Embracing Guerilla Stewardship and Trash Talk: Clapp Park

I learned a long time ago that any day can be made better with a little time outside. And we are fortunate to have lots of sunny days around here.

I spend most of my working time inside under fluorescent lights, so I try to experience some outside therapy whenever I can.

This week, some of that outside therapy came in the form of a lunchtime spent at my favorite park. I'm trying to get back into an old habit that I've let slip - trash walking, guerilla garbage gathering. (Going for a walk and picking trash up along the way.) You don't need any real skills. You don't need to gather a bunch of people or start a movement. You just need to get out there and gather up some trash.

Guerilla Lunch-Hour Trash Picker-Upper near the infamous hole in the tree

I was fortunate to get to see the touring version of Whose Line It Anyway? here in Lubbock recently. One thing the comedians did well was research local-to-Lubbock references to work into their improv. There were lots of Buddy Holly, Guns Up, and Patrick Mahomes references. There were also lots of references to disturbing local flora that they had observed - hundreds of plastic bags on the roadside. The comedians (especially Ryan Stiles) were stunned at the amount of trash they saw here. It was a running joke through the evening.

Whose Trash Is It Anyway?

And it stung a little bit.

Yes, I know that I'm not the czar of all blown trash, and I know that Lubbock does not have a reputation for being beautiful, but I am a guy who encourages people to seek out the places here in town where natural beauty can be found. And it stung because it was honest and true - their trash talk was legitimate trash talk.

Yes, Lubbock has a trash problem.

How many pieces of trash can you spot in this pic?

How about this one?

The Whose Line troupe turned out to be a fresh set of eyes pointing out something we are so accustomed to seeing that we don't even notice anymore.

Tool of the trade: Guerilla Picker-Upper on the left

It's given me even more encouragement to go trash walking on a more regular basis. It's not a huge thing and it won't make a great impact, but it's nice to think that someone will see the area and marvel at the beauty rather than shake their head at the mess.

Under where?

Sure, it would be vastly nicer if we just created less trash and chose cleaner ways to live, but that is not the society we choose to be.

Solo sandal

Yes, sir, yes, sir - two bags full!

With our semi-arid climate, we have it a little worse out here. Plastic bags and wrappers blow in the wind and there is little to stop them other than the occasional plant or fence.

It looks like the local kids have been busy building a dam bridge.

 The Lubbock parks with playa lakes get more than their fair share of trash and pollution because they are part of our drainage system. Whenever we get a decent rain, the rainwater carries whatever trash and chemicals happen to be on the roads directly to the parks.

Gratuitous turtle pic

It's amazing how resilient the parks are. Natural beauty abounds in spite of our overwhelmingly negative impact. Even so, the next time you feel like going for a walk, why not pick up a plastic bag and fill it with other plastic bags, bottles, wrappers, and such? Try leaving each place better than you found it. Just a little effort can yield surprising results.

Photogenic log

Who knows? You might find yourself feeling a little better about the state of the world and your role in it. You might find that more hope and more health can be found in your new role as a suburban garbage guerilla. You may even find that making a difference in the world can make a difference in you.  

I like this guy! He's always smiling.

Really photogenic log

I pray you are well and striving to be better. I also pray that your works are a blessing to those around you.

Thanks for joining in!

Pics from the Weekend

"Maybe it's time to start living."

Friday Sunrise

Lubbock Green Car Spotting

Sweet - a First-Generation Prius! (next to a Prius V)

How I knew I'd found the Responding to Climate Change program.

A Used 2012 Nissan Leaf at 34th and Akron ($8k)

(Yes, D and I were drooling!)

The Mae Simmons Bike Trail

Sunday Morning Single-Track

Before we caught our second wind

Maybe it really is time to start living...

May all your graffiti be uplifting and may your carbon footprint be shrinking joyfully!

(PS. We really didn't plan the purple shirt thing.) 

Fossil Free Friday: Tiny Truck, Blue Pony, Hayhoe Talks Texas

Ebay offered up a couple of cool electric oddballs this week:

 

 

I love this thing - a 1965 Mustang that is fully electric! If you're gonna drive electric, this is one sweet ride to do it in! This one is in Simi Valley, California.

 

 

On the more bare-bones side of things is this sweet little electric pickup that is titled as a truck - not a neighborhood vehicle - in Ohio. It's not quite my dream electric truck, but I'd definitely drive it, use it, and enjoy it! (Nissan, why no electric pickup? Carlos Ghosn, we need you on this one!)

