Originally Posted by
seypat
Which reminds me of a animal story that I can relate to cycling. It's going to turn into an environmental rant so watch out. I grew up in North Texas, the area around Wichita Falls to be exact. Still have relatives there and others spread out through west/other parts of Texas. Anyone ever been to Wichita Falls, or Texas between WF and places west of there? If so, you know what the terrain looks like. If not, watch the movie "The Last Picture Show" or other movies like "Giant." West of the Metroplex is desert type country. In 2021, my father had to have some stints inserted in early August. It gave me a chance to go back and ride the cycling event known around the country/world as the HotterNHell 100. Anyway, I got off the plane in Dallas and headed towards Abilene through the wasteland that is that area. Got to Abilene and everything around me is dry, brown and dead as it is that time of year. Got to my dad's neighborhood and everyone in the neighborhood is running the sprinkler systems. We visited for 3 hours before going to bed. All the time, those sprinklers were running. I got up the next morning, and all of those sprinkler systems were going until I left around noon. This was in late August, in drought conditions, in an area that's not green naturally, all for the sake of vanity/having a f-n green lawn! So, I leave heading for Wichita Falls. As soon as I get out of the neighborhood, it goes back to brown, dry, crusty, dead and natural along with the mesquite trees and cactuses. Continued in next post.
So, like Mad Max, I head back out into the wasteland going from Abilene to Wichita Falls. Rolling along through the scrub brush, mesquites and cacti trying to avoid Lord Humungus. I get to my brother's house which is in the country on ten acres of the same type of terrain. Off a rural road and not visible from the road. Low and behold, he's trying as hard as he can to go against mother nature and get himself a green lawn! He's spent all kinds of money doing different things trying to get that yard established. At least he has a water catching system. Anyway, he runs his sprinklers for a couple of hours when I get there, both at night and in the mornings. During the night, I'm awakened by gunshots. I look out the window and there's an armadillo in the front yard. He was digging in the yard for grubs. The 410 made quick work of that pest. Same scenario the next night. Another armadillo rolled with buckshot. I could understand it if my brother had a garden that the pests were destroying. But it wasn't about that. It was all about having a green lawn.
So, I rode the event on Saturday, got up on Sunday, packed my bike for shipment and made my way back to Dallas for a meeting with a plane home. On the following Monday, water restrictions went into effect for both Abilene and Wichita Falls because of the low water levels. I was told that the wealthier people would just get water shipped out of Oklahoma in tanker trucks to keep their lawns green. Unbelievable, to say the least.