One of the things that I vowed to due this year was to cut down on my outdoor water use. We have a xeriscaped yard, so I decided it was high time that it actually perform that way. Of course, one of our big water users was our corn garden. In years past we watered it with a rotary sprinkler hooked on the hose. Problem is, I would turn it on in the evening, then forget about it. In the morning I would find it still on watering away! Our annual water allotment for our lot size is 240,000 gallons. The last few years we have zoomed past that by early August...and of course have paid dearly.
This spring I reworked the irrigation system in the regular garden, and installed one in the corn garden, so no more overhead sprinklers. In the corn garden, I have hooked it up to the irrigation system, but havn't actually put it on the clock. I have discovered that all I need to is to turn it on for about 15 minutes every few days, and with the soaker hoses, that is all I need to do. I use that time to week the garden and do pruning, so I don't forget it. I have also put washers in all the hose bibs and hose connections, dramatically cutting back on the leaks. I have also cut back on the overall watering.
So far it is working. Yesterday we recieved our water bill. Last year we used 41,000 gallons in June, this year, only 14,000 gallons. I think, our running total for the year is about 100,000 gallons. I think we will have a good summer for water use!
Oh, we also made it all the way to June 25th before we turned on the A/C!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Gas Prices and Development
Well, it has finally happened. As we all know, gas prices have shot through the roof, and it is hitting us all in the pocket book. In my opinion, we have been living on borrowed time for a long time with relatively low gas prices, and it is finally time to pay the bill. People have been asking me a lot lately what this will mean for the development industry that is already down and out for the most part. To me, it basically means that most of the things I have been predicting for the last decade are finally going to come true, and we will have a paradigm shift in the way people live their lives. We are finally going to have to recognize resource conservation, and not just gasoline. Anyway, here are a few of my thoughts.
DOWNSIZING
No, I am not just talking about the empty nester's who don't need all that room now that the kids are gone. People are going to start realizing that they don't need the McMansion's on the hill, 5-6,000 square feet with 1 acre and more lots. Not only is this a lot of house to heat, cool, and maintain, but that is a lot of ground to maintain, water, fertilize. People are going to look for smaller homes, I say in the 1,800 to 3,000 square foot range on smaller lots. They might even become adjusted to raising families in townhomes, condos, or other high density living areas. The "Not so Big House" phenomena will become the norm, not just the latest fad.
But even more importantly, people are going to downsize there neighborhoods. They are going to want to live, work, and shop in relatively small geographical areas. People are going to become increasingly more willing to live in New Urbanism style developments with mixed income, mixed product, and mixed lifestyles all wrapped together. The one size fits all mega-burbs with the look-alike homes are going to be a thing of the past. People really want a sense of community and belonging. And the with cost of transportation, they won't want to drive 5 blocks to the pool, or 5 miles to the grocery store. They will walk or ride there bike.
Which leads me to my next point. I think we are going to see the rise once again of the corner grocery store...in the 10-30,000 square foot range. This supports the concept of sustainability and not having to drive for miles to pick up a gallon of milk. Of course, only denser development can support this kind of store.
This is happening now. As proof I offer up Stapleton, Lowry, and a host of other New Urbanism projects. In a down housing cycle, these projects are still selling well, and at a premium also. Stapleton is now about 1/2 built out, in only 6 years.
SUSTAINABILITY
Of course, this is hardly new, as being "green" is what it is all about. But there are multiple levels of sustainability. One level is building homes and commercial buildings that are energy efficient. This has been happening for some time now, and it keeps getting better. Of course, when I started building homes back in 2000, I was focusing on energy efficiency. Back then though, nobody wanted to pay the premium for that. I am always ahead of my time it seems.
However, another level of sustainability involves land conservation, redevelopment, higher density development, reduced sprawl, water conservation, etc. I think we will see community gardens become more popular. Maybe we will see edible landscapes. People are going to have to get used to more native and wild landscaping...and not the manicured lawns with lollipop shrubs.
We are already seeing recycling becoming a way of life...now people are getting into composting. All of this keeps stuff out of the landfill. I think we are starting to see a paradigm shift of quality versus quantity. People will buy things that will last for years, and not look at products as being disposable. If it breaks I will just get a new one. I know I have been guilty of that myself.
Anyway, I had some other thoughts, but at the moment they escape me. Of course, none of this will come about overnight, but I do believe that with the cost of transportation now, it will happen faster than it would have otherwise.
DOWNSIZING
No, I am not just talking about the empty nester's who don't need all that room now that the kids are gone. People are going to start realizing that they don't need the McMansion's on the hill, 5-6,000 square feet with 1 acre and more lots. Not only is this a lot of house to heat, cool, and maintain, but that is a lot of ground to maintain, water, fertilize. People are going to look for smaller homes, I say in the 1,800 to 3,000 square foot range on smaller lots. They might even become adjusted to raising families in townhomes, condos, or other high density living areas. The "Not so Big House" phenomena will become the norm, not just the latest fad.