Dr. H talks Texas Energy (Carbon and Renewable) on the latest episode of GW

 

If you've not yet caught it, check this one out! This is the third video in the Global Weirding series. They are short videos produced here in Lubbock in association with KTTZ and producer Jonathan Seaborn (who had a booth at the recent Get Your Green Up event at the TTU Museum). A new video is being released every other Wednesday. These definitely get the Mesquite Hugger two thorns up!

 

May y'all find a greener way to get around - even if you live in Texas!

 

 

PS. If you're running to Ohio to pick up the little truck, will you please pick up this little beauty (also on EBay)? Mesquite Hugger is needing a new company car and this one would fit right in  - I already have the t-shirt!

Xtra Xtra: Cargo Bikes on Texas Craigslist (Bike Dorks Only!)

You know me and the quest for a cargo bike. An early-on front-runner for an accessible cargo bike for me was the Xtracycle FreeRadical. About the time I decided to buy one, they stopped making them (in order to develop and sell a newer improved version called the Xtracycle Leap. The FreeRadical is the revolutionary kit to turn almost any bicycle into a cargo bike. Very cool stuff.

 

Xtracycle Lifestyle Video

 

So, I keep up the Craigslist cargo bike search, and recently I've run across two used FreeRadicals somewhat nearby, and both are reasonably priced:

 

 

This first one is in Austin AND it comes attached to a rather sweet Specialized bike. At $350, it's one of the best deals I've seen on a complete longtail cargo bike. It's at the North Austin Bike Farm. Be sure to check out their website - they have a pair of really sweet Cetma cargo bikes for sale too - but they definitely fall out of the MH budgetary realm.

 

This one hails from the Dallas area. You may notice that it has no wheels - this is the DIY kit to put on your own bike. At $250 (with all the accessories!) it's a sweet deal for those of you who already have a bike you love but want to be able to haul lots more stuff. Hmm...

 

Birth of An American Cargo Bike (Video)

 

If you pick one up, be sure to let us know what you think!

 

May you find better than you're looking for! (and save the world in the process)

So, how about you? (With a survey!)

Rude. Vane. Self-centered. Here I sit in my ivory internet tower droning on about green-ness and such.

But what about you, dear reader? How goes your greening? Any big successes? Any setbacks? Okay, I will quit asking questions so you can click the link below and answer a lot of questions - most of which are still very vane and self-centered, but I tried to filter out the rude ones.

Click here for the survey

 

After May 12, I will share the vaguely anonymous results and we can go on with our lives.

 

May you be happy with your answers! 

Local Wildlife: Lesser Prairie Chicken Conservation Forum & Random Photos

This beautiful creature is a lesser prairie chicken (from the wikipedia article)

I received an email from Julie Hodges today to let me know about a forum to educate landowners on conservation efforts and recommendations for the lesser prairie chicken. As a young kid, I was fortunate enough to see these birds a few times when I was out riding my bicycle and chasing toad tadpoles. I must've been twelve or thirteen. Even at that age, I remember being struck at their beauty and just the oddness of seeing them. Unfortunately, that was the last time I saw a prairie chicken in the wild.

More info here: Landowner Lesser Prairie Chicken Forum (If you register early, there is even a free lunch in the deal.)

Wikipedia: Lesser Prairie Chicken

And the random stuff:

Here is the reason I envy the offices around here with windows - birdfest!

This little lady was dining near our porchlight last night.

May you and the lesser prairie chicken thrive!

Recycling: The Reverse Pepsi in Fort Worth!

A little over a week ago, we moved our young'un into a TCU dorm. It was one of those crazy days with people directing traffic and orienting others with where to park and where to get this key and that permit and...and...and... There were lots of pillows and Ikea boxes and only one screwdriver, and it fell apart.

Let's go back to the young'un. She has been fairly gracious about putting up with all the tree hugging and organic foods and all that, but she has never really embraced recycling. She made a cursory effort here and there, but just as much ended up in the trash can as in the recycle bin. A little frustrating to be sure.

So we moved her into the dorm on Saturday morning, and by Saturday afternoon, she had become a dedicated and hard-core recycler! Pepsico accomplished with one big, blue, tardis-like box in the dorm lobby what we had not accomplished over several years.

You get a recycling card and swipe it each time you go to recycle. You get points for each item you recycle, and you can redeem those points for stuff. That's where we messed up - we should have paid her to recycle! Thank you, Pepsico, for encouraging our little horned frog to develop recycling as a habit!

From what I can glean from their website, TCU is the only school in Texas participating in this program.

If you want to learn more, check out the program at this website.

If you are a K-12 educator, be sure to check out Pepsi's program for your little learners to become engaged in this very worthwhile effort.

