime swimming enjoyment with knee high mud, we need a pier we can jump off without getting stuck! But yes, certainly perfect mud bath detox for the animals - although wondering if they leave their little bugs and maybe they will all jump onto us?! The almonds are unfortunately just about dead, we’ve tried reviving some with pruning, but feels like a lost cause, hopefully the pond will allow us to irrigate lots more land so we can plant new trees! Happy New Year to you 🧡

@riczao2628 2 ай бұрын

I do really like your content❤

@ladyandtheowlman 2 ай бұрын

Thank you for your comment, and kind words, we really appreciate the support!

@Raelilblack87 5 ай бұрын

Keep going.. Beautiful family.. God be with you

@ladyandtheowlman 4 ай бұрын

Thank you for your lovely comment 💖

@daveffs1935 5 ай бұрын

Those thieves, crooks, villains!! breaking in, stealing your water and trampling your grass, how dare they. But they are kinda cute though, snuffling around and flopping about in the water. Also, Craig is right, you need something solid at the spillway or it'll wash it out and you'll lose the lot. Have a great Christmas, I hope Santa comes and delivers everything you wanted.

@ladyandtheowlman 5 ай бұрын

Haha thanks for the comment Dave! It was pretty annoying at first yes, but having watched many, many hours of wildlife cam footage you get to know some of the animals pretty well, so yeah it is kind of nice to see them coming back each night and enjoying themselves. Good idea about the spillway - any ideas on how we could make it more solid? Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too! 🎄🌟🧡

@daveffs1935 5 ай бұрын

@@ladyandtheowlman The easiest way would be to use some of that pipe if you have any left over? Cut a section of the bank down at the water level you want, set the lengths of pipe next to each other, i don't know how much rain you get you'll have to figure out how many to cope with heavy rain, run it down past the base of the pond wall, put rocks at the bottom to slow the water down so it doesn't wash it the soil out. If you don't have the pipe you could use concrete, make the cut a little lower to allow for the concrete, make it a channel so it doesn't wash over the sides down the bank and make a pad at the bottom. you could push rocks into the concrete so it looks natural if you want.

@ladyandtheowlman 4 ай бұрын

We looked into getting some 300mm corrugated pipe to do this, but was really expensive, and we saw some youtube videos where the pipes got sediment in and then the dam wall broke! So we decided to go for a spillway because at least it won't sediment up! Your idea of making a concrete channel makes sense, and adding rocks to make it a bit prettier is a good idea too.

@philvale5724 5 ай бұрын

Hi 👋, The Lady and the Owl 🦉 Man , I hope you are all keeping safe and well, looking 👀 great, it might be worth trying to fit your scarecrows onto a pivoting post, so when the wind blows, they rotate, And have streamers coming off the end of the hands, Could be useful to have a bit of floating decking , So when lady needs to get in and out, she can do without falling into the water😂, Amazing wildlife filming, Might need to put up electric fence, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a prosperous New Year , Look forward to seeing your next part of your project in Spain, 🇪🇸, stay safe, Phil from the moulin France ,

@ladyandtheowlman 5 ай бұрын

Hi Phil! Good idea about the scarecrow, how would you make the pivoting post? A floating deck is a cool idea, do you mean one floating on the surface? Maybe this would be simpler to make than one fixed into the bank - and less likely to wash away in a flood. After seeing all the animals having such a nice time playing in the mud, it feels like a shame to fence it off now, maybe we just need to take the hit that there will be some erosion on the banks, and they'll eat all our grass, and drink all the water... but at least we did something nice for the planet! Happy Christmas and New Year to you too Phil 🎄🌟💖

@garywarren5048 4 ай бұрын

Graceful exit from the pond 😆

@ladyandtheowlman 4 ай бұрын

🤣🤣 I TRIED! 🤦🏻‍♀️

@craigwitte2943 5 ай бұрын

you need a tile at your spillway so that it won't wash out there.

@ladyandtheowlman 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the idea Craig! Any ideas on how we could lay tiles onto the clay soil around the spillway? Would you put some concrete down first then put tiles down?

@craigwitte2943 5 ай бұрын

I am talking about round drainage tile probably two with an inside diameter of 10 inches. Bury them to just under the top of the dam. Use some rock around the inlet side. that should do it. I see you have plenty of free rock. Good luck and have a happy, successful new year!@@ladyandtheowlman

@ladyandtheowlman 4 ай бұрын

Ah right! We looked into getting some 300mm corrugated pipe to do this, but was really expensive, and we needed the storm water to go a long way to the far side of the mountain because there was no safe place for the water to exit below the dam wall - and that meant spending €thousands on tubing! Plus we had seen some videos online of these big tubes silting up and then the dam wall broke! So we decided to go for a spillway because at least it won't sediment up!

@grahamhutton1633 4 ай бұрын

Love your work, I wish I had had the balls to do this when I was your age.

@ladyandtheowlman 4 ай бұрын

Hey Graham. Thanks for the support! We feel super fortunate that our lives turned upside down and threw us out here 😅🤣 Maybe there’s still time for you! 💖

@tuterputtulehu9685 Ай бұрын

is this lebanon because the natural conditions are not so foreign to my mind

@andreypolyakov9410 3 ай бұрын

I think that it was not the best idea to cut off trees because roots can keep soil on the slope. Be carefull in the future. Hope, you will use this water only for the garden? ;) Thanks for your videos!

