Never too early to plan ahead

Hi neighbors.

Driving around town last year I did notice several people still put out lawn gardens. Not enough for selling at the market, but enough to have fresh produce for your own table and a little to spare.

Some people have larger gardens planting enough to harvest and save back by canning and freezing.

Then there are those people who go whole hog on the gardening adventure and have what is called truck gardens; meaning enough to put on a truck and take to market.

Some of us are content with one tomato plant and a small herb assortment in window boxes or raised planters.

Whatever group you fall into, I wish you luck!

Although climate change monitors say we in Missouri will be a semi-desert environment within 50 years, so far we have no water shortage and no bans on watering our yards or gardens.

It’s never a bad idea to conserve water though, whether we are in a drought or not. Having a rain barrel for plant watering has always been a workable solution for irrigating plants near the home. Most homes are built with good gutters to catch rain water, you just need to have one or two of the gutters to empty into a barrel.

Although I do enjoy a nice green lawn, when it comes to watering it I say no. I don’t eat grass and I do pay for mowing it so for the grass to remain a bit stunted for a month doesn’t bother me at all. When it comes to water to drink or water for my grass, I know which path I’m taking.

I wonder why science has lost so much time without inventing houses and living conditions to make life more comfortable in all surroundings. The houses of today are made much like they were two hundred years ago, with some insulation, air conditioners and furnaces added.

I remember a few years ago a company that produced homes with three foot thick walls made of tires, straw and even pop cans. After the house settled for two years, it could maintain a comfortable interior temperature in the 70’s year round. A starter version of this home could be bought for $10,000.

Believe it or not, Styrofoam has been used to make homes. Blown into a pre-made shell, the Styrofoam could be made into any shape with lots of curves instead of square rooms. True, these homes were usually in a protective area like inside a cave, or underground. But many people have homes built at least partially underground and are comfortable in them.

I think all these areas should be investigated and more and new home types be tried.

Whether climate change is coming or not, more affordable, environmentally friendly and compatible houses need to be made. Recyclable materials need to be used and less trees cut down. Ideas of what is in style need to change and although the ‘open concept’ is fine, vaulted ceilings and needing four thousand square feet of space per couple is not really necessary, in my opinion.

Many couples and young families are denied home ownership because so many new homes are built in the three hundred thousand dollar range. More houses under a fifty thousand dollars price tag should be built, and these homes should be environmentally friendly.

I don’t have the training to design user friendly homes, but there are many engineers out there who can. If we are ever going to move people out of the overcrowded cities, we need to have more reasonably priced homes.

We need to start thinking more about what we will need in our future and less about what we want now. When I see houses with huge rooms, vaulted ceilings and whole walls of glass built in northern states, even Alaska, my first thought is, how will you heat that house? Or even, how will you cool that house in the summer?

I’ve been told I have ‘poor folk’ attitudes about home building. I prefer to think I have a survivor’s attitude about building a house that fits into the environment where it is built and which is built to keep it’s inhabitants comfortable in that environment.

If global warming is coming our way, don’t you want a suitable home to live in?

I realize most of us have the houses we have and here we will most likely stay, but even older homes can be remodeled in small ways. People looking to buy or build a new home, should do the research on newer designs that are aimed at survival instead of style. Your future is your own!