And, if you want to learn about programs to start or encourage more recycling in your community, check this one out.

May you find a way to teach your young'uns to recycle - if they have not already taught you!

More Texas in Eco-News, and It's Great News!

In the last decade, it has become difficult to watch nature documentaries. You are watching along in reverie for the first two-thirds, and then you get the message. And the message is very simple. Nature is grand and glorious and staggeringly beautiful, but we had better do something soon because human beings have screwed it up royally and this majestic ________ you have been watching is almost extinct because of our greed, selfishness, and naivete. Once in a great while, there is a glimmer of hope at the end, but it usually just ends in gloom and doom.

The Texas news (from two different sources) in this post is one of those glimmers of hope.

From the Treehugger article:

A unique partnership between The Nature Conservancy, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, Conservation Fund and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has created an incredible opportunity to help rehabilitate the Gulf region. Using fine money resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the group has stewarded one of the largest single conservation investments in the history of Texas: the acquisition of Powderhorn Ranch.

And, in case you want to see the area for yourself (from the comfort of your media device,) here is the Texas Parks and Wildlife youtube video of the Powderhorn Ranch. Click here.

So, why am I so excited? First, it preserves an area where wildlife, the land, and the water can heal and thrive. Second, it is mostly funded by fines from the biggest eco-disaster the Gulf of Mexico has yet experienced - the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. From a horrible disaster comes a glimmer of hope.

From the Laura Huffman in the conservationfund.org article:

“The Gulf of Mexico is the hardest working body of water in the country, but it desperately needs nourishment. We have steadily stripped away its natural defenses, endangering wildlife, nature and the millions of residents who live in coastal communities,” said Laura Huffman, Texas state director for The Nature Conservancy. “This investment in Powderhorn Ranch protects the best of the last coastal prairies left in Texas and stitches together a network of protected lands that are vital to the resilience and health of the Gulf Coast.” 

Thank you to all of the groups who have worked so diligently to make this happen!

May the glimmers of hope overwhelm us!

Texas Tiny House Boot Camp

So, do you have a week of vacation time just burning a hole in your calendar? Have you been thinking I want to go to a camp where they will teach me how to build a tiny house out of salvaged material? If your answer to both of those questions is yes, then you need to get yourself over to the Texas Tiny Homes website and get yourself signed up. If you do attend the bootcamp, PLEASE take lots of pictures and be a guest writer for this blog.

Sign yourself up here!

May your hands create something beautiful and useful!

A Quick Trip to Austin - Part 1(The Mesquite Hugger 100th Post!)

Grizz and I made a short trip to Austin Friday-Saturday, so I feel compelled to keep you informed of the green-ness we encountered.

Electric car count:
1 blue Nissan Leaf
6 Chevy Volts in Austin
4 Chevy Volts out on the road
3 Tesla Model S in Austin (Poor Grizz had to endure a lot of my dorky enthusiasm)
Several Ford CMAXes, but I never get close enough to see if they are the plug-in models.

Electric Scooter News:
We visited Electric Avenue Scooters (off of North Lamar). I could not be near a shop that sells nothing but electric vehicles and not stop by. We met the owners and I had the opportunity to test ride a lightly used Vectrix VX-2 scooter - and fell in love just a little bit.
http://www.electricavenuescooters.com/

The VX-2 costs less than $3000 new, this one was priced at a negotiable $2100 and still had roughly 18 months of warranty left. And it was fun! It was quick, it handled well, and the regen braking (which recharges the battery pack while braking) was great fun! Yes, I fell in love a lot, but my overcrowded garage and undercrowded bank account made it a bad idea to bring it home. If you, however, are looking for phenomenally cheap, fun, and Mesquite Hugger friendly transportation, you could do a lot worse! (Go buy a scooter!)

They also have some electric scooters with close to a 100 mile range (!!!!). My little Vectrix was only rated at 45-55 miles. If you stop in, please tell them that the Mesquite Hugger sent you. It's a great shop and they are definitely living one of my dreams.

Oh, and by the way, this is the Mesquite Hugger 100th post.
I kept thinking I would do a big extravaganza for this milestone, but this ain't no extravaganza, it's a blog. I hope you enjoy and learn a few things. I sure enjoy researching and posting here.

May you reach a milestone soon, and may it be an enjoyable one! (Thank you for reading!!!!)

Bonus link for the day:
Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant

 

Electric Cars: Two Cities See Investment Pay Off

The Houston Fleet

 

First, let's get linguistic, if you have multiple Nissan electric cars, do you have "Leafs" or Leaves"?

Okay, the article is not sexy or terribly exciting, but there are two big take-aways.

