I'm so old I Remember when:

[jxp]

Anyone watch these two?

View attachment 4038471

Donny and Michael Jackson and I are all relatively the same age. I had crushes on both while we were all single- and barely double-digit ages.

 

[jxp]

I remember
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112040/mediaviewer/rm1717698560/?ref_=tt_ov_i

Anything Stephen King.

 

[BDutch]

xeriscaping

what is xeriscaping ?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

what is xeriscaping ?

Google it. Basically, landscaping using only native plants so you don't need to water. Sounds like "zero-scaping."

 

[EmmaDonovan]

what is xeriscaping ?

In the desert it means no lawns and your yard is harsh and ugly and full of concrete, gravel and cactus. YUCK.

 

[notabitail]

In the desert it means no lawns and your yard is harsh and ugly and full of concrete, gravel and cactus. YUCK.

Some people here do it and it looks really boring.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

In the desert it means no lawns and your yard is harsh and ugly and full of concrete, gravel and cactus. YUCK.

But it means there is water for people.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

A fine layer of dust settles on everything in the house from the heat pump pulling it in. My lungs and eyes are so SO happy when we get a rain. My whole being right down to my soul gets invigorated like I just had big dose of B12.

Omg the dust... the dust. You cannot understand the epic, Biblical levels of desert dust until you've lived in it. The humidity is so low nothing drops out of the air and the dust constantly circulates. It's everywhere and there's no controlling or escaping it.

We have HEPA air cleaners and humidifiers all over the house that run 24/7 plus filters on all the vent registers. You can dust and vacuum twice a day and still not keep up with the dust.

You can't have open surfaces anywhere. Everything has to be kept in cabinets and enclosed shelving units and bookcases with doors. Even then the dust gets inside.

Anything hung on the walls becomes instant dust-catchers: door frames, artwork, clocks, calendars, cabinet doors, baseboards, wainscoting, curtains, drapes, etc.

If you need a dish or pan you haven't used recently it has to be washed before you can use it. Clothes and shoes in closets have to be covered and protected as if they're expensive couture instead of just everyday wear items.

Dust on countertops. Dust on your computer. Dust on the coffee maker. Dust on the toilet tank. Dust on the window sills. Dust on the tv. Dust on your bed frame. Dust on the armoire. Dust on the treat jar. Dust dust dust dust dust dust dust.

It's in you, too. In your eyes, nose, mouth, throat, lungs. Some days are endless cycles of coughing and drinking water. Rain is your only hope of short relief. Then it's right back to the... dust.

There's the expense, too. Lots of cleaning products, replacement filters for the HEPA cleaners and humidifiers and the vacuum cleaner, distilled water for the humidifiers, boxes and boxes of eye drops, etc.

Gah. DUST.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I can relate, Emma! Only here it's also pollen, which is sticky. Everything I own is in WM grocery bags!

 

[EmmaDonovan]

But it means there is water for people.

Uh oh... that's going to start me on another rant!

Southern California could have all the fresh water it wants. They'd no longer have to rely on water from northern California or the Colorado river, and they'd have a surplus to pipe to southern Arizona which could have all the fresh water it wants, too. Tucson could truly be an oasis in the desert with year-round flowing rivers, grasslands and pastures and farms, lawns and parks and golf courses, without touching the natural underground reservoirs or partaking in the perpetual battles over the Colorado river water.

Certain people control the water rights in California and keep an iron grip on it. There are solutions but nothing is allowed that might chip away at their power.