If I subtract the 1000 gallons person meat/dairy usage, I think it was close. But probably a tad on the low end. The meat, dairy thing really bugged me. Grated, I agree most Americans overeat meat and dairy. But vegetarians have an awful lot of prepackaged, highly processed foods at their discretion as well. Personally, I would have liked to have seen, eat less processed, prepackaged foods, locally grown and "in season" fruit and veggies.
It did make me wonder about ways I use water without realizing. My biggest use would probably be paper usage. I love books, magazine and sewing patterns. It's gone down over years, but I don't think I'll ever get use to an electronic reader.
Lessons learned while gardening in a drought...
cocoa_lulu, Is there even a plastic recycle drop off center around here?
I've promised myself I won't go nuts with the water from now until this drought ends. I know I'll loose some stuff and it will break my heart, but what is now looking OK is what I'm going to concentrate on. We are loosing a huge old wild pecan tree in the east front pasture. It shattered off two huge limbs last night. I'll try and get a photo of it tonight and I don't think it will last another year =(.
Also sad: we had to shoot a feral hog the other night. They have easily destroyed 20% of our fifty acre hay pasture since the drought started. I went out to close up and check on the chickens Sunday night after dark and heard a squeal very close behind me. So I walked accross the yard (lots of noise treading accross my potato-chip lawn, I know they heard me coming) and right up against my electric fence were eight adult hogs and countless babies. I shone my flashlight at them and they just stood there while one took a snort and a few challenging steps towards me. It hit the eletric fence and backed off. I turned and went and got DH with that creepy feeling that unseen eyes were watching my retreat. I was sure they would not still be there, but no. Bold a brass they were resuming the rooting/tearing up of our pature. We've set out hog traps to no avail. So we have no choice but to run them off by shooting one. Sigh....I hate that but they are dangerous pests and we just can't have them around. My dogs were inside, but I dread to think what would have happened if we didn't have the electric fence or one of my dogs had been out and jumped the fence to get at the hogs.....We could hear the cattle moving around at night trying to get away from them. They hadn't gotten to the other two pastures, so Chuck came and move his cattle over to one of them.
On the upside, we are taking this opportunity to enlarge out front tank (pond). Once it starts raining again we'll have more water saved for the cattle (we hope).
Did you get any rain, cocoa? We saw dark clouds and lightning and thunder and rain to the south of us the other night. Nothing for us though.
terri_emory, it does seem such a waste, but you're right about those hogs. A friend of my daughter-in-laws was almost killed by one. And the amount of damage they do to state agriculture is tremendous! Here where I live some of the meat processors will process for free or reduced fee if you donate the meet to a local charity. At least they do with deer, so I'm assuming they will with hogs. Might check it out. Wouldn't seem like such a waste if someone benefitted from the meat
That is terrifying, Terri. And for your daughter-in-law, Rampbrat. Our kids had a run-in with some hogs on our driveway a few years back. Scared the life out of me and those hogs ran the other way. I can't imagine how scary that was when it approached you!
When we've shot them, they do seem to be smart enough to know they're not welcome around anymore. Hopefully you've convinced them move on.
No on plastic recycling. Brookshire's recently put glass and paper, that's been a plus. I should check around Tyler, but I don't think I've been to Tyler this year at all. Things are piling up with the burn ban and our dump prices more then quadrupled.
No rain either! I thought you would have gotten some! It been crazy, the last 4 times it's rained, it's been as close as 2 miles...and not a drop here. I do appreciate the cloud cover, however brief!
I live in a 900 square foot house with three small dogs. That's it. Do only hand water my plants, don't water my grass at all, do practice conservation in the house (okay, so I don't cook in summer so there aren't dishes to wash every day [grin]), do take showers instead of baths, yet the survey said I use almost 1200 gallons a day. My bill came yesterday and it was 6300 gallons for the whole month. Which is 3000 gallons more than the same time last year, but I have three new beds establishing, too. So they are saying the additional 30,000 gallons is the cow thing? Or maybe it's just that the questions might have been weighted just a bit askew? :-)
LOL Debra ~ I couldn't help but wonder if there was a hidden agenda in that quiz. I'm just not sure what it was.
And really not sure I would want your water bill. =[8 0
We are moving into mandatory water restrictions here. Have only had wisps of hope for rain and the lake levels are dropping.
Terri_Emory ~ I understand feeling a bit guilty about wasting the hog but he would have no remorse in wasting your dog collection or you. And besides, the buzzards need to eat. OTOH, we may all be glad to have hogs to eat someday.
Your pasture must be healthy to draw them to it. In this area, no one is bothered by hogs as it is so dry. They eat grubs and roots and stay where there is some water. They are currently found in creek bottoms and have rooted through and ruined many a spring. I've only seen one that came to our pond. It was apparently just passing through and wallowed in the mud for a bit. If he hung around here long, we'd starve him out...
