10/11/2009

fall in a hurry to get here



Fall came on a Friday. When summer is over it's all over, man. We are 3 days shy of the most 100 degree days in a single year. At this rate we will have suffered through the hottest sumer since 1926 and won't even get to brag about surviving the hottest year ever. The insufferable drought is all but a memory too, we have had 6 3/4" since last Saturday. The pond that was bone dry for over a year overfloweth; a good 12' deep. The chickens are growing gills. Ah well, the change is refreshing. Of course we'd had the roofing weekend scheduled for several weeks knowing that it would eventually start raining again someday ... didn't know it would be the very day we picked up the roof. So there it sat, shedding water just like it was supposed to do - only off the bed of the trailer while the house sat nearby getting soaked - again, and again. Doesn't appear to be any water damage now that we have it mostly dried in. We've been putting up sheathing, Tyvek and metal roof in-between showers and now it looks more like a house than ever. Finally it is an opaque, 3 dimensional mass against the trees. We temped in plastic windows and clerestory this morning so work can continue inside. Will finish a few rough roof edges and hang the rain collection gutter as soon as the weather allows.

On an aside: was on the road over labor day weekend and took advantage of a TXDot Safety Rest Area near Hedley on the way home. Have visited most of the facilities and would encourage everyone to stop and see them on their travels and avoid the traditional MickeyDees or DQ pit stop. First rate facilities, regional designs, fine graphics... all around one of the few tax supported programs in the state that is highly visible, truly needed and is accessible to literally everyone.
The stop near Hedley features some sustainable features - as do many of the designs. Graphics outside the restrooms explained the water saving features of the plumbing fixtures and how holding ponds out back convert some of the grey water, runoff and roof collected water to near drinking quality for irrigation with only naturally filtering native plants. Education during your pit stop. How refreshing. Alas; I couldn't help but overhear a young father and his son at an adjacent urinal. "Daddy, it didn't flush." WATERLESS URINAL ALERT - NOTICE THAT THERE IS NO FLUSH VALVE PRESENT! PARENTS PLEASE EXPLAIN TO YOUR KIDS THAT THIS IS A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN THAT ACTUALLY DOES NOT STUPIDLY WASTE A GALLON OF WATER TO FLUSH 2 OUNCES OF YOUR CHILD'S PEE!!!! The father's response? "You're right, it must be broken." Such is the uphill battle faced by the green revolution. Decades of blissful ignorance. Sigh.

2 comments:

  1. Dumb question here. Won't having the house up on those cement blocks cause a problem heating it?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not in our climate, a house around here needs to be designed for the hotter majority of the year so heating is only a concern 2 months out of the 12. I'll insulate the floor and the elevated floor gives better air circulation for cooling breezes.

    ReplyDelete

constructive comments or serious questions and inquiries are welcome.