[Magdalen] Plain Speech.

[Marion Thompson]

A swale isn't a ditch as one would think of a ditch but a low-lying 
area, a trough between ridges.   It can be natural or manmade, but its 
purpose isn't to direct water anywhere, but hold it

Marion, a pilgrim

On 5/30/2015 6:28 PM, Jon Egger wrote:
> It's ditch for me.  When I was a kid my dad always said, "You don't want to
> grow up to be a ditch-digger all your life!"
>
> +++
> Grace & peace,
> Deacon Jon Egger
>
>
>
> *“In every age it has been the tyrant, the oppressor and the exploiter who
> has wrapped himself in the cloak of patriotism, or religion, or both to
> deceive and overawe the People."(Eugene V. Debs, Anti-War Speech, June 16,
> 1918) *
>
>
> On Sat, May 30, 2015 at 1:47 PM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> No swales here. We have a ditch at the top of our property and a ravine at
>> the back. Neither carries water unless it rains. A lot. A whole lot, in the
>> case of the ravine.
>>
>> On Sat, May 30, 2015 at 2:34 PM, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Well, we do actually have a scale down through the middle of the pasture,
>>> but I never heard it refer to anything man-made...
>>>
>>> On May 30, 2015, at 1:26 PM, Cantor03--- via Magdalen <
>>> magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Being a native Midwesterner (USA), I'm fond of plain speech:  calling  a
>>> spade a spade.
>>>
>>> I thus have a combination of irritation and amusement at my
>> development's
>>> habit of referring to what I would call the roadside ditch, a "swale"
>>> which
>>> they apparently think is fancier than, "ditch".
>>>
>>> The authorities here are fixated on keeping "the swales" clear and
>> clean,
>>> and there was yet another general notice to this effect in the mail
>>> yesterday.
>>>
>>> Actually, my swales were widened and deepened several years ago
>>> along with all those on this street, and then lined with stone.  This
>> was
>>> not asked for or really needed, but it does look good.
>>>
>>> In the process of this swale-surgery, the several little stretches of
>>> "cat-tails" were also removed.  This is too bad, because I always  loved
>>> the cat-tails, even in the winter when all you saw was a golden brown
>>> patch of long leaves.
>>>
>>> You can't fight city hall.
>>>
>>>
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typha
>>>
>>>
>>> David Strang.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>