Green House

I'm designing the Wimberley house to be green. Green as in earth-friendly, if that's even possible given it's a second home that we'll spend hours driving to visit on weekends. Part of the green goal is my own stinginess about paying energy bills, and part is because of a real concern for the planet.

My sweetheart is making her own contribution to the earth-friendly aspect of the home. She picked out these natural materials from nearby as a color pallet to guide us in the selection of finish colors.

The plans are coming along VERY slowly, so I need to get on the stick and get them far enough along to get some rough estimates from contractors. That way I won't get too far down the design path before I discover that I can't afford what I just designed. Maybe if I keep saying that I'm going to get the plans done on this blog I'll actually do it!

It's a Moth!

I'm sure that the entire blog world has been anxiously awaiting the identification of the Wimberley "hummer-moth" shown on my last posting. Turns out that the Hummingbird Society (don't laugh) knows all about these hummer-wanna-be creatures, and displays this picture right on their web site.

The caption is:
White-lined Sphinx Moth (Hyles lineata) at Basket Flower [American Star Thistle], Centaurea americana.

So there you have it. My next blog postings will reveal the burial place of Jimmy Hoffa, the solution to global warming, and the location of the fountain of youth.

Hummer of all Moths

It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's.... a hummer-moth? I have no idea what this creature is, but it flies like a hummingbird and looks like a moth. It is the only one I've seen in the hill country, but I suppose they could be fairly common and I wouldn't know any better. Of course, with many things, once you see one and take notice, all of a sudden the world seems to be full of them. Have you ever bought a car and then noticed all the other cars just like yours? Maybe I'll start seeing hummer-moths at the local gas station, bookstore, and sandwich shop now. I'll put this flying wonder on my list of things to research a little on a slow day. Real slow.

Texas State Critter

Here lies Joe Armadillo, a devoted family armadillo, who raise 15 kiddo-dillos and loved his 48 great-kiddo-dillos. A life long Texas hill country resident, Joe was a graduate of Dillo University and was active in the Dillo Masons. His hobbies included digging in the dirt, eating whatever he could dig up, and taunting vehicles drivers along roadways by dashing across in front of them.