700th Post, A Rough Start to Bike to Work Week, and Saving Water

This is Mesquite Hugger Post #700 - I thought I'd celebrate by posting an in-focus pomegranate photo. Enjoy!

 

It's like having Georgia O in the backyard!

 

Lubbock on a Bike

It was my toes or my soles or something that told me. I was about a mile away from the coffee house on a rare (wet & foggy) morning. One foot was slipping on the pedal, the other was firmly staying in place. When I looked down, my problem was pretty obvious:

Yep, one of these things is not like the other.

It's a problem I keep having. My brain was preoccupied with something other than what I was doing. It's a big part of why I have enjoyed things like biking (and scootering, kayaking, motorcycling, etc.). I have terrible coordination, so those things keep my brain fully engaged trying to make hands feet eyes fingers legs arms and everything else work in concert to make it possible for me to ride without catastrophe. There is a great feeling in being fully engaged.

Getting dressed in the morning? Not so much.

But today is the first day of National Bike to Work Week. I biked to work. I am still claiming this one as a win. Now, where exactly is that other pair of unmatched shoes?

Water Conservation

It rained this weekend. (It was awesome!) My yard had taken on a very Captain Crunch feel, but things are much better now. But it did point out the need for me to step it up in the rain collection department. (More on that as I figure out the plan.)

 

The 55-gallon rain barrel was filled in no time at all. I diverted it all to the front yard and captured another 55 gallons right away. I set out every bucket and can I could find and collected another 80 gallons. We have a lot of plants out and hope to be planting more this week, and plants love rainwater.

 

But the goal (for me) is much bigger than just the garden. The real goal is to limit the amount of water we access through the tap in order to stop draining our local water sources. Here in Lubbock, water becomes more and more scarce. Whether you get your water from a municipal pipe or from a well in your backyard, you have access to a very precious resource that we need to conserve.

Want to learn more about rainwater harvesting and water conservation in our area? Check out the High Plains Water District for many great resources, including the brochure below.

One inch = 1,246 gallons - that is awesome!

May you find yourself fully engaged in something worthwhile and enjoyable!

Lubbock Community Garden Party Animals and 10 Tips!

If you find yourself in the vicinity of  21st and Avenue X, you need to check out the Heart of Lubbock Community Garden. If you can't make it by, you can check it out on this video.

The Video (and Gofundme campaign)

 

While I do encourage donating money online for this cool and worthy campaign, I would rather use my money to party and still support the garden. On any other day of the year, that might be tough, but not today...

 

Yep, there is a fundraising party this evening right there at 40th and University. Check out the details on the pic. If you go, wink at Beth, start talking about dwarf seahorses, and then tell her the Mesquite Hugger sent you!

 

For those of you who are feeling jealous that Heart of Lubbock has a community garden and you don't, here is a link to a site that can help you get your own darn garden started.

 

10 Steps to Starting a Community Garden

 

May you and your neighbors grow something great, donate money to people who are trying to do the same, and create a better place for us all!

Lubbock - The Local Paper

I am very proud of the local paper lately. If you have been following the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal lately, you may be getting flooded with articles about our ongoing drought, its devastation, and the importance of conservation. Everyone else around here is trying to figure out how to keep their yard green and what ornamentals to plant, but the AJ has been running a series called Tapped: Our Precious Water. The articles have, for the most part, not been sensationalist and slanted or vindictive, (Consider that, Mr. J.) but they have focused on the bleakness of the situation and the need for us to band together as a region and work for the common good.

If you have been following the series and are looking for ways to decrease your own household consumption, check out this video from Water Use It Wisely. (Just ignore the parts where they keep mentioning Arizona.)

May you have plenty.

LHUCA: A Discussion About Fracking - This Saturday Afternoon

The more I research fracking, the more I see it as a reckless and dangerous practice that is quickly accelerating our destruction of our planet and the water that sustains all life on our planet. I view hydraulic fracturing as a form of suicide for our race.

I have found that most people in our area support the practice because of the short-term economic impact and "energy independence". I see wind and solar power as vastly superior forms of power generation that could accomplish the same goals without destroying our future.

I have also found that the majority of the people in our area have very little idea of what the practice involves and what chemicals and risks are involved.

If you are in the Lubbock area and would like to know more about fracking, there will be an explanation and discussion this weekend at the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts. Here is the link. (I hope to see you there.) 

http://www.lhuca.org/documents/FrackingPosterSm.pdf

May our knowledge and decisions be based on truth rather than propaganda. 

Water Conservation DIY: Rain Barrel Plans and a Local Business

(To see the really cool interactive Nelson Minar map, click here.)

That beautiful, impressive, and downright depressing map shows rivers, streams, and watersheds in mainland USA. Notice that we are right in the center of one of the driest regions on the map. With clean, fresh water becoming one of the most valuable and crucial resources we have in the area (and with us being caught up in one of the most extensive droughts this region has known) it becomes more and more obvious that we have to be better stewards of the water available to us. (And I should probably sell my beloved canoe.)

So, here at Mesquite Hugger, we hope to encourage that stewardship by offering real-world approaches to conserving water. 

If you are blessed to have a roof over your head, you have a very effective tool for capturing moisture. Yes, I know that we do not get much rain, but when we do, a roof has a large amount of surface area to maximize water collection. As we approach spring, this is a great time to look at combining a rain barrel with a rain gutter so that you can take advantage of a free natural resource. (And you won't have as many pesky mud puddles in the backyard for your white greyhound to roll in.)

You know I love Instructables, so here is a link with lots of ideas for creating your own and implementing your own recycled rain barrel system.
Instructables Rain Barrels

You may be asking yourself, "Self, what about the local business he mentioned in the title? How is he going to tie that into saving water locally? Will he ever get to the !@#$% point?!!!"

It's time for you to meet Julie and Jason Hodges at Prairie Workshop. From their website:

Prairie Workshop LLC is a woman-owned professional services firm specializing in the fields of Landscape Architecture, Heritage Planning and Environmental Education.  We partner with respected clients and colleagues to design, plan and promote the development, stewardship and education of landscape values that represent a sustainable natural and cultural heritage.

What this means to this article, is that they can help you landscape your yard in a way that saves water, promotes local heritage and local fauna, and they can help you to learn ways to take better care of the world around you.

And if you would like to see Jason speak and learn about conserving water in our region, get yourself up to Amarillo to attend the Texas Panhandle South Plains Water Conservation Symposium on February 12th.

May your rain barrel fill with water and your heart fill with the joy of taking care of us all.

WATER: Today's Avalanche Journal Front Page

Why should we need incentives? We live in a desert under extreme drought conditions. Towns in our region have completely dried up. We have a great deal invested in living here, and we are quite screwed if we run out of water.

Why should we need incentives to conserve water?

A decent place to start if you want to make changes:
The EPA's Water Use Checklist

May your home town not dry up and blow away.