Dream Patrol

It's been awhile since I've heard from my brother who lives in the Greater Falba area. One of my commitments on my 2007 to-do list is to begin working on building a family compound. He had agreed to check into the building permit requirements, etc. for me. No word to date, but in the event he is reading this post, let this be a reminder (and a reminder that I'm awaiting some legal tender).

As the weather begins to warm here in Texas, I start thinking about what I'll do to make my yard look and feel appealing. That always makes me wonder why I have fallen for the idea that a green grass lawn is what should occupy the land around homes. Aside from being water-hogs, their upkeep requires either chemical fertilizers or organic treatments that would be put to better use toward growing vegetables, not lawns. Xeriscaping is something that has never been awfully popular here, but should be. Native plants, suited to native levels of rainfall and heat, etc. are much better choices than nursery recommendations that cost much more and require more upkeep and money and leave the land wanting for 'nature.'

Back to Falba. Same deal. I need to focus on building a very well-insulated, well-situated place that is landscaped to complement the environment. Minimal water use, minimal use of power (though in Falba, air conditioning in summertime is absolutely necessary to these old bones...I never understand how only half a century ago people could actually live in this climate without it), etc.

I need to remember to post a blog that will record as many as possible of the details of a series of dreams I had last night. Some of the scenes that comprised the dream(s):

• A mesa high (very high) above the surrounding landscape, comprised of a mix of children playing, family activities (my family), and a landscape reminiscent of a desert scene in spring;
  
• A brother pointing out to me, looking down from that mesa, the source of a hot spring in southwestern Mexico that was being routed into a northbound pipeline that would take hot water north to Dallas, where it was needed;
  
• Another brother taking foolish chances by diving into an algae and weed-infested canal that was filled with alligators hidden under enormous algae blooms;
  
• A scene of a brother explaining why he was not concerned about the prevalence of pest animals in areas near an unprotected entryway into a house;
  
• A sister introducing me to a woman who I already knew, a woman who I knew had a not-so-secret 'crush' on me;
  Several members of my staff asking me to close the office for a pancake-eating contest that the brother of a staffer had entered.

Strange, I know. I hope I remember enough about them when I sit down to write more about them.