Making life Greener for your local wildlife

Living in the desert southwest and experiencing the heat of summer one wonders how the animals like squirrels, chipmunks, birds, rabbits and all the others make it thru without rain for water. The truth is some of them do not make it. You can make thier lives healthier with a small addition of water holes around your yard, and they don't have to be anything more then 1 1/2" deep pans or ceramic dishes. We live close to the Tucson Mountains and wildlife is abundant and they provide hours of peaceful viewing and all because we keep pans and shallow dishes full all the time. How much fun to look out a window and see a cluster of birds taking a bath, or rabbits playing leap frog or a family of quail out for a stroll stopping by for a drink.

Mothers Day 2005, my son-in-law came over with a shovel, two bags of cement and large rocks he had collected from our property. It took he and my daughter two hours and they had made me a shallow watering hole, all I had to do was let it cure for a few days then fill it with water. It is shallow enough that no little critters will drown and a rock was set into the middle for critters to climb up on. Mosquitos are kept away because fresh water is put in daily and every couple days it is swept and hosed out before fresh water is added. So with just a little upkeep you can help the little critters in your area healtier and in fresh drinking water. A win win situation when we sit on our patio and watch all the wildlife that stops by for a cool drink.

In the first picture above there is a chipmunk, cardinal, three doves and a cotton tail rabbit all stopping by at the same time, it doesn't get better then that if you are a nature person like I am.

What does GOING GREEN mean?

In my opinion Going Green means doing things that save money, saves natural resources and helps you to live a healthier and happier life. There are many small changes you can make in your lifestyle that don’t cost anything yet helps the environment such as car pooling, walking to the store once in awhile rather than driving or turning the television off for one night a week and playing board games with the family! You may have so much fun that you will wonder why you haven’t done this before. Living Greener around your home is not difficult or expensive, you can use grey water to water outside landscaping simply by running a garden hose from your washing machine! Take it a step further and you can start a small vegetable garden using grey water and benefit in a few months with fresh veggies that you and your kids grew together. Lighting is another way to GO Green. Placing solar lighting along pathways and garden areas is a great money saver, and not a lot of expense to purchase them.

Going Green at the office is another way to cut expenses by doing the little things that really add up over time, for instance, stop buying the paper or foam coffee cups and have office workers bring a favorite cup from home. You can purchase funny cups for each personality for the same amount a case of foam cups cost and never buy them again. Purchase small kitchen towels and stop buying paper towels, cloth napkins instead of paper. Try these office tips and give your office a more homey atmosphere and up productivity in employees, a win win situation.