Frugal gardening will rock you

September 11th. A day of remembrance. How can we forget? You probably remember where you were and what you were doing. I was driving to work. I heard the reports on the radio and immediately got chills all over my body. I went to work and was overwhelmed with implementation issues (gotta love IT) as we had just that day implemented a new system. When I had a minute to think, it was hard to stop the tears. We must forgive but we'll never forget.

OK, let's lighten it up around here.

I owe some thanks to somebody for this post. There was a recent post on saving money and it was hilarious. If it was yours, THANKS! If it wasn't and you want to claim it was yours, I probably won't know the difference.

Go green, reduce our carbon footprint, save the earth. Hey, I try to do my part. I can hear you saying: She's just a spotted-owl-loving, save-the-rain-forest, don't-eat-the-animals hippie all ready to tie herself to the next big tree about to be sacrificed for the sake of progress. After all, she's a baby-boomer (remember the barely part), over 40 and into yoga so that must be right. Sorry to disappoint but I'm not quite that bad yet. Here's how I'm doing so far:

1. Electric car? When they are as cheap and effective as the non-electrics and the wheels/engine/chassis have fallen off my current vehicle, we'll talk.
2. Use public transportation? Even more funny. It's practically non-existent around here.
3. Long-life fluorescent bulbs? Of course, where it makes sense.
4. Flush the toilet only once a day? Just kidding, I wouldn't ask anyone to do that.
5. Take my own bags to the grocery store? Sure. Most of the time
6. Thermostat up in summer, down in the winter:? Yeah, but it ain't pretty. Like many couples, hubby is hot-natured. I'm cold-natured. We're screwed on this one.
7. Reduce laptop usage? Oh very funny.
8. Steal gas from other vehicles: What, is your tank lower today than you thought? IT WASN'T ME!
9. Practice frugal gardening by raiding construction trash piles for free stone/rock/boulders? You betcha. Read on.

My neighbor gave me two huge books on frugal gardening (gee, thanks for that, guess I was spending too much) and although there are some helpful hints, I would recommend them only if you are having a particularly bad bout of insomnia. I like to be frugal but some of that stuff....enough said.

Anyway, back to the frugal rock-stealing thing: There are a large number of new homes being built close to where I live and they are using stone for the siding and retaining walls. I was appalled as to what happens to the leftovers. Trash piles. Seriously. I couldn't believe it. Do you know how much that stuff costs? After the house is done and the workers have left, I give the builder some time to come get the extra rock. They rarely do. Then I dress like I'm entering a toxic waste facility and haul all the rock I can into my small SUV energy-efficient rock-hauling vehicle. Multiple times. Yep, I've got lots of nice rock at my place, my mom's place, and at my friend's house (yes, I only have 1 friend). Just kidding. I have at least 4 friends.

Hubby just rolls his eyes and is happy he only has to help with the rocks weighing 100 lbs or more. That's right. My prize is a whopping 250-pound boulder. Sorry, no picture. I just couldn't bring myself to include a photo of a big rock on my blog ;-)

Maybe I'll start selling decorative garden stone on craigslist. If you're into gardening and you need some nice stone, let me know. It will help if you live in North Texas ;-) I think the shipping charges would strip the frugal right out of it.