But even more importantly, people are going to downsize there neighborhoods. They are going to want to live, work, and shop in relatively small geographical areas. People are going to become increasingly more willing to live in New Urbanism style developments with mixed income, mixed product, and mixed lifestyles all wrapped together. The one size fits all mega-burbs with the look-alike homes are going to be a thing of the past. People really want a sense of community and belonging. And the with cost of transportation, they won't want to drive 5 blocks to the pool, or 5 miles to the grocery store. They will walk or ride there bike.
Which leads me to my next point. I think we are going to see the rise once again of the corner grocery store...in the 10-30,000 square foot range. This supports the concept of sustainability and not having to drive for miles to pick up a gallon of milk. Of course, only denser development can support this kind of store.
This is happening now. As proof I offer up Stapleton, Lowry, and a host of other New Urbanism projects. In a down housing cycle, these projects are still selling well, and at a premium also. Stapleton is now about 1/2 built out, in only 6 years.
SUSTAINABILITY
Of course, this is hardly new, as being "green" is what it is all about. But there are multiple levels of sustainability. One level is building homes and commercial buildings that are energy efficient. This has been happening for some time now, and it keeps getting better. Of course, when I started building homes back in 2000, I was focusing on energy efficiency. Back then though, nobody wanted to pay the premium for that. I am always ahead of my time it seems.
However, another level of sustainability involves land conservation, redevelopment, higher density development, reduced sprawl, water conservation, etc. I think we will see community gardens become more popular. Maybe we will see edible landscapes. People are going to have to get used to more native and wild landscaping...and not the manicured lawns with lollipop shrubs.
We are already seeing recycling becoming a way of life...now people are getting into composting. All of this keeps stuff out of the landfill. I think we are starting to see a paradigm shift of quality versus quantity. People will buy things that will last for years, and not look at products as being disposable. If it breaks I will just get a new one. I know I have been guilty of that myself.
Anyway, I had some other thoughts, but at the moment they escape me. Of course, none of this will come about overnight, but I do believe that with the cost of transportation now, it will happen faster than it would have otherwise.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Woodworking
As some of you know, I thoroughly enjoy woodworking. Now I am getting into building furniture more and more. My current project that I just started yesterday is building my daughter a Futon for her room. Last fall, I built side tables for our bedroom (see the picture). I have also built a craftsman style columns and covered the beam that runs the 60 foot length of our house. So far I have only built stuff for ourselves, but would like to start building things for other people. If you know of anyone that wants something built, let me know!
Monday, June 09, 2008
New Computer
Have I mentioned how awesome the Mac's are? I am so impressed to be using a machine and operating system that actually works! Everything works together, and it is fast! Only a minute to boot up versus going out for a cup of coffee while windows boots up. Of course, I still have windows in order to run CAD....but even it is integrated!
Mac OSx...the only way to go.
Mac OSx...the only way to go.
June 2008 Fugglies
OK, this belong more in the WTF category than ugly. I found this playground in a New Urbanism community. Not just any community, but a very celebrated one that prides itself on its high end and well regulated architecture. So why on earth would they fence in a playground....much less with a chain link fence? I haven't seen chain link fences anywhere else in the community, so I didn't think they were even allowed.
Now I can understand wanting to keep kids out of the street...but there are far better ways of doing it...wrought iron fence comes to mind, with some openings to actually get into the playground. I don't know, all I do is shake my head.
New Spring Time Pictures
I have added more springtime pictures to my album that I listed in the previous post.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Spring Garden 2008
Spring has finally sprung, and with all the recent rains, everything is really green and beginning to bloom! With the dry winter, the Iris have been simply fabulous this year! Our Hawthorne tree actually bloomed this year. All the color, makes our red house really stand out! I actually built our compost bins this year, 4 bins total measuring 4 feet x 4 feet square, by 3 feet tall. One of the bins is for table scraps and I have planted red worms in that one. As the worms multiply, I will add some to the other bins to aid in the composting.
Unfortunately, the dry winters have also cost us a lot of die back, and even some lost plants. The most notable one is our green grape. This weekend I am going to try to take it out and plant a new one. All of the red grapes survived, but we will miss the green grapes. Those were great to eat! See the link below for some pictures from our yard.
Unfortunately, the dry winters have also cost us a lot of die back, and even some lost plants. The most notable one is our green grape. This weekend I am going to try to take it out and plant a new one. All of the red grapes survived, but we will miss the green grapes. Those were great to eat! See the link below for some pictures from our yard.
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| Spring Garden 2008 |
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