@ladyandtheowlman 2 ай бұрын

Another great insight, thanks Andrey! These almonds that we cut are just about dead now, all 1,500 almonds on our land are dying because of a beatle that came in the last few years. And we’ve been told it’s good to cut the trees down to stop the Beatle spreading to other trees. But you’re right, the roots are really good at holding the soil together so we’ll make sure in future only to cut the almonds that are 100% dead.

@user-dy7me5ir1j 5 ай бұрын

❤❤❤

@mikehuth3541 5 ай бұрын

Ouch!

@juancortes9210 4 ай бұрын

Hooo what a beautiful place in which part of Spain you live

@ladyandtheowlman 4 ай бұрын

It’s truly magical 💫 We are in the Valencia region! 🧡

@punjabseth260 5 ай бұрын

👍👌

@ladyandtheowlman 5 ай бұрын

🧡❤️

@steffenk3807 4 ай бұрын

Fantastic view, great enterprise and lovely vibe! Looks like you are well positioned to generate power from some new small upright wind turbines?

@ladyandtheowlman 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the support Steffen! It gets so windy here on the mountain; wind turbines seem like a good idea. In fact, in winter, Robbie can barely sleep because the wind howls around the house most nights (we need more insulation!). Any idea how many watts a medium sized turbine produces? Solar batteries run out pretty quickly when the sun goes in!

@andrewharris1837 3 ай бұрын

Sound admiring all your amazing efforts but would'nt you put a plastic lining in pond to stop leakage?

@ladyandtheowlman 2 ай бұрын

A great idea! Although we looked into it and it was going to cost 2,000 euros, and then we'd need to build a boar proof fence because their tusks would tear right through it! But in future maybe this is the best option, we're losing quite a lot of water through the clay soil at the moment which isn't ideal!

@arjanvogel6444 5 ай бұрын

Ha ha funny 😅

@ladyandtheowlman 5 ай бұрын

Glad to make you laugh Arjan! 🌈

@clarisse942 4 ай бұрын

Hai there, great videos. of course I subscribe ,About where is your area situated? Lots of love from Clarisse ❤💚

@ladyandtheowlman 4 ай бұрын

Thank you for your comment Clarisse, we really appreciate it! We are based in the region between Valencia and Alicante, up in the mountains. We're 760m above sea level so quite a bit cooler than the coastal regions 🧡

@chellelivinggreen 4 ай бұрын

Nice ❤ I am thinking of creating a pond . What size is the pond ?

@ladyandtheowlman 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for your comment, and your youtube channel is really cool! The pond is about 15 meters long, 3 meters wide, and 1 meter deep. It comes to around 50,000 litres of water when it is full. Although, we really need some rain to fill it up! And then hope the animals don't drink it all before summer comes - when we will need it the most for our land! Are you thinking of putting a plastic liner in your pond or just digging a pond into the soil?

@chellelivinggreen 4 ай бұрын

Thank you so much and yes I was thinking of putting the plastic liner in. I am a new sub and enjoyed watching your videos so far. I will be starting a homestead in the high desert of Arizona.

@JulianVaughan-Jackson-os2bq 2 ай бұрын

Hi. I have only just discovered your channel.I am struck by how much your soil lacks organic matter. Your tractor looks odd to my onetime UK now Canadian eyes. It manages to look like it means business. Does it have a pto that could power a significant wood chipper? Thinking ‘green’ is the right way these days.All the trees and branches cut down,turned into chips and used as mulch on your higher levels and where you seem to have miles of irrigation tubes,would lead to better growth and reduced need for quite as much irrigation. I believe that,though it may take a season or two, payoff would be huge. I wish all the best for you..

@ladyandtheowlman 2 ай бұрын

Hey Julian! Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment. You are absolutely right, we are desperately lacking organic matter. I don’t believe the tractor is powerful enough for a wood chipper, however there is a man in the village who we are planning on hiring for the day to come and mulch lots of our prunings. It is a bit of a tricky subject, as we have a lot of land, so I think we would have to start small. We have noticed recently though, that where we have just laid the prunings on the ground, there’s been a lot of growth. It seems that the branches work in several ways, keeping the animals from eating it, acting as a shade, keeping more moisture inside, and as it’s been so windy recently, I’m thinking that might be more effective than mulch, as it will probably just blow away 😅 Although it’s definitely not as pretty to leave prunings around, but maybe I have to get over that! 🙈 Always learning so much!

@rayhilton1759 5 ай бұрын

But you're not alone????

@ladyandtheowlman 5 ай бұрын

Yes Ray, maybe a bit cheeky of us!

@marielavelazco1042 4 ай бұрын

Si no cercan el perímetro no van a lograr nada su buen trabajo será efímero hay mucha vida salvaje háganlo si tienen posibilidad y no se sentirán frustados

@ladyandtheowlman 4 ай бұрын

Gracias por tu comentario Mariela. Tienes toda la razón, ¡tenemos que vallar todo el perímetro del terreno para eliminar por completo el problema de los animales! Sin embargo, nuestro terreno tiene 60.000 m2 y está en una ladera bastante empinada, con muchas rocas grandes, por lo que se necesitaría mucho dinero y años de trabajo para completar la cerca. ¡Un día! 🧡