Yeah, this month's water charge was a lot more than usual. In previous years, I've only had a couple of small beds that were only given supplemental water if EVERYTHING looked like it was dying. This year, I've been daylily-obsessed, and also trying to establish a lot more perennials that should tolerate drought come NEXT year. :-) So using a bunch more water. Garland is on Stage 1 restrictions, and my address is Thursday and Sundays. Works out okay. What I miss Thursday night, I get early Sunday morning or after 12:00noon when the beds are fully shaded. Most of the flowers do well enough with that schedule.
Feral hogs are an issue even in some of the suburban areas around DFW. I like pigs, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
So true, thanks guys! I do love buzzards so there was an upside. The back of our property is less than a mile from the Sabine river, so the hogs do show up at times. But never the way they have this year! Haven't seen or heard any since the "incident".
Two possibilities for the increase.....1. the drought, 2. breeding
I took that test too--not happy with the results at all. I think they assume a lot in those "national averages." For example, they chided me for dishwashing use. But my dishwasher only uses half the water they assumed (national average). They also claim that I use over 300 gallons of water a day watering the garden. No way!
Most of that HAS to be because they figure in meat/dairy costs. But, you know, what exactly is the "average American diet"? I know people who eat at McDonald's every single day.
Yes, and I bet the count the same quantity regardless of if you eat meat every day or once a month. :/
And I couldn't figure why using a dishwasher was better than handwashing but Pbtxlady ~ did they tell you the dishwasher was using excessive water?
I start washing dishes with a small amount of hot water in the sink and rinse dishes adding the hot rinse water into the basin that I'm washing in. By the time I'm done, I'd guess I've not used 2 gallons total. I never let the water just run and am always painfully aware of wasting water.
Sounds like darned if we do and darned if we don't.
Pod, they mentioned it, but I don't remember exactly what it said. Something about not running the dishwasher every day. Well, you know, I run it when it's full. They didn't offer any suggestions about what else, exactly, we should do with the dirty dishes. Thing is, I have a brand new dishwasher (which I don't much like) and it's smaller than we are used to. It's very energy efficient, though. Dishes do not have to be pre-rinsed, and it uses only a gallon and a half of water. It heats its own water, and has no drying element. So it's not using much electricity or gas, and I think the water use is pretty amazing.
I also don't get how "they" (most water conservation sites) have determined that baths use more water than showers. I do both, and I'm positive that I use more water in the shower.
After doing this quiz, I checked my water bill. Our household consumption is down by 20% from the same period last year. Or, well, at least it was until we hit 110 this week.
well today I got my water bill and we used 200,000 gallons course that is partly the fault of broken hoses,splinker lines and forgetfullness...
Oh, my goodness--200,000 gallons??!! I hope your water isn't too expensive!
Oh, yeah, another thing about that water footprint quiz. They asked about bottled water. I had to answer yes because my husband and son both drink bottled water at dh's office. There's no other water available there. So that raised our footprint.
We had a really nice T storm last evening that stretched into the night not sure as to the amount but I am gratefull for any but it didn't help with the heat stil hot and dangerous,..According to The Tulsa World yesterday Russelville Ar. was the hottest in the nation and Truckee Ca. was the coldest ..I have been to both Places and the Truckee part was no suprise but Russelville was ...
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=De+Soto&state=TX&site=FWD&lat=32.5866&lon=-96.865
We are more than 29 inches below average for rain. Trees are dying.
The total bill was $181 which is also water garbage and sewer so not as bad as expected
Our city doesn't ration, BUT, they have 3 tiers of rates, each one starting at the bottom. When you get to a certain level of usage the rate is outrageous so you pay that rate for every single gallon. Last month I used 78,000 gallons (which I think was a catch-up from being under read the month before) and the bill was $366.00 which includes sewage, garbage, drainage fee, etc.etc.etc. We are now watering the trees with the hose dripping in the root zone. Can't live long enough to replace a tree. When you drive to and fro, the trees that not included in a development are dying. Some people can't afford the water and the trees in their yards are dying. I live just outside Dallas. The heat and drought has broken all records since they were first recorded and it is only early August.
Dh told me that Bob Wells Nursery was on the news the other night and he is losing all his trees and will probably go out of business because of this drought.
I have gone to putting laundry out on line to dry to cut back on electric use during the day.
Dh filled the rain barrels and the buckets in the green house and that is what we use to water with.
When I clean and refill dogs water bowls I use the old water on the plants and dh has learned to put left over coffee and grounds in a bucket that we use when watering also on the plants that like it.
Haven't used our dishwasher in a long time seems silly when it is just the 2 of us and we don't dirty many dishes unless I get the urge to do baking and that is slim and none with the heat.
I'm curious, what plants like the coffee grounds? I've always saved them from work and home and added to the compost pile instead.
We went to a larger town today and I was amazed to see the tree line. Many were shades of browns and yellow. It looked more like October than August. I walked through a couple of sad looking garden centers also. Tough year for the greenhouses and plant growers in TX.
I wonder if anyone else waters potted plants by immersion? About once every couple of weeks, I will put the pots in a large container under water until the bubbles quit surfacing. The leaves get washed off that way too. It seems to help the plants last longer between watering too.
good idea. have several smaller pots on the porch. it would be easy to immerse them.
