Thanks to last night’s thunderstorm, I am now convinced of the effectiveness of the front yard’s half-dug swale, which is now a moat:
And when it comes to my own personal moat, I have two words for y’all: MOAT SHARK!
Somehow, I’m not quite hearing the theme from Jaws.
Lush Landscapes for Tough Climates 
Very impressive, Lori! And “swale” sounds so environmental. “Ditch”, on the other hand, is kinda hick ;-]Wonder if a real turtle will show up to hang with the shark?Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Scary! BTW 4 inches of rain is quite normal here, we have that on most days. 😦
Annie – See, this is why I feel like I can't go wrong when I call it a moat, though it is looking a little white trash right now, what with the charred, carbonized remains of a giant tree stump right next to it. Plus, I like the idea of being able to fill a moat with piranhas. Or maybe some ill-tempered sea bass. 😉Yolanda Elizabet – What's a moat without some creatures with big teeth?!! It's too bad we can't swap some weather between Noord Brabant & Texas. Some of our sunny days for some of your rainy days!
Do you have sentries posted to protect the castle as well? That is a hoot! That’s one way to collect rain water!
Diana – Well, I did have two super-pointy ‘Bright Edge’ yuccas on either side of the porch, but then I moved’em. But no worries– I’m pretty sure the neighborhood wild beasts (disguised as harmless cats, of course) will be taking up the slack.
This shark seems to be a falsification, did you poke it with a stick before writing this post ?