Ramming My Head Against A Brick Wall. Again.

Now I know that where I live is relatively cut off from the rest of the world (for various reasons), but frankly a lot people here have their heads stuck up their asses.

What is right with this picture? They are not watering mid-day.

There is a reason why Albertans are called the Texans of the North. A large number are uber-conservative &/or wackaloony religious (we have our own ‘creation’ museum by Big Valley), and are intolerant of ‘others’. Lots of Albertans also believe that both water & gas will continue to flow forever and that any claims to the contrary are conspiracies by the government to drive up prices. Many people were surprised when one of the refineries nearby was damaged in the huge storm in the middle of July and many PetroCan stations were without gas for weeks (Quel horror!).

However, there is one thing about them that I am absolutely pissed off about. I’m talking about watering their lawn in the middle of a 30 C day. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Just thinking about this makes my blood pressure rise to dangerous levels. First of all, I hate the thought of watering the lawn on the best of days. Xeriscaping is a great gardening method where planting drought resistant plants will decrease the amount of time you have to spend in the garden working and reduce water bills. Also, collecting rain water is another method of reducing water usage. (And here I feel as if I’m talking to a brick wall ‘cause I’m sure that most people have heard this ad nauseum.) But, I have seen over and over and over and over and over homeowners with their sprinklers going at 1:00 pm with over half the water being evaporated without even hitting the ground.

I’m at a loss at how to stop this (Other than posting a sign on their lawn in the middle of the night saying “Spank me. I’ve been very naughty. I water my lawn at noon”. Which probably won’t make them stop, but it sure will make me laugh as I bike/drive by.

Another way to stop this would be to use drought resistant grasses. Available now at Rona’s/Home Depots around Alberta are eco-grasses that are mixtures of drought resistant grasses that would be great alternatives to Kentucky Blue grass. Researchers have also been working on blue grass hybrids that will be drought tolerant, but retain the desirable texture of Kentucky blue grass. But whether these hybrids will be cold tolerant enough for Albertan users is another question altogether.
So please, please, please STOP watering your lawn during the day, and try not to at any other time. No more excuses or you could end up with that sign on your lawn.

USDA/Agricultural Research Service (2009, August 30). Creating The Ultimate Drought-Resistant Lawn/Pasture Grass. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 31, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/08/090830100514.htm