I have always heard that immersion is the best way to leach the mineral buildup out of pots, as well as thoroughly soak your more root-bound plants. I had a hard time getting plastic pots to drain that much water, but it was great for terra-cotta. Sad to say I don't get it done that often.
Christi, I don't think your water bill is that bad for the amount of water you used. My household use last month was 28,000 gallons and the bill was $200. Course, the sewer/garbage/recycle fees are stable, so we pay those regardless of water use. But our third tier for water kicks in at only 16,000 gallons. I really dread the July/early August bill. :(
I'd hate to use a lot of water in town. Their sewer fee is based on the water usage. The school board pres had asked about the water that was used to water the sports field and the city refused to adjust the sewer fees. I think the school was considering drilling a well for that use instead.
Of course, they put mandatory water restrictions on so after the second warning of overuse, they can turn it off.
Kristy, we also put the coffee grounds in the compost pile, along with the filters as they will dissolve. Coffee is acidic so any plant that needs acid soil will benefit. Actually, I think it helps just about anything. Back in the day when I worked in an office I had a little pot plant on the corner of my desk. Would always pour my cold coffee into the pot and it was a giant in no time.
Wow ~ we like our coffee too strong. I'd be afraid it would kill a potted plant... or give it the jitters.
DH says he doesn't want to have to drink alot of water to get a little coffee. 8 ))
I love Bob Well's Nursery. I hope they hang in there. I drove by Chamblee's the other day (Saturday) and it wasn't open. I held my breath and hope, hope, hoped those were just August hours! That is my go to mad money spot!
If anyone is interested, this site has some ideas for both rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling.
http://greywateraction.org/greywater-recycling
http://greywateraction.org/rainwater-harvesting
Thank you. :-)
Well, I have finally managed to read the entire thread.. enjoyed it all. I now don't feel quite so bad for my 17,000 gallons in June and 18,000 in July except I have a tiny yard and live alone. I really do try to conserve and follow the watering restrictions. It takes water to wash laundry and give the three dogs their baths occasionally too. My front yard is baked and the grass is crispy. The grass in the back is doing better. I water it more because I want the grass to survive... don't want the dogs tracking in dead grass all the time.. that is another nightmare.. long haired dogs and dead grass do NOT mix. ooooh, suddenly got dark in the house and I hear thunder!!!
my conservation tip: I have a big 19 gallon rope handled bin at the condensation drain from my A/C I am able to water most of my potted plants with the water that pumps out into it. It is sometime more than I can use so take buckets of water and pour onto spots in the yard or flower beds. I did not have any water in it in June and the first of July when the humidity was below 6% but the humidity has been above 15% lately so it has been producing a lot more water.
What a great idea... sadly, I think ours drains into the bathtub drain. More wasted greywater.
That is a great idea. No idea where ours drains, but I'll bet somewhere up in the attic. I'll have to ask next time we have it serviced.
Tammy, I know what you mean about Lhasas and stuff getting dragged in from the yard! The good thing is, they never shed, right? Still miss my little one.
Yep LouC is right any as to the coffee and as for Strong Coffee even though Dh doesn't drink it strong I still water it down when I water the plants just to be on the safe side.
sorry went MIA has been crazy trying to find families in East Texas to take in exchange students for the 10 mos they are here..only 6 out of 11 placed so far
Terri I always try to watch all the rose growers along 69 as come Sept they usually have roses out for sale but not sure what will be this year and there is a house on 64 after 2661 and before the airport that has roses out in the front yard for sale too around the same time.
Guess I will wait and see what happens when it starts to cool off as to what I've lost that usually comes back in the fall. :-(
I've moved all my outside potted plants to the front flower bed so they are in the shade except for the plumeria and citrus trees in the center of the rose bed and only get early and late afternoon sun
Mibus2, I was just down 64. That house does have roses out. I think this fall will be retooling the begs extravaganza! Can't wait for cool weather!
Rain Rain Rain 3 days in a row not so very much until today when we got 1-1/2 " in just over an hour and now it is very cool ..
NEW Mexico has been getting some much needed rain also. I am in Roswell right now and it is pourng. Spending the weekend in Ruidoso and I think I am going to be cold current temp...64!!!!
Tammie, radar's showing Odessa getting rain! Hope you get some at your house!
I choose the wrong day to drive to the mountains of New Mexico. Lots of rain on the way. Yes my house is getting rain as I type. Flood warnings for Odessa. Over an inch already! Oh, happy day. I think the day of prayer worked.
sprinkled some here....but praises!! We had the first day under 100 in forever and a half. the cloud cover kept the temps down below 90, it felt like paradise
Wow! This is exciting to read -- I'm in Wichita Falls, TX. No rain today, nor sprinkles, but I do believe it stayed below 100. We probably broke our running record of way too many days in the triple digits. Wonder if rain is in our forcast for tomorrow?? Would be wonderful.