Naomi Blumenthal

I built raised Hugel beds following down a slope (not at right angles to it) because we get a lot of surface water moving across my property from down a hill.  Knowing it was wet I even raised the fruit trees I planted higher up on the mounds.  In the spring I am sometimes working in the beds that remain well drained enough with my rubber boots in an inch or 2 or water in the paths.  The water doesn't stay there, it always moves on , so it doesn't stagnate.  The unexpected bonus of the moisture+ logs is the beautiful array of mushrooms that have sprouted out the sides of the logs that I use to keep the edges raised (from clearing the area of dead and dying trees- mostly Norway maple and standing dead ash).  Incredible!  turkey feathers, witches' butter, wood ears, all kinds that I don't recognize.  And I think of the mycelium feeding the young trees in the beds.  This is only the 3rd year for my garden but it has handled drought, intense flooding and extreme cold (-15 degrees) like a champ so far. The peaches and apples have grown fast.  

It is interesting what you picked up on.  My neighbor is delighted about having owl boxes in his big pines- they are right on my property line.  I took down the old, damaged and broken Norways because they were shading my little plot and in quite bad shape, and used the limbs, logs and chips to build my raised Hugelbeds.  It took a day of clearing and a day of piling up limbs, etc.  with a skid steer.  Owls do like to nest in boxes; these holes are sized for the smaller owls and hawks and kestrels who are great rodent hunters.  But it's all theory as of now because I have the boxes but haven't put them up yet!  I know that some vineyards in CA have had great success in reducing rodent populations by putting up bird of prey nesting boxes every couple of hundred feet or so, on 15-20  foot  posts.

Funny you should mention this; I just bought 2 smaller owl/kestrel birdhouses to put up in my neighbor's giant pines on the north side of my property.    They are proportioned like regular Audubon-type wooden birdhouses except they are much bigger.  I haven't put them up yet (my friend who is an arborist tree climber is going to put them up this week). At least 15 feet high up and facing north-ish is supposed to be ideal, and hopefully away from nighttime security lights so they get true darkness.   I have very many raised beds made with logs and are Hugel-esque with lots of rough woody material in the beds.  The logs and big branches came from clearing the site (mostly Norway Maple and struggling Norway Spruce).  
Meaning: I provided perfect rodent housing, food, socializing areas.  I have an assortment of voles, larger voles, mice, and as I live in a closely populated area where people have backyard chickens: rats. Ugh.
Snap traps work to a certain degree but I hate it that occasionally a small bird gets trapped in them (WHY?? not baited with anything; maybe they are attracted to the yellow plastic cheese?)   I of course refuse to use poison.  So I am putting these owl/kestrel houses up.  I'll keep y'all posted if they become inhabited by the birds of prey that I am hoping and not by squirrels or starlings.  I would just love a reduction in the local rodent population.