1. These cities are not located on the East Coast or the West Coast. (Texas and Colorado)
2. There is no mention of environmental factors involved in the article - this is purely financial.

I find this very encouraging. I would like for us all to save the planet by trying to save the planet, but saving the planet by trying to save money, that works too. (As long as the planet gets saved.)

Green Car Congress Article

May your planet be saved!

Local Event Tomorrow!!! (Local Wildlife!!!)

Okay, so this blog is very much about local and very much about wildlife, so you can imagine how happy the Mesquite Hugger is to promote this event:

Tomorrow, Saturday, December 21st, from 11am-2pm, the South Plains Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is having their open house. If you want to see local wildlife and meet the people who volunteer their time and efforts to care for local animals that have been injured or orphaned, this is the event for you. The link is below.

http://www.spwrc.org/ 

While you are on their website, please take some time to read their mission statement. Thank you, SPWRC!!! (Tell 'em the Mesquite Hugger sent you!)

And your bonus material for the day, Imagine coming home to find a bobcat in your blinds. I love this story for a number of reasons.
1.They called in the mounties.
2. "MacGyver" is used as a verb.
3. I learned another use for two broomsticks, a roll of duct tape, and a knife that does not involve jousting.

Honey, There's a Bobcat in the Blinds!

May your day be filled with pleasant surprises!

Texas Wildlife - Sandhill Cranes

My mother lives on what is left of a lake 110 miles south of Lubbock. As is the case with most bodies of water in West Texas these days, there is almost no water in the lake. And that is mostly a terrible thing. But there has been a few distinct advantages for some wildlife. Since the water is shallow, the mud is deep, and the vegetation is thick, people no longer flock to the lake. But the birds do.

And my favorite birds there this time of year are the sandhill cranes. When I visit there, I am enthralled by these elegant and vocal giants. I usually sneak away for fifteen minutes or so to sit in a secluded place to watch and listen to them. I never feel more human or any closer to God than I do when I am in the presence of such natural beauty.

Then, being a stupid human, I usually pull out the phone to take a picture. A picture that ends up looking like a mudhole with gray dots.

On Treehugger.com this morning, there is an article that features some great Jaymi Heimbuch photos of sandhill cranes. Enjoy!

Treehugger Sandhill Cranes

May you be fortunate enough to be enthralled by the world around you today!

Special bonus link:

The International Crane Foundation - Sandhill Page

Two More Mesquite Hugger Christmas Gift Ideas

If you follow this blog (THANK YOU!!!), you know that Instructables is an integral part of this blogger's inspiration. So, why not offer this gift of inspiration to the people around you whose brains need inspiration to keep them out of trouble. Or, just log onto the site and find a great DIY gift to make for all those special someones.

Instructables Pro Membership

Does your intended gift recipient spend too much time on the couch? Is he/she starting to take on a zombie-like pallor from too much time spent indoors? Here is a gift that may actually help this condition and improve their overall outlook on life - get them a Texas Parks and Wildlife State Parks pass. ($70) Then drag them out to one of our many sites of natural beauty. Or plan a year where you visit several parks. Many have overnight accommodations, free fishing, and equipment rental. Many are also close by! (Caprock Canyons State Park is one of the panhandle's best-kept secrets.)

Texas Parks and Wildlife Pass

May your gifts this year offer joy, inspiration, and well-being to others.

Last-Minute Mesquite Hugger Gifts - Texas Wildlife Conservation

Does anyone else see a resemblance to Smaug?

For those of you looking for a last-minute gift for the nature-loving mesquite-hugging wonderful people in your life, here are some suggestions.

Donate money in their name or buy a membership to one of their favorite wildlife conservation groups. Below are some of my faves:

Attwater Prairie Chickens

Bat Sanctuary in Texas

Horned Lizard Conservation Society

Texas Land Conservation

Now, some of you are thinking, "That's great and all, but I want to give a REAL gift, something they can hold in their hands. Come on, Mesquite Hugger, man, be for real!" (My inner voice has a some strange speech patterns.) Well, you are in luck, many of these organizations actually sell tangible gifts. One of my favorite gifts from last Christmas is a black t-shirt from the Horned Lizard Conservation Society. I love to wear that shirt because people ask about it often and I have a chance to talk to others about the ongoing struggle to save these wonderful creatures.

Horned Lizards Store

Or let's say that you share an office with someone who talks about wine all the time. Wine, wine, whine! What better way to let them know they are driving you batty than a bottle of Bat Wine! (Just kidding, JG!)

Bat World Wines

May this list help you in your shopping dilemmas, and may your purchase help